Standing for long periods of time causes varicose veins
The cause of varicose veins is the failure of the leg pump. This is usually due to the valves failing. Most valves fail in the teenage years - by the time you've got your job that makes you stand up a lot, the writing is on the wall. Standing still for long periods of time probably does not cause veins - however, if you have lost your valves, then standing is most likely to make both the symptoms and the speed of deterioration of the varicose veins worse.Varicose veins run in families
This is virtually the only "commonly known" fact about varicose veins that does appear to be true. Varicose veins do run in families. However - the link is not quite as strong as most people like to believe. For example, although having 3 or 4 relatives with varicose veins or venous problems makes it more likely that you will too - but doesn't mean that you definitely will. Also, the fact that you have varicose veins does not mean to say that all of your children will have too - although they will be more likely to than most other children. Similarly, even if there are no varicose veins in your family at all, you can still have leg pump failure, failed valves and varicose veins. Credited to Mark Whiteley, The Whiteley Clinic(published with permission in writing from:http://www.veins.co.uk)
