What to Do When a Varicose Vein Bursts

By Elsie Goycoolea. Updated: January 20, 2017
What to Do When a Varicose Vein Bursts

Many people and most commonly women are suffering from discomfort and leg pain due to having varicose veins. Poor blood circulation to the lower extremities as a result of excessive pressure can impair efficient blood flow that ends up showing up on the skin. There are measures that can be taken to prevent varicose veins; but at times age and lifestyle gets in the way. Varicose veins will not generally cause any serious complications. However, you may want to learn how to act if a varicose vein bursts.

In this OneHowTo article we explain what to do when a varicose vein bursts.

You may also be interested in: How to Prevent Varicose Veins From Bursting
Steps to follow:

Only a little number of people will need to be treated for varicose vein complications. Some of the health complications that may develop are:

  • Further vein inflammation resulting in a small bump
  • Swelling on the knee, ankle or foot
  • Hardening of the skin and other skin issues
  • Vein burst or bleeding

When a varicose vein bursts some bleeding may occur. There are indications such as discoloration of the skin and inflammation that will suggest that a varicose vein has a high risk of rupturing.


Steps to follow

If this occurs, first raise your leg up high by lying down on the floor so that blood circulates back to the heart. Stay in this position for a few minutes, if necessary resting your leg on a wall.

What to Do When a Varicose Vein Bursts - Step 3

To stop the bleeding, wrap a dry cloth around the area tightly and place some pressure with your hands until you notice the bleeding starts to decrease. If the area is inflamed; but not bleeding, you can apply cold treatment using a bag of ice wrapped in a cloth during alternate periods of 10 minutes on and 10 minutes off.

What to Do When a Varicose Vein Bursts - Step 4

In order to stay safe and prevent any further complications, ask a friend or family member to take you to the hospital or if needed call an ambulance. During the trip try to keep your leg elevated.


Unless you have a history of arterial disease or a major vein was damaged, the inflammation will eventually disappear after a few weeks. The area may be sensitive on the touch and you may notice an hematoma that will gradually fade away.


If a varicose vein bursts you may want to introduce some preventative measures in order to reduce the chances of suffering from the same complication. Some people have a higher tendency from suffering from vein bursting.

Your doctor may suggest that you avoid prolonged sitting or standing by alternating between both and adding natural remedies. Also, that you rest your legs by raising them up high for a few minutes every day.

What to Do When a Varicose Vein Bursts - Step 7

However, if all the suggestions above aren’t working for you and you still suffer from severe vein bursting, you may want to speak to your doctor about taking more drastic treatments. Laser radiotherapy systems and some forms of sclerothrerapy treatments are minor invasive procedures that use ablation to seal the veins that may cause further damage. Lastly, surgery is sometimes employed to remove large, problematic varicose veins.

What to Do When a Varicose Vein Bursts - Step 8


If you want to read similar articles to What to Do When a Varicose Vein Bursts, we recommend you visit our Family health category.

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