Up to 40 per cent of adults in the UK will develop varicose veins at some point in their lives. Ola Majewska, 42, put up with aching, heavy legs and hiding her veins for years but her life has been transformed since having pioneering varicose vein treatment.<\/p>\n
Varicose veins are a common problem, with up to 40 per cent of adults developing them in their lifetime \u2013 and this figure rises to more than 60 per cent for people aged 75 and over. Typically seen on the legs, they are caused by faulty valves within the veins<\/a> that allow blood to pool, and can result in knobbly, bulging, twisted veins that have a dark blue or purple appearance.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t fully understand why people get varicose veins, but we know they\u2019re associated with a strong family history \u2013 it\u2019s a myth that being overweight, pregnancy or standing for too long causes them,\u201d says professor Mark Whiteley, a venous surgeon and founder of the Whiteley Clinic.<\/p>\n New FeatureIn ShortQuick Stories. Same trusted journalism.<\/p>\n Research suggests you get five genes from each of your parents that are linked with how well the valves in your veins work. \u201cThe idea is that if you have five or more \u2018bad\u2019 genes you\u2019ll see varicose veins quite badly \u2013 when all 10 are bad, that\u2019s when people get them aged 12,\u201d he explains. \u201cSo if one parent has varicose veins you\u2019re likely to get them, and you\u2019re even more likely to if they both do.\u201d<\/p>\n Ola Majewska, 42, a shop manager who lives with her partner in a small village in Hampshire, started noticing varicose veins between her knee and foot, and on the outer side of her thigh on her left leg, when she was in her twenties. \u201cSometimes after a long day on my feet, bulging veins would appear, but it became much worse in my thirties,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n \u201cAt that point, I started to hide my leg and became super aware of it \u2013 I chose not to wear short skirts or dresses, and it really affected my self-confidence,\u201d she says. \u201cI always had a big, bulging vein at the front of my leg which made me always want to hide it, even from my partner.\u201d<\/p>\n In the last five years, her varicose veins deteriorated further. \u201cMy leg would become really tight and painful by the end of the day. It felt so heavy, sore and uncomfortable that it stopped me exercising after work \u2013 previously I enjoyed going to the gym, walking and running<\/a>, but I could only do those activities first thing in the morning on the weekends when my leg was at its best\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cEven driving home after work was challenging because pressing on the clutch with my left leg was uncomfortable. It would affect my choices after work \u2013 for example, instead of having a longer drive to go food shopping, I just wanted to get home as soon as possible. Then I\u2019d spend my evenings lying in bed with my leg throbbing.\u201d<\/p>\n Ola\u2019s mother and grandfather also had the condition. \u201cI always remember them having a traumatic experience with their varicose veins,\u201d she says. \u2018They both struggled a lot and had a lot of barbaric procedures when their veins would be stripped [surgically removed], which involved many weeks of recovery, but the varicose veins always came back. My mum is now in her late sixties and she still has poorly legs, and my grandfather suffered until the end of his life\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThere isn\u2019t anything you can do to prevent getting varicose veins, but exercising stops them deteriorating as quickly,\u201d says Whiteley, who wrote Why Varicose Veins Come Back \u2013 and How To Stop Them<\/a>. When varicose veins get worse, they can lead to an array of complications including swollen ankles, leg ulcers and blood clots, and they have even been linked to dementia, heart failure and stroke.<\/p>\n