If you suffer from achy legs, or have unsightly veins or blue marks on your legs, then your vein doctor may diagnose you with a medical condition called venous reflux disease.

This disease affects an estimated 80 million people in our country, so you are not alone if you have it. Heredity is the number one cause of varicose veins, and women are more likely to suffer from venous reflux disease than men. In fact, up to 50% of American women may be affected.

So what exactly is venous reflux?

The National Library of Medicine explains that it’s caused by damaged vein valves. Venous reflux causes the blood in your veins to flow in the wrong direction, creating venous congestion and those unsightly varicose leg veins.

Pain in the legs is commonly related. Symptoms are made worse by long periods of time standing, and also include fatigue, burning, throbbing, itching, cramping, and restlessness of the legs. Leg swelling is another symptom, according to the Venous Research Foundation.

For women, hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle can aggravate the situation.

Treatment is readily available for anyone who wants to look better, or just wants pain relief. If you think your varicose veins are a serious problem, you can check with a vein doctor to see if you have venous reflux disease. Diagnosis is simple – it involves an examination and is confirmed by a non-invasive ultrasound examination.

Once diagnosed, treatment can be as simple as wearing medical support stockings to prevent congestion in the leg. Endovenous Laser Treatment and Endovenous Radiofrequency Treatment (VNUS) are also popular methods for dealing with varicose veins by closing them down from the inside, and take a more active approach to solving the problem than treatments like Compression Stockings.

So if your legs are hurting, or you suffer just from the annoyance of unattractive veins in your legs, you may want to learn more about varicose veins and find out if you have a more serious condition such as venous reflux disease.

Pamela Taylor, vein-treatment.com blogging team