Varicose veins are not life threatening but they can make you self-conscious about your appearance. They can be rather painful too. You do have options such as cosmetic surgery to remove varicose veins but you can do many things to prevent them from occurring in the first place. You need to know what the risk factors are in order to know how to prevent them.

When your veins become taut and blood is not flowing like it should because of faulty valves, you end up with varicose veins. What happens is that the blood reverses its flow in the veins and that is what makes the veins change color to blue. You can feel a painful throbbing in your legs when this is happening.

The following are the risk factors that contribute to varicose veins:

• Gender - More women than men get varicose veins.
• Age - As you get older, you are more at risk for varicose veins.
• Family History - You have a better chance of having varicose veins if it runs in the family.
• Injury - If you don’t get the right treatment for a leg injury, you raise your chances of getting varicose veins.

The things listed above are out of your control but you can take steps to prevent varicose veins from happening to you. You want to avoid stressing your veins. Here are some suggestions:

• Watch Your Weight - The heavier you are, the more stress your veins are under to circulate your blood.

• Don’t Sit or Stand in One Position - If you have a desk job, make sure you get up and walk around every once in awhile. If you are on your feet all day, make sure to take a break and sit down from time to time.

• Don’t Cross Your Legs - Instead of sitting with your legs crossed, cross your ankles. This way you aren’t cutting off any circulation in your legs.

• Wear Sensible Shoes - Wearing high heels reduces the circulation in your legs so wear them in moderation.

• Avoid Tight Clothing - Clothes that are tight especially in the stomach area are likely to cut off circulation and add stress to the veins in your legs.

Things that you go through in life like puberty, pregnancy and menopause can increase your chances of having varicose veins. You can help yourself out by getting plenty of exercise since increasing your activity level also increases circulation in your body. If you can’t avoid getting varicose veins, you have some choices like medication and cosmetic surgery.