Varicose veins are swollen and enlarged or tortuous blood vessels/ veins which are larger in size. Spider Veins and reticular veins are purplish or bluish small sized visible veins that commonly develop in lower limbs.

Varicose Veins result from a weakening in the blood vessel wall or from faulty valves. It occurs when the walls of your veins weaken. 

Due to high blood pressure in the vein, the weakened walls allow your vein to get bigger. As your vein stretches, the valves involved in blood moving in one direction in your vein can not work normally. As blood flow works more slowly than normal in a way that seems lazy, blood backs up or pools in your vein, causing your vein to swell, bulge and twist. Vein walls and valves may become weak for several reasons which includes Hormones, Normal Aging process, Obesity / excess weight, Clothing style particularly tight clothing, pressure inside the vein from standing for long periods.

Varicose veins always don’t require treatment. But in some conditions your vascular surgeon may recommend the following types of treatments:

• Sclerotherapy: In this procedure your treating doctor inject a solution into the vein, causing scarring and shrinking. In this treatment varicose veins may fade within 2-3 weeks. This is an OPD based treatment.
• Laser: In this procedure your treating doctor use high end laser equipment, in this bursts of light are sent into small varicose veins after which varicose veins slowly fade away. This is performed as an endovascular procedure and utilized for larger veins. 

For more advanced varicose vein problem, your treating doctor may recommend following treatment / procedures:

• Catheter assisted radio-frequency: This type of procedure is usually recommended to people having large varicose veins.
• High Ligation and vein stripping: In this treatment procedure, a vein is tied off before it connects to a deep vein and the vein is then removed via small incisions.
• Ambulatory Phlebectomy: In this procedure your doctor removes the smaller varicose veins through small skin punctures.
• Endoscopic Vein Surgery: This type of treatment is recommended in the situation where leg ulcers are involved and other treatment have already been tried for treating varicose vein problem

Varicose veins once detected have a tendency to increase in size. They do not show any spontaneous regression. However, Varicose Veins go away with the help of surgical treatment depending upon the type of varicose veins problem one has.

Varicose veins may be very common in some families due to inherited / strong family history. Varicose veins causes due to increased pressure in the veins and following are the major factors that may increase the risk:

• Overweight or Obesity
• Inactive life style / being inactive
• Leg Injury 
• Pregnancy
• Smoking
• Taking oral contraceptive pills or hormone replacement therapy
• Being female as Varicose vein happens majorly with females

Yes, exercising regularly and keeping an active lifestyle may decrease the risk factor of getting varicose vein problems. Regular Walking exercise is good for varicose veins.

No, it is advisable not to leave varicose veins untreated as in some conditions varicose veins creates major complications and that can be very painful.

Yes, If varicose veins are left untreated. varicose veins have the potential to become severe, and even burst. Veins can grow larger as blood pools, putting increasing pressure on vein walls, which can grow thinner from the strain. Weakened like this, they can burst from even a minor trauma, scratching or even spontaneously.

It’s not advisable to leave varicose veins left untreated and hence a vascular surgical consult is useful to identify the severity of the problem. If you leave varicose veins untreated then you could put yourself at a risk for developing various complication like Skin Ulcers, Spontaneous Bleeding, Lipodermatesclerosis, Blood Clots, DVT or Pulmonary Embolism (PE).

One can always stop varicose veins getting worse by taking right advice at a right time from a right doctor, who is expert and experienced in treating Various types of Varicose Veins.

No, Varicose veins doesn’t go away naturally, one need to take right advice to at a right to get rid of Varicose Veins at the early stage by medication or lifestyle changes suggested by doctor.