Unsightly veins on the legs (known as “spider veins”) can be camouflaged with long-lasting body makeup specially formulated to cover tattoos, spider veins, scars, stretch marks and bruises.

You’ll want to choose a concealer that matches the color of the skin on your legs (this will likely be different from your face). Once applied, body makeup should be set with a powder so it won’t come off on your clothes.

The best body makeup on the market today is Dermablend Leg and Body Cover and Cover FX. Another good body makeup product is Cover FX. Don’t want to buy online? Check out Dermablend’s store locator. To remove scars, spider veins permanently, see a doctor about fractional lasers, such as Fraxel. These can be pricey, but in just a few sessions your scars and veins will disappear.
By Julyne Derrick, About.com
http://beauty.about.com/od/beautybyageteensto50/qt/coverveins.htm

Horse Chestnut
The herb horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) is one of the most widely used natural treatments for varicose veins and chronic venous insufficiency, a related condition.

The active constituent in horse chestnut is a compound called aescin. Aescin appears to block the release of enzymes that damage capillary walls.

In 2006, researchers with the respected Cochrane Collaboration reviewed studies involving the use of oral horse chestnut extract or placebo for people with chronic venous insufficiency.

The researchers found an improvement in the signs and symptoms of chronic venous insufficiency with horse chestnut extract compared with placebo. Horse chestnut extract resulted in a significant reduction in leg pain and swelling compared with a placebo.

Adverse events were usually mild and infrequent. The researchers concluded that based on the evidence, horsechestnut extract was an effective and safe short-term treatment for chronic venous insufficiency. None of the studies, however, evaluated whether the extract could reduce the appearance of varicose veins.

Whole horse chestnut is considered unsafe by the FDA and can lead to nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, convulsions, circulatory and respiratory failure, and even death. Tea, leaves, nuts, and other crude forms of the horse chestnut plant should also be avoided.

Manufacturers of horse chestnut products remove the toxic component, esculin. These products appear to be safe, as there have been few reports of harmful side effects despite being widely used in Europe.

People with kidney or liver disease and bleeding disorders should avoid horse chestnut. The safety of horse chestnut in pregnant or nursing women or children has not been established. Horse chestnut should not be combined with aspirin, Plavix (clopidogrel), Ticlid (ticlopidine), Trental (pentoxifylline), Coumadin (warfarin), and other anticoagulant (“blood-thinning”) drugs unless under medical supervision as these medications may increase the effect of the medication.

Lots of women having varicose veins on their legs are afraid of exercising, because they believe, that physical exercises could make the problem worse. Exercises actually improve the blood circulation through your legs. Any exercises involving legs are good to prevent spider veins, the best and most efficient is exercising the lower calf muscles. Swimming, walking, bicycling, jogging, aerobics, step aerobics – if you do something from the list regularly, this is already varicose veins prevention. If you already have varicose veins, moderate leg exercises help relieve varicose veins and reduce the aching associated with them. The following exercises improve your leg strength and muscle tone, help promote circulation and, thus, help prevent and relieve varicose veins.

Exercise #1. Calf Stretching

You will need to use an aerobic step, or a low bench, or something stable, raised and firm. Stand on the step with both feet. Your heels should extend over the edge of the step. Raise yourself up on your toes and then lower your heels down below the step. Do this exercise close to a wall to hold on to balance. Make about 40 repetitions. This exercise stretches the back of your calf muscles.

Exercise #2. Pedaling

Lie on the floor on your back with hands out to the sides or beneath the buttocks. Lift your legs off the floor and pedal them, as if you were riding a bicycle. If you hold your legs low, you also work on your abdominals.

Exercise #3. Tip-toeing

Walk on tip-toes, when you are working around the house. This exercise also stretches the calves.

Exercise #4. Walk on Heels

This exercise is also simple and can be done at home while clearing up, but is effective for calve muscle strength. Just walk on your heels around the house.

