It’s the most wonderful, yet stressful time of the year. The holidays can be cheerful, but they can also be hard for those who have varicose veins. Here are 6 tips on how to survive the holiday by reducing the pain you may experience from varicose veins:
Schedule Time to Rest
The holiday season can keep you up on your feet, which can cause your varicose veins to become painful. Make sure that you carefully schedule your day to include time to rest and prop up your feet. We recommend elevating your feet above your heart, to help give your veins a break against gravity and help your blood flow.
Ask for Help
Sometimes it feels like there is too much to do. Make sure to ask for help with things like cooking, decorating or entertaining. Not only will it lower your stress, but it will give you time to take care of yourself and your varicose veins. After all, you should enjoy the holidays too.
Start Your Day With a Workout
Getting your blood flowing the first thing in the morning will help decrease your pain. By working out first thing in the morning, you will be able to make working out a priority, rather than letting your holiday to-do list get in the way of taking care of your vein health.
Eat Vein Healthy Foods
The best part about the holidays is the delicious food that you get to eat. However, you should consider adding some vein healthy holiday foods to your menu. Vein healthy foods include cranberries, turkey, sweet potatoes, and green vegetables. On the other hand, there are also certain things you’ll want to avoid – like drinking alcohol and too much salt.
Try Compression Socks
Compression socks can help promote and encourage the needed upward blood flow. They do this by putting pressure on the feet and ankles, squeezing and helping the blood have more momentum to move back towards the heart. This the potential to reduce the pain of varicose veins by reducing the amount of blood pooling in the veins.
Gift Yourself a Varicose Vein Treatment
If you truly want to be pain-free for the holiday, our best recommendation is to get a varicose vein treatment. Call Summit Skin & Vein Care today at (816) 533-4398 for a free vein screening or to learn more about varicose vein treatments.