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• Varicose Veins
  • Signs and Symptoms
  • Risk Factors
  • Causes
  • Diagnosis
  • Treatments
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• Venous Ulcers

Risk Factors

Other than being a woman over the age of 40, risk factors that increase your chances of developing varicose veins include:

• Family members with varicose veins
  
• Hormonal changes, such as with pregnancy or menopause
  
• Pressure on the veins of the pelvis, as with pregnancy or constipation
  
• Obesity
  
• Working at a job that requires standing on your feet for long periods
  
• Wearing knee-high socks or stockings with tight elastic
  
• Previous leg injury
  
• The use of birth control pills
  
• Post-menopausal hormone replacement therapy
  
• History of blood clots
  
• Gender -  Almost 50 percent of women between 40 and 50 years of age, and about 75 percent of those ages 60 to 70 have varicose veins.