Exercise #5. Leg Lifting

Lie down on the floor on your back with hands out to the sides or beneath the buttocks. Press your lower back and buttocks against the floor. Lift one straight leg and hold it elevated perpendicular to the floor. Hold this pose as long as you can and lay the leg down. Repeat this motion with the other leg. This exercise improves the circulation in your legs.

Exercise #6. Knee Bends

Lie on the floor on your back. Pull one knee into your chest. During this hold onto your leg behind the knee. While your leg is kept in this position, point and flex your foot. All the motions should be done slowly and forcefully. After several foot motions do the same with the opposite leg. This exercise makes the muscles of the entire leg work.
Resting after Leg Exercises

It is recommended to elevate the legs about 6 to 12 inches above the heart after doing these or any other leg exercises, especially exercises involving the large muscles of the lower body. Independent from if you have just done exercises, or walked a lot, or had to stand for a long time, do this to prevent and relieve varicose veins. You can also do the following: lie down on the floor with your buttocks almost touching a wall. Keep your legs in an elevated pose resting against the wall. This provides a good rest for your legs.

Source: geniusbeauty.com

Gabe Mirkin, M.D.
Level: Platinum

Dr. Gabe Mirkin has been a radio talk show host for 25 years and practicing physician for more than 40 years; he is board certified … …

Veins are supposed to contain valves that keep blood from backing up. When the valves cannot close properly, veins become varicose, blood backs up, causing the veins to widen and look like blue snakes underneath the skin. Since varicose veins swell because blood pools in them, the best treatment is to empty blood from the veins. When you exercise, your leg muscles alternately contract and relax squeezing blood back toward the heart, so running, walking, cycling, skiing, skating and dancing are ideal treatments, while standing or sitting increase blood pooling and widen the veins.

Varicose veins can be caused by a genetic weakness in the valves or an obstruction of blood flow, such as by obesity, pregnancy, tumors, clots or heart disease. Superficial varicose veins that you can see can cause a feeling of heaviness or aching, but they are rarely painful. Most varicose veins are best left alone. If you develop severe pain, usually in the veins in your calf muscles, you have to worry about a clot and should check with your doctor. Otherwise, exercise is the best medicine for varicose veins.

If you have varicose veins, you may benefit from wearing support hose when you stand around, but not when you exercise.

Veins in your legs carry blood up toward your heart. When you stand up, gravity pulls blood down to your feet. Support hose squeeze the legs and help to prevent blood from pooling in veins and distending them.

When you exercise, the force of your contracting muscles keep blood from pooling so you don’t need support hose. The pumping action of your leg muscles during exercise exerts such a strong force to empty your veins, that you don’t need support hose. In hot weather, the support hose can act as a barrier to prevent heat loss. Your body temperature may rise and you may tire earlier. If you have varicose veins, support hose help to keep the veins from swelling when you stand, but it is unlikely that they are needed during exercise.

Dr. Gabe Mirkin has been a radio talk show host for 25 years and practicing physician for more than 40 years; he is board certified in four specialties, including sports medicine. Read or listen to hundreds of his fitness and health reports at http://www.DrMirkin.com

On the cells’ return trip to the heart and lungs, the flow of traffic is not always quite so smooth, and congestion can take a toll on the roadway of veins. For one thing, the pressure, caused by the pumping heart, that keeps the blood moving is decreased. For another, the veins below the heart, in the legs and torso, must work against gravity, as the blood makes its way up from the feet.

So these vessels depend more on the leg muscles to help pump the blood back to the heart. The veins also contain special one-way valves that aid the return of blood to the heart and lungs. The valves work like locks in a canal. As blood flows through a valve, its “doors” slam shut so the blood can’t flow backward.

When any one of these valves fails, blood can seep back down and begin to pool, often in the lower legs. The extra pressure from the increased volume of pooling blood can, over time, cause additional valves to fail. Eventually, the pressure from the pooling blood can cause the vein’s walls to bulge and become misshapen. At this point, the vein may show through the skin surface, looking knotty, bumpy, and gnarled and taking on a dark blue or purple hue.

