Heat & Cold’s Impact on Varicose Veins

Varicose veins are enlarged, blue-purple veins that appear twisted. People commonly have varicose veins on their legs, calves, and feet. Varicose veins happen when the valves in your veins become weak and cannot push blood back up to the heart effectively. As a result, the blood pools and enlarges the blood vessels.

Millions of adults in the U.S. struggle with varicose vein health issues daily. Fortunately, this common condition is considered largely cosmetic and usually has little to no physical side effects.

However, patients affected by varicose veins can still suffer from mild leg discomfort, especially when aggravated by environmental factors. 

Heat and cold can exacerbate common symptoms of pain and discomfort associated with varicose veins:

• Achy, heavy-feeling legs
• Muscle cramps
• Burning and throbbing
• Swelling around the ankles and calves
• General discomfort around varicose veins

Learning to care for your varicose veins is essential for optimal pain relief. Today, we will talk about an important factor that may affect your varicose veins: temperature. 

Read below to learn how heat and cold can impact your varicose veins.

Heat And Varicose Veins

Generally speaking, patients with varicose veins quickly find that heat is not their friend. Although we’re used to hearing about using heating pads for injuries and sprains, this does not hold for varicose veins.

Heat has a dilatory effect on veins (aka causes them to widen and fill with even more blood). As you can imagine, stretching and filling a varicose vein with even more blood only aggravates pre-existing symptoms. For example, your legs may feel more swollen or uncomfortable than usual.

Veins widening and filling with even more blood can put extra pressure on the vein walls and valves. This stress can permanently damage them, stretching veins and damaging valve functionality.

Although these symptoms will be largely temporary – i.e., for as long as you’re exposed to increased heat, they can still be uncomfortable.

Avoiding Heat

The best thing to avoid aggravating symptoms is to prevent excessive heat. This recommendation may seem particularly difficult during the summer, but staying indoors, using air conditioning, and taking cold baths may be helpful.

However, other daily activities can aggravate varicose veins on warm summer days aside. For example, hot baths, jacuzzis, and saunas are all possible culprits that can worsen varicose symptoms. Avoiding these may help manage varicose vein discomfort to some extent as well.

Pain Relief for Varicose Veins

To alleviate discomfort associated with varicose veins, use ice packs (sparingly) and take cold showers—ice and cold temperatures cause blood vessels and veins to shrink, which can bring down swelling. Furthermore, cold pushes blood back toward the heart. So, ice and cold have the opposite effect of heat and can relieve varicose vein discomfort. However, too much cold can also be a bad thing. Use ice packs for 10 to 20 minutes every couple of hours, and only use cryotherapy if your doctor recommends.

In addition to using ice, elevating your legs helps treat varicose veins in the legs. This practice, which can be done at home, helps improve blood circulation. When blood flows freely, inflammation and mild swelling may decrease more easily. Since leg elevation is easy and can be done at home, it is a great way to relieve varicose vein pain. Start by elevating your legs in 15-minute intervals.

Heating Pad For Varicose Veins

As explained above, heat is not helpful when treating varicose veins. So, although traditional home remedies may often recommend a heating pad, try to resist this. Instead, opt for an ice pack wrapped in a thin towel.

Cold And Varicose Veins

Fortunately, unlike heat, cool temperatures can help ease the symptoms of varicose veins. The cold has the inverse effect of warmth, shrinking veins and helping push blood back to the heart. As the blood leaves your varicose veins, it allows the swelling to go down and reduces discomfort in the legs.

It’s important to note that frigid temperatures can still be harmful, so it’s always best to use caution. Make sure to consult with your doctor if you plan on trying out procedures such as cryotherapy.

Furthermore, although winter may feel a lot better on your legs, it’s essential to be aware of your habits during the winter months. Maintaining light exercise and movement is imperative to decreasing your chances of developing further varicose veins. So don’t skimp on your workouts just because it’s chilly outside!

Home Remedies For Varicose Veins

For occasions when it is simply impossible to avoid the heat, there are a few ways to help manage the cosmetic appearance of varicose veins and some of the accompanying discomfort. Keep in mind, however, that these are not permanent solutions. Medical intervention is the only way to get rid of varicose veins permanently.

How to Help Varicose Veins Daily:

• Drink Plenty of Water and Eat a Healthy Diet 

Staying hydrated can help keep your blood circulation healthy. Furthermore, your overall diet can help relieve varicose vein pain. Avoid eating foods high in salt for a nutritious diet, as salt increases water retention and can worsen swelling. Eat foods high in potassium to reduce water retention and swelling, and fruits and vegetables high in vitamins C, K, B, and E.

• Exercise 

Aside from keeping your body overall healthy, exercise can also help keep your blood circulating at a healthy pace. So don’t forget to take a break every once in a while to get your blood flowing. Thankfully, several options for home exercises provide pain relief for varicose veins. Here are some low-impact exercises you can try at home:

• Walking
• Jogging
• Swimming
• Biking or cycling
• Yoga or pilates

• Try Makeup or Sunless Self-Tanning Lotions

Although makeup may not affect physical health, it helps cover up the cosmetic effects of varicose veins. Please remember that further heat or tanning beds may aggravate symptoms, so it’s usually best to avoid them.

