insideKENT Magazine Issue 64 - July 2017 | Page 132

HEALTH+WELLNESS
VARICOSE VEINS –
MEN GET THEM TOO
IT’S A COMMONLY HELD BELIEF
THAT VARICOSE VEINS ONLY AFFECT
WOMEN OF A CERTAIN AGE, SO
NOTHING FOR MEN TO WORRY
ABOUT, RIGHT? ACTUALLY, WRONG
– MEN GET THEM TOO.
Dr Mo Faris
Varicose veins develop when the small valves
inside the veins stop working properly. In a
healthy vein, blood flows smoothly to the heart
and is prevented from flowing backwards by
a series of tiny valves which open and close
to let blood through. If these valves weaken
or are damaged, the blood can flow backwards
and collect in the veins, eventually causing
them to swell and bulge through the skin.
They are often dark blue or purple in colour,
which makes them even more noticeable.
Current statistics suggest that 30% of women
are affected compared with 15% of men, but
this lower figure may be partly because men
are less likely to get medical advice.
Dr Mo Faris, Vascular Interventional
Radiologist, runs a vein clinic at the Cooden
Medical Group in Bexhill. He said:
“Traditionally we have had fewer male than
female patients – women are more likely to
be concerned about the appearance of their
legs and don’t necessarily want to hide their
legs under trousers all the time.
“But these days we are seeing increasing
numbers of men. This might be because they
are getting more health conscious and also
because they are doing more sports like
cycling and running and feel self-conscious
about wearing shorts. If they’ve worked hard
to get fit then it’s not surprising that they want
their legs to look toned and healthy too.”
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However, varicose veins are not always a
purely cosmetic issue. Sometimes they can
cause symptoms such as pain, swelling and
restless legs at night and in severe cases, leg
ulcers can develop. Emad Ali knows only too well the discomfort
caused by problem varicose veins and is
counting down the days to his treatment. He
said: “I first got them in my left leg around five
years ago but now I have them in both legs.
The symptoms have become steadily worse
to the point where I am in pain most of the
time. Night time is the worst – my legs
overheat, throb and itch making it difficult to
sleep – I wish I’d had them treated before they
got to this stage.”
Dr Faris said: “Patients with problem veins are
often men – they tend to put off going to the
doctor until the symptoms become severe,
whereas women are more likely to get their
veins treated before they reach this stage.” While patients with troublesome veins like
Emad are obvious candidates for treatment,
there’s good reason for people with a mild
case to be investigated for underlying
problems. An ultrasound scan is simple and
painless and will reveal problems in veins that
are too deep to be seen.
If treatment is required then it’s fairly
straightforward nowadays. The old way of
treating varicose veins was by tying them off
and “stripping” them out – a major procedure
carried out under general anaesthetic. Thanks
to medical advances most veins can be treated
quickly and effectively by minimally invasive
techniques under local anaesthetic. This
means that treatments can be carried out in
an outpatient clinic rather than in a hospital.
For more information, take a look at
www.coodenmedicalgroup.com/
treatments/veins