The swollen and twisted — or varicose — veins can be more than a cosmetic problem, however. They may also cause aching, throbbing, or burning pain; a feeling of heaviness in the lower leg; swelling around the ankles; and even itchiness, all of which tend to be more pronounced after prolonged sitting or standing. In some cases, varicose veins may signal a more serious underlying problem with circulation or can be associated with potentially serious blood clots. And if varicose veins are accompanied by ulcers of the skin near the ankle or sudden swelling of the leg, they require immediate medical attention.

It’s estimated that 25 percent of all women and 10 percent of all men are affected by varicose veins. And there are medical and surgical treatments available to deflate or remove them. But there are also home remedies to prevent or, at the very least, postpone, their development; decrease their severity; and ease some of the discomfort they can cause. See the next section to find out how.

Home Remedy Treatments for Dealing With Varicose Veins

In addition to being unsightly, varicose veins can be quite painful. Follow the home remedies below to help postpone their development or ease any discomfort.

Check your family tree. This vascular problem runs in families, although the reason is unknown. Some experts believe there is a weakness in the gene that governs the development of the veins. This may lead to defects in the structure of valves and veins or, in some people, a decrease in the number of valves in the veins, causing the few that are there to get overloaded in their duties. If you do find a history of varicose veins in your family, the sooner you follow preventive home remedies the better.

Get moving. While exercise may not prevent varicose veins, doctors agree that physical activity can lessen the symptoms by improving circulation, which prevents blood from pooling. As working muscles in the lower limbs contract, they push blood through the veins, back to the heart.

To get your legs moving, almost any exercise that involves the legs will do, from aerobics to strengthening to spot-toning activities, say the experts. Ride a bike, take an aerobics class, go for a walk or a run, use the stair machine in the gym or climb the stairs at work during your lunch hour — these are all good exercises for the legs. Spot-toning exercises, such as leg raises, that specifically build up the muscles in the buttocks, thighs, and lower legs are also recommended.

Lose weight. Not only does obesity tax just about every system in the body, but carrying around extra baggage makes most people less active, which means their leg muscles do less work. As a result, overweight people usually can’t pump blood from their lower limbs back to the heart efficiently. In addition, an overweight person’s blood vessels carry more blood than a thinner person’s, so the strain is greater on the vessels themselves.

Eat a balanced diet. Besides helping you maintain proper weight, a balanced diet can give you nutrients that may actually help prevent varicose veins.
For example, protein and vitamin C are both components of collagen, part of the tissue in the veins and valves. If the collagen is in good shape, the tissues are likely to be more resilient.
A balanced diet that includes a wide variety of foods, including fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean sources of protein, is the best way to get the right amounts of valuable nutrients. However, while a healthy diet can strengthen your vascular system, it can’t cure varicose veins.

Take a break from standing. When you’re standing in one place, the blood in your leg veins must not only make a long uphill journey against the force of gravity, it has to do so without the pumping assistance that expanding-and-contracting leg muscles can provide. (It’s a little like trying to get up a creek without a paddle!) As a result, the blood tends to pool in the lower legs, leading to the development of varicose veins.

If possible, take frequent breaks to walk around or, preferably, to sit with your feet up. And while you’re standing in one spot, shift your weight from one leg to the other and/or occasionally get up on tiptoes; it will engage your leg muscles in the task of pushing blood up toward your heart.

Prop up your legs. Putting your feet up is good, but elevating them above the level of your heart is even better. It’s a way to use gravity to help the blood move from your feet and ankles back to your heart. Doctors have been recommending elevation to relieve leg pain and swelling for centuries. As a matter of fact, Hippocrates in ancient Greece wrote of its benefits.

So lie down on a couch and prop your feet on the arm or put three or four pillows under them (or lie on the floor and rest your feet on the seat of a chair). Can’t lie down? Sit on one chair and prop your feet on the back of another chair. When possible, try to elevate your legs for ten minutes once an hour.

