Your veins are vessels that carry blood from your body’s tissues to your heart and lungs to pick up more oxygen and get re-circulated through your body. The muscles in your legs aid in this process, contracting to help pump the blood upward.

Each vein has tiny valves inside it to keep the blood flowing in the right direction; this one-way traffic keeps blood from flowing backward. However, a malfunction can occur in one or more of these valves, a common condition we call venous insufficiency. Venous insufficiency is what causes varicose veins and spider veins and affects more than 30 million Americans.

Types of Vein Conditions

What are the Symptoms?

Varicose Veins

  • protrude or bulge from under the skin and feel ropey
  • legs often ache and feel heavy and itchy
  • may have severe pain upon standing

Spider Veins

  • veins can be red, blue, or purple
  • an uncomfortable feeling in the legs
  • throbbing, cramping, or aching