If you have diabetes, it is important that you seek varicose vein treatment from a clinic like Metro Vein Centers that has vast experience in dealing with diabetic patients. While the procedures may not be very different for you, the way a diabetic recovers and the precautions that need to be taken may be different than a patient without diabetes.
Does Diabetes Cause Varicose Veins?
You may have noticed that many diabetics seem to have varicose veins bad enough to need varicose vein treatment for medical reasons. However, does this mean that diabetes actually CAUSES varicose veins to form? The answer to this common question is rather complicated.
If this was a debate question, there could be good arguments presented on both sides so the answer is actually partially yes and partially no. First, it is statistically true that diabetics are on average more prone to developing varicose veins. However, not all of them do, and even when this happens, they are not always bad enough to warrant varicose vein treatment, unless cosmetics is the chief concern.
The most likely cause for the correlation between diabetes and varicose veins are the similar conditions that cause both conditions. These similar conditions include being overweight or obese, unhealthy diet with lots of sugar and low nutrient density, and a sedentary lifestyle that does not include enough exercise or activity to keep the blood flowing well. Taking these factors into consideration, diabetes itself is not causing the varicose veins but the conditions that are causing the diabetes are also causing the formation of varicose veins. Thus, while diabetes may not be the cause of varicose veins in these cases, the two conditions are certainly interrelated!
Diabetes can in some cases be a major contributing factor in the formation of varicose veins. For example, higher than normal glucose in the blood of a diabetic causes oxidative stress and damage to blood vessels. While this is more likely to occur in tiny vessels like capillaries, over time and when diabetes worsens, this oxidative damage can in some cases damage a larger vein and its vein valves, causing varicose veins to form.
One often overlooked cause of varicose veins is physical injury to a vein. In diabetics, this cause can be especially critical because diabetics don’t always notice injuries right away. This is due to nerve damage that can make an area numb or at least less sensitive so a diabetic may get hurt but not feel pain. If this is the case, a diabetic may bump into something and damage a vein and not notice it until it gets really bad and causes a varicose vein.
If you are a diabetic, it is important for you to make a special point of visually inspecting your body, especially your legs and feet, every day to see if you have damage you didn’t feel. If you do see an obviously damaged vein, or an area where blood vessels were damaged or blood is pooling, try to book an appointment as soon as possible with a vein clinic like Metro Vein Centers.
Are There Any Special Risks For Diabetics?
The short answer is yes. For starters, the immune system of diabetics is very often weaker than normal. This puts diabetics at a higher risk to get infections in varicose veins before they seek treatment. Infection is also more likely than normal for infection to set in after varicose vein treatment in the areas where veins have been treated. It can also take a longer time, sometimes a much longer time, for wounds to heal in a diabetic. Importantly too, diabetics are at a higher risk for blood clots due to poor circulation.
For all of extra risks listed above, a doctor who has performed varicose vein treatment on a diabetic will often take extra precautions. He or she may recommend that the compression stockings worn after the procedure be a higher pressure level to ward off blood clots and ensure incisions stay closed. The doctor may also want to schedule a follow-up visit sooner than he or she would for a patient without diabetes as a complication. This would allow the doctor to check for infection and to make sure any incisions are healing properly. The doctor may also recommend a bit more walking after performing varicose vein treatment on diabetics to improve their blood flow. This will help with healing and to prevent further varicose veins from forming or the condition from getting worse.
There’s Good News For Diabetics Too
In the old days, varicose vein treatment usually involved “vein stripping” or other equally invasive surgical procedures. This meant long recovery times for everyone, but for diabetics, it meant PAINFULLY long recovery times because diabetics usually heal very slowly, especially for incisions. The good news for diabetics with varicose veins today is those surgical days are long gone for almost all who seek varicose vein treatment. If a patient goes to a vein clinic like Metro Vein Centers for treatment, most procedures are only minimally invasive, meaning usually on a small incision, or perhaps a few tiny incisions, along a vein, with no deep cuts.
