VARICOSE VEINS

New Zealand Listener, Volume 7, Issue 175, 30 October 1942, Page 10

VARICOSE VEINS

(Written for "The Listener’ by DR.

H. B.

TURBOTT

Director of the

Division of school Mygiene, fealtn Department)

chances are you will have varicose veins. At any rate, in a recent overseas ‘study of over 500 people who had been sitting, standing, walking or climbing stairs for 10 years or more at their work 73 per cent of those over 60 years of age were found with visible varicose veins, It seems that women have to struggle against this defect more than men, for, in the group studied, the percentage of people over 40 years of age with varicose veins was 73 per cent for women and 40 per cent for men. It is true that childbearing influenced this, but only to a very small extent. Seventy-nine per cent of mothers showed varicose veins, but 67 per cent of women who had never been pregnant did so, too. Maternity increases the incidence, but not unduly so. What causes varicose veins? In some people, especially with increasing age, changes occur in the vein walls. They lose their elasticity and can’t expand and contract readily with variations of blood pressure. The elastic fibres of the vein walls are absent or degenerate, being replaced with non-supple fibrous tissue that keeps on increasing as age advances, The loss of suppleness allows twistings and expansions of veins; the constantly -increasing fibrous tissues mean thickened walls, bigger veins, and gradually knots and lumps of twisted veins. In the leg veins there are valves to stop back-flow of blood. When veins become varicose, these valves become incompetent, extra effort or exercise causing back-flow and high venous pressure in the lower parts of the legs, The limbs become bluish and often swollen, the skin and tissues are badly nourished, and ulcers which readly occur, are difficult to heal. The increasing pressure in the leg veins causes the aching pain that is often present. I’ you are getting on in years, the

It is probably the adoption of the erect posture by mankind that has brought liability to this trouble upon us. Activity brings stresses that the veins find difficulty in coping with in the upright position, especially in vulnerable people. And there seem to be vulnerable families, for the weakness in veins is undoubtedly hereditary. The study referred to before, indicates the influence of the upright position. Among women who sat at work, there was the lowest incidence of varicose veins (57 per cent), those who walked about at work had more of this defect (68 per cent), while those who stood at work were most affected (74 per cent). There also seemed a probable relation between the wearing of high heels through the earlier years by working women, and the high incidence of varicose veins after 40 years of age. The tipping off true balance through wear ing high heels results in compression of the soft vein walls by the leg muscles. This may have an influence over a long term of years. Treatment required for varicose veins depends on the state of the veins, Medical advice is essential to decide whether treatment is to be by injection, by a combination of tying and injections, or by surgical removal. For almost 20 years now the injection treatment of varicose veins has been widely employed. Some suitable drug is introduced into the vein to cause clotting of the blood in the varicose sections. Once the blood has clotted, the vein gradually narrows and disappears. By each injection several inches of vein can be obliterated, and in cases which are not very extensive, a course of several injections usually gives satisfactory results. The proportion of people to benefit is high. Some lucky folk may get an entire leg cured by one injection. > After middle-life, a proportion of us are going to be bothered with varicose veins. The thing to do is to act as soon as one or more should appear with certainty. Injection treatments are suitable early; surgery may be the only relief for long-standing cases. SL