Psychology of Varicose Veins and Spider Veins

Varicose Veins and Spider Veins are not only a collection of different size pipes conducting blood in an abnormal fashion they also can have a deep psychological impact on the sufferers and are frequently associated with depression and lack of self confidence. They have a profound influence on the quality of living. One patient confided in me an existence of self harm and suicidal tendencies.

The sizes of the veins are not always in direct proportion to the amount of psychological suffering. Sometimes very minor and almost invisible veins are a cause of great concern to the patient especially when legs are exposed to public scrutiny.

Many women have beautifully shaped legs but because of 'atrocious' veins and spider veins covering their entire legs they will not show them to anyone even to their husbands.

In Australia the problem is magnified by the climate which is not conducive to wearing stockings and long trousers. Practically all Australian women want to wear shorts or short skirts if possible.

Psychological acceptance of compression stockings amongst Australian women is very low. One of my patients told me that she cannot imagine a situation where she is amongst 30 women invited to the barbecue party and she would be the only one in stockings! Another said that she would rather die than wear stockings.

Total Stripping For One Single Vein

One day I saw in my clinic a very depressed English lady with an expression of sadness in her eyes and one leg much larger than the other. She told me her story:

It was in London thirty years ago. She went to a very well known varicose vein specialist from Harley Street. She had one single rather small vein on the calf. The Doctor looked at her and told her that she has an 'incompetent valve' in the groin and to fix the problem he had to strip her entire vein. Her husband was strongly against the idea but she decided to go ahead regardless. She had stripping from the groin for one single vein on the calf. After three days she was discharged from hospital but referred to the same specialist's outpatient clinic where a nurse was giving her injections every second day for some period of time.

When the treatment finished she was left with one permanently swollen leg. She remained physically and psychologically scarred for the rest of her life. I could offer her nothing except compression stockings.

I frequently see young women with very sad expressions who confide to me that they can never go to the beach in bathers. Their suffering is enormous because even if they go to the beach they remain in trousers.

If one lives in London or Paris one might not be so badly affected but when one is living in the sunny capital of Western Australia and not able to go to the beach orwear bathers to the beach the experience can be very cruel.

For example, one of my patients, Lady M C aged 55. Spider veins started 6-7 years ago. Now virtually cover her legs. When asked about the psychological effects of spider veins she said "I don’t wear shorts. I don’t go to my own swimming pool and I don’t lie around the pool. I never wear shorts. I would love to go to the beach but I hate the thought of people looking at me. When I went to my swimming pool my children said "Mum your legs look really horrible". So I don't go to the swimming pool at all. In the morning around the house I wear long nighties and by the end of the day my legs ache so much that I feel like chopping them off."

Never shows legs to anybody even her own children
Not happy with look of her legs		Unable to show legs in public
Varicose Veins