By the doc

Veins are like valves when our body’s plumbing breaks down

As any plumber knows, valves are quite important.

These control the flow of fluids through the pipes and direct or keep water where it’s meant to be.

When valves are faulty you soon notice, as anyone who has come home to find their living room has developed an unplanned and undesirable water feature can certainly verify.

Our bodies have valves and, like the indoor plumbing in our homes, things can go wrong with them too.

They’re located among other places in the veins in our legs.

As it circulates through the body, blood flows down into the legs and returns back up them again.

The valves in the veins in our legs help this ascent by shutting when gravity tries to pull blood back down the way.

Sometimes, though, these valves become leaky, meaning blood is free to flow back down them.

This can cause the veins to widen out quite a bit.

It can happen in the deep veins in our legs but it’s at its most noticeable in the veins closer to the surface. They become visible and look rather knobbly, and these are what we call varicose veins. This malfunction can happen because of an underlying illness like a blood clot, but most of the time they occur for no apparent reason.

Some things make them more likely to happen – pregnancy, being overweight or standing a lot, like in certain jobs.

These appear to increase pressure in the veins in the leg, and this pressure can cause the valves to fail. Varicose veins also become more common with age.

For most people the main concern is their appearance, in which case NHS surgical treatment is no longer available.

Support stockings can help aching and it’s best to avoid prolonged standing.

Generally, nothing much bad will happen with varicose veins, but there can be complications for some patients.

Via a condition called thrombophlebitis, the vein becomes inflamed and painful, and treatment with anti-inflammatory medication might be needed.

Skin changes such as varicose eczema may need a helpful cream.

And if there are persistent problems then your GP may suggest an operation.