Why leg veins are worse for women

Life is definitely not always fair for the fairer sex.

The unwelcome truth is that spider veins and varicose veins mostly happen to women.

It’s not exclusively the case but generally speaking – as a woman you’re more likely to get leg veins than a man.

And the reasons lie at the very root of your femininity – the female hormone estrogen.

If you think about it – your leg veins are some of the longest in your body. So your blood has to go on quite a journey back to the heart and for many people most of the time this doesn’t present a problem.

Your leg veins are well equipped to get the blood you need back to your heart.

The human body truly is an amazing thing. Because leg veins need to be so long they come with a series of tiny vein valves – up to 20 depending on how long your legs are. These minute vein valves control the flow of blood from your legs back to your heart.

It’s a bit like the locks in a canal – the blood is allowed to collect at various points – and then move on when your body is ready.

Unfortunately for some of us – these little vein valves can become faulty – so blood that was making its way up to your heart trickles back down. Doctors call this problem venous reflux or venous insufficiency.

Over time sections of your veins can swell as the excess blood starts to collect – the beginnings of varicose veins.

Pregnancy adds to the strain. When you’re pregnant your body goes into overdrive – pumping out a huge amount of hormones into your body and increasing the amount of blood moving through your veins by as much as 20 percent. The result – overworked and weakened vein valves.

The weight of your growing baby also has an impact making it more difficult for the blood traveling back to your heart to get there – and even more likely that some of it will simply pool in your legs.

And – wouldn’t you just know it – age makes things worse. Some of us get to our fiftieth birthdays without so much as one spider vein or varicose vein in sight – only to suddenly start experiencing problems.

The reasons are not entirely clear but it has something to do with the fact that as you get older your blood vessels can lose some elasticity and bounce.

Added factors include thinning skin as you age. Spider veins or thread veins show up more clearly under the skin and varicose veins push the thinner surface skin outwards.

And of course – we make it all worse for ourselves – wearing high heeled fashionable shoes and standing on them for long periods.

The causes of spider veins and varicose veins are many and varied – but some of it has to do with the simple fact of being born a woman.

Related articles:

• Are you likely to get spider veins?
• What’s the difference between spider veins and varicose veins?
• How to prevent varicose veins