• Wear Compression Stockings or Socks

The extra compression may support your veins and facilitate healthier blood flow. Compression stockings can be a preventative measure to combat varicose vein pain before it starts. Regularly wearing compression stockings may also help slow the formation of new varicose veins.

Is Heat or Cold Better for Vein Pain?

In most cases, cold compresses are better for treating vein pain than warm compresses. The effects of a cold compress can cause blood vessels to constrict, which can ease swelling, inflammation, and discomfort caused by varicose veins. Whereas hot or warm compresses can cause veins to dilate, which can lead to further swelling and pain. 

At-Home Cold Compresses for Vein Pain

Since cold compresses can offer relief from vein pain, here are some at-home remedies to consider:

• Ice Packs: You may already have a few ice packs in the freezer, which you can use for vein pain relief. You can also make a homemade ice pack with a zip lock baggie filled with ice! Keep a barrier between your skin and the ice pack, such as a cloth or towel.

• A Bag of Frozen Veggies: Notice a bag of veggies in the freezer? That, too, can be used as a cold compress for vein pain! But, don’t forget to wrap in a cloth barrier! (Note: do not use frozen raw meat as a cold compress as this can introduce bacteria to the skin.)

• Homemade Cold Gel Pack: If you don’t have ice or frozen veggies, don’t despair! Gather dish soap, water, and a zip lock baggie, and put 1 part soap and two parts water in the baggie. Place in the freezer for around 1 hour, and you will have a slushy and flexible cold gel pack for a cool compress. 

For all these at-home cold compresses, always use a cloth barrier to protect your skin, and only use 15 – 20 minutes at a time. 

Additionally, at-home cold compresses are not ideal for those with poor circulation, neuropathy, or thin/fragile skin. 

Treatment Options for Varicose Veins

Sclerotherapy

This is a widespread treatment for varicose and spider veins. Sclerotherapy is a quick in-office procedure, typically taking less than an hour to perform. During the procedure, a doctor injects a solution into the affected veins. The solution causes the varicose vein walls to swell up and stick together. Your body will reabsorb the damaged vein, and blood flow reroutes to a healthy vein.

Venous Ablation

Similarly to sclerotherapy treatments, venous ablation also forces a vein to seal up. Unlike sclerotherapy, however, this method uses radiofrequency energy to cauterize the vein. Fortunately, this procedure is quick and typically performed in under an hour.

Both of these options are minimally invasive, with little to no recovery time required post-procedure. After the office visit, your doctor will give you post-care instructions. Do you still have questions about these treatments? Feel free to schedule a consultation or shoot us an email!

Varicose Veins FAQs

What Are Varicose Veins?

Varicose veins are dilated and enlarged, overfilled with blood, and misshapen. These veins typically appear bulging, twisted, and purplish or bluish 

Varicose veins typically occur when the valves within your veins malfunction. Since valves push blood in the right direction, this results in pockets of pooling blood. The blood then strains against your vein walls, creating a bluish-purple hue.

Are Varicose Veins a Serious Problem?

Last, we’d like to stress a few key factors regarding varicose veins. Remember that although varicose veins may be unattractive, they have little to no physical impact on your health. 

Many adults find this condition pesky enough to seek out treatment. If you find yourself in this situation, don’t hesitate to contact a vein specialist who can assess your condition.

Does a Heating Pad Help Varicose Veins?

No. Try to avoid excess heat when managing varicose veins. Heat expands veins and can make swelling and pain worse.

Does Ice Help Varicose Veins?

Ice can help relieve pain caused by varicose veins. As mentioned earlier, heat can widen your veins and increase blood flow, causing further discomfort in the legs. So, wrapping some ice in a towel and applying it to the legs is a much better choice than a heating pad.

How to Get Relief From Varicose Vein Pain?

There are several at-home treatments for varicose vein pain relief. Some options include drinking plenty of water and eating a healthy diet, regular exercise, compression stockings, elevating your legs, and using ice packs. However, at-home pain relief is temporary. So, can you get rid of varicose veins altogether? Yes. For a permanent solution, look into treating your varicose veins at a treatment center.

How To Get Rid Of Varicose Veins?

The only way to permanently remove varicose veins is through medical intervention. For example, sclerotherapy treatment and venous ablation are two widespread treatment options. Here at VeinSolutions™, we offer both treatments, aenous ultrasounds and FREE consultations.

VeinSolutions™ at Michigan Vascular Center

If your varicose veins negatively impact your quality of life, it’s time to take action. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us here at VeinSolutions™. Our vein specialists will be more than happy to perform a FREE consultation. After the consultation, we can discuss recommendations for the next steps, such as a venous duplex ultrasound for a more detailed examination or the best treatment for you.

Our clinic offers a variety of cutting-edge treatments such as sclerotherapy, venous ablation, microphlebectomy, and more. We currently have locations in Flint, Michigan, and Lapeer, Michigan. To make an appointment, please call us at (810) 232-3363 or complete our online form.

About VeinSolutions™

VeinSolutions™ is proud to be a cornerstone of the medical community in Michigan. We offer not only a team of highly qualified doctors but also genuine care and a shoulder to lean on for our patients. We understand how daunting it can be to take the first step to treatment, so we do everything possible to make the process as smooth and easy as possible. 

Please feel free to ask any questions about our practice or services.