The Importance of Maintaining Your Vein Health

Originally posted in November 2021 on Healthy Cells Magazine.

The consequences of poor vascular (arterial) health are severe and can shorten your life. Almost as disastrous, poor vein health can lead to issues like non-healing leg ulcers, which can severely affect your quality of life. Put simply: ignoring your vein health can cause crippling complications. You may think it’s only a harmless purple vein. Or you may have varicose veins, but they just itch or cause some discomfort – no big deal - so why bother seeing the doctor? Modern vein care is quick and nearly painless, so there is no reason to neglect caring for your veins. Not convinced? Read on for more information.

The Vital Role of Veins in Overall Health

Veins are blood vessels that have the crucial job of returning de-oxygenated blood back to your heart and lungs, where blood can absorb more oxygen and nutrients. Any cells in your extremities, like your lower legs, that are deprived of sufficient blood oxygen/nutrients will function poorly and eventually die. Vital organs deprived of blood, like the brain and heart, sustain severe damage or die much more quickly. So even though we talk most often about starving the extremities with poor circulation, the effects of poor vein health affect every part of the body.

Leg Ulcers and Other Consequences of Ignoring Your Vein Health

Here are some of the most common complications of neglecting vein health.



• Leg ulcers: These occur when cells in your extremities die off due to poor vein health and poor circulation. As skin and tissue near the ankles die, it leads to non-healing or slow-healing wounds and infection. These are open sores, typically on the lower legs or ankles, that never heal or heal very slowly, requiring careful treatment and monitoring. With such wounds, your quality of life becomes limited, along with your freedom of mobility. In the worst cases, without proper vein care, you could lose a limb or even your life
• Infections: Open sores can become infected. Resistant and fast-spreading infections can be difficult or impossible to treat with antibiotics. If the infection becomes severe or spreads throughout the bloodstream, it can be deadly.
• Lymphedema:  Lymph nodes are part of your immune system. Lymphedema is abnormal swelling in a leg, arm or other areas of the body, from accumulated protein-containing liquid, which has been blocked from draining properly. Lymphedema causes include heredity, various types of cancer, cancer treatments including surgical lymph node removal, radiation, scar tissue, infection or injury.

How to Keep Veins Healthy for Life

You should see a vein care specialist before you show symptoms of poor venous circulation or leg ulcers. There may be an underlying condition that weakens your veins. Minimally invasive interventions are available to improve and maintain vein health. As with many other medical conditions, prevention and early treatment is always better than waiting until the problem has progressed and complications have developed. 

Schedule an evaluation at the ONLY FULL-TIME Vein Clinic in downstate Illinois.  During your initial consultation, one of their doctors will determine the underlying cause of your leg discomfort, explain your treatment options, and then guide you through every step of your procedure and recovery. Call The Vein Specialists at (309) 862-4000 or visit them online at www.ILveins.com. They have convenient locations at 3302 Gerig Drive in Bloomington or 2011 Rock Street, Suite D2 in Peru