What are the symptoms?

Varicose veins may cause a feeling of tiredness, heaviness, aching, burning, throbbing, pain and cramps in the legs. The prolonged symptoms accompanied with swollen legs and discolored and itchy skin. Varicose veins is a slow progressive condition, which will get worse with time. Advanced condition of varicose veins due to chronic venous compression/stasis will progress to venous ulcers, chronic infection and occasional thrombosis (blood clots).

Spider veins (some times called telangiectasis) are small dilated blood vessels within the skin that are much smaller than varicose veins and have evolved from capillaries. They do not have large bulging appearance of varicose veins and color can range from red to blue.

Conditions or situations that increase the pressure on veins, such as obesity, prolonged standing and injury to leg tissue is associated with development of varicose veins.

Phlebitis (inflammation of the veins), thrombosis( blood clots within veins) are complications that can result from large varicose veins that go untreated. Small veins can progress and become more severe. The development of varicose veins is generally progressive but the treatment at an early stage may prevent progression.