But don’t sit too long, either. Some experts theorize that even sitting for extended periods can contribute to varicose veins. Bent knees and hips, the thinking goes, complicate and slow the return of blood to your heart. So it’s very important that on a long car or plane ride or during a day of sitting at the office (or at home, for that matter) you get up and stretch your legs once in a while. When you need a break, try this rejuvenator: Stand on your toes and flex the heel up and down ten times.

Don’t be crossed. Sitting with your legs crossed can slow circulation to and from your lower legs.

Check your seat. The same can happen if you sit in a chair with a seat that is too deep for your leg length: The front edge of the chair digs into the back of your knees, compressing blood vessels and restricting blood flow. Get a chair that fits your body better, or, if that’s not possible, scoot your backside away from the chair’s back until the pressure on your legs is relieved.

Flex your feet. Contracting the muscles in your feet may help force blood upward and out of the veins. While seated — and even while your legs are elevated — try these three exercises to really get the blood pumping out of your feet and back to your heart:

   The Ankle Pump: Flex your foot up and down as you would when you pump a piano pedal or gas pedal.

   Ankle Circles: Rotate your feet clockwise and counterclockwise.

   Heel Slips: With your knees bent, slide your heels back and forth.

Sleep with elevated feet. For those with chronic swelling in the lower legs, it may help put a few pillows under your feet while you are sleeping.

Lower your heels. Shoes with lower heels require your calf muscles to do more work — a plus for better circulation — than high-heeled shoes.

Wear tennis shoes. If your feet habitually swell, it may be worthwhile to wear tennis shoes or other lace-up shoes that can be opened up or loosened to alleviate the pressure and allow for freer circulation.

Loosen up. Your clothing, that is. Stay away from pants or other clothing that are tight at the waist or groin; they can act almost as tourniquets that restrict blood flow at these important circulation points.

Consider “stocking” up on support. Ask your pharmacist or doctor about special compression stockings designed to improve circulation in the legs. How do they work? They apply more pressure to the lower legs than to the thigh area. Since more pressure is exerted on the lower legs, blood is more readily pushed up toward the heart.

The stockings’ compression on the legs is measured in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg), and ranges from 20 mm Hg for weaker support to 60 mm Hg for strong support. (In comparison, the support hose you can buy at any department store provide pressure of 14 to 17 mm Hg.) The stronger versions require a doctor’s prescription. The lower-strength stockings are sometimes recommended for pregnant women.

These days, compression stockings come in a variety of styles — below the knee, midthigh, full thigh, and waist high — and an increasing variety of colors as well as different strengths. A possible downside: The stronger stockings have a tendency to feel hot. They can also be relatively expensive, although you should check with your insurer to see if any or all of their cost is covered.

The stockings are available in most pharmacy and medical-supply stores as well as through mail order and Web sites. It’s important that the stockings fit properly, however, so you may want to ask your pharmacist for assistance with measuring.

Slip into spandex pants. Like nonprescription, store-bought support hose, pants made from this elastic material apply pressure to the legs and may help somewhat. Be sure, however, that they aren’t so tight in the groin or waist that they cut into your skin and limit circulation.

Cover up the blues. If you’ve stopped wearing shorts or going to the beach because you’re embarrassed about your varicose veins, make them “disappear.” There are products specially made to cover the blue vein lines that make you want to take cover.

Available in a variety of shades to match your skin, the cream is applied by hand and blended. Leg Magic by Covermark Cosmetics is waterproof and even has a sun protection factor (SPF) of 16 to protect your legs from the sun’s harmful rays. Wearing stockings over the cream won’t make it fade or rub off, and you can even go for a swim without washing away all your cover.

While these types of products obviously won’t fix the veins and relieve physical discomfort, they can make you feel better about the way your legs look.

For more information about varicose veins and how to prevent them, try the following links:

To see all of our home remedies and the conditions they treat, go to our main Home Remedies page.

Staying physically active and healthy as you age is also among the important Home Remedies for Restless Legs Syndrome.

As you grow older, you should familiarize yourself with the Home Remedies for Arthritis.

Senior citizens should also read about Home Remedies for Bursitis.