Recovered from COVID? You're at Risk. Here's Why You Shouldn't Ignore Varicose Veins and How to Prevent Complications

COVID-19 and Varicose Veins: A Dangerous Combination

Recently, varicose veins have become an increasingly dangerous condition. COVID-19 often leads to blood clots, and in varicose veins, they form much faster. How can you prevent varicose veins in your lower extremities, who is at risk, and what should you do if you notice the first signs? We talked to Vladimir Pavlenko, a category 1 surgeon and phlebologist at the LODE Medical Center, to find out more.

Varicose Veins: A Cosmetic Issue or a Serious Health Risk?

Varicose veins in the lower extremities cause the subcutaneous veins to lose their elasticity, their walls to thin, and they expand, forming varicose nodes, and the vein valves stop working. In the early stages, the disease is not dangerous. However, if left untreated, it can lead to serious complications.

Potential Complications

Blood Clots: Clots can form in the veins, which can break loose at any moment, travel through the heart to the lungs, and cause a pulmonary embolism. This can lead to disability or even death.
Trophic Ulcers: A small wound can grow into a large, hard-to-heal ulcer. Combined conservative therapy for both varicose veins and the ulcer itself has a short-lived effect. The ulcer heals slowly and can reappear. In severe cases, a skin graft may be required.

Some people may say, “My grandmother had varicose veins and lived a long life.” However, not everyone is that lucky. Moreover, the risks have increased: COVID-19 stimulates blood clot formation. The number of patients with this problem has increased several times after a coronavirus infection. Therefore, it’s not worth risking your health by ignoring this disease.

Recognizing Varicose Veins: Symptoms and Early Signs

The first symptoms of varicose veins are easy to spot visually: small veins, capillaries, and spider veins appear. You should also be alert if you feel heaviness and pain in your legs or if they swell in the evening. At this stage—when early signs of the disease are detected—you should see a doctor.

You should also see a specialist if you notice changes in the color of the skin on your legs, hardening and enlargement of the veins, or cramps. The presence of ulcers indicates that the disease is advanced and surgical treatment may be required.

Varicose Veins: Not Just an Age-Related Disease

Varicose veins are not an age-related disease. If there is a predisposition, it can manifest even at the age of 14, especially in girls during hormonal changes in the body.

If varicose veins were diagnosed in only one parent, the likelihood of it occurring in children is 30% among males and 60% among females. If the pathology is present in both parents, the probability increases to 90%. If neither parent had the disease, the likelihood is extremely low—only 10% among males and 25% among females.

Elderly people, considering their existing health conditions, have a higher risk of complications. However, there are many young patients who have already undergone surgical and minimally invasive treatment for varicose veins several times.

Habits That Can Lead to Vein Problems

Even if a person is not predisposed to varicose veins, the disease can still develop due to several factors:

Sedentary Lifestyle: Muscles are the main pump for the venous system. If a person remains motionless for long periods, venous outflow is difficult, and the vein gradually expands, causing the valves to stop working. Office workers should change their position periodically, stand up, walk, and do exercises to improve venous outflow during the day. These exercises are also relevant at home.
Prolonged Standing or Sitting: Salespeople, cashiers, and drivers are recommended to wear compression garments since they have to stand or sit in one position all day.
Frequent Travel: Long and frequent trips, as well as flights, can lead to varicose veins due to pressure changes at different altitudes. Additionally, people often remain motionless for several hours, and their muscles do not work. If possible, you should walk around on the plane and make stops to walk during car trips.
Unhealthy Lifestyle Choices: Smoking, alcohol, and excess weight also provoke varicose veins. Your diet should include plenty of fiber—eat more vegetables and fruits. An adult should drink at least 2-3 liters of water a day in the summer and 1.5-2 liters in the winter. Otherwise, the blood thickens, and clots form.
Hormonal Changes: Changes in hormonal levels can also lead to varicose veins. During puberty, pregnancy, and menopause, women should be especially careful. Wearing compression garments and taking venotonics can reduce the risk of developing varicose veins during these periods. You should also carefully consider the need for hormonal contraceptives.

All people whose lives include one or more of these factors are at risk.

Preventing Varicose Veins: Tips and Strategies

Varicose veins are much easier to prevent than to treat. For prevention, you can lie down for 5-10 minutes with your legs slightly elevated—they should be at the level of the heart. This improves venous and lymphatic outflow from the lower extremities. Effective prevention of the disease includes walking, cycling, swimming, and contrast showers.

However, if varicose veins have already developed, they will remain with the person for life. In this case, it’s important not to wait for complications but to regularly see a doctor and have an ultrasound of the veins in the lower extremities.

For preventive purposes, you should take vitamins and medications that improve lymphovenous outflow and strengthen the venous vascular wall. In some situations, it’s mandatory to wear compression stockings. Medication therapy in the form of tablets and gels in the early stages also relieves symptoms that occur with varicose veins.

However, if the disease progresses, more radical measures are needed. In case of valve insufficiency in the veins of the lower extremities, expansion of tributaries, and perforating veins, surgical treatment is indicated.

Surgical Treatments: Are They Dangerous?

In the past, surgical treatment was painful, traumatic, and often led to complications. However, that is now a thing of the past.

Today, in the early stages, sclerotherapy or endovenous laser coagulation is used—treatment methods after which you can calmly lead a normal life a month after the procedure, and hospitalization is not required.

For example, during sclerotherapy, a special drug is injected into the affected veins or spider veins using thin needles, “gluing” the venous walls. Blood flow through the vein stops, and it becomes invisible. After the procedure, the patient wears compression stockings for 2 weeks.

For more information on varicose veins and their treatment, you can visit the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute website.