Most people who have varicose veins will not develop any com­plic­a­tions. When com­plic­a­tions do develop, it’s usu­ally sev­eral years after your varicose veins first appear. Varicose veins can cause com­plic­a­tions because they stop your blood from flow­ing prop­erly. Some of these com­plic­a­tions are:

Bleed­ing
Varicose veins which form near the sur­face of your skin can some­times bleed if you cut or bump your leg. You may find that the bleed­ing is dif­fi­cult to stop. You should lie down, raise your leg, and apply dir­ect pres­sure to the wound. Seek med­ical advice imme­di­ately if this does not stop the bleeding.

Chronic ven­ous insuf­fi­ciency
If the blood in your veins does not flow prop­erly, it can inter­fere with the way that your skin exchanges oxy­gen, nutri­ents and waste products with the blood. If this exchange is dis­rup­ted over a long period of time, it is known as chronic ven­ous insufficiency.

Chronic ven­ous insuf­fi­ciency can some­times cause other con­di­tions to develop, includ­ing the following:

Varicose eczema
Varicose eczema is a con­di­tion that causes your skin to be red, scaly and flaky. You may also develop blisters and crust­ing of your skin.

Lipo­der­mato­scler­o­sis
Lipo­der­mato­scler­o­sis causes your skin to become hardened and tight, and you may find that it turns a reddened or brown col­our. The con­di­tion usu­ally affects your calf area.

Ven­ous ulcers
A ven­ous ulcer devel­ops when there is increased pres­sure in the veins of your lower leg. This causes fluid to seep from your vein and col­lect under the skin. This fluid can cause the skin to thicken, swell and even­tu­ally break down to form an ulcer. Ven­ous ulcers most com­monly form in the ankle area.

If you notice any unusual changes in your skin, such as the ones men­tioned above, see your doc­tor imme­di­ately. These con­di­tions can nor­mally be eas­ily treated, but it is import­ant that you receive treat­ment as soon as possible.

Pre­vent­ing varicose veins
There is little evid­ence that you can stop varicose veins get­ting worse, or pre­vent new ones developing. If you have varicose veins there are a num­ber of things you can do that may help to relieve any pain or dis­com­fort.
Don’t sit or stand still for long periods.

If you can, avoid sit­ting or stand­ing still for long peri­ods. If you are unable to avoid sit­ting or stand­ing, make sure that you change pos­i­tion fre­quently, and try to move around at least once every 30 minutes. Don’t cross your legs because this can adversely affect your circulation.

Take reg­u­lar breaks
Take reg­u­lar breaks through­out the day, where pos­sible. You should also try to keep your legs raised while you are rest­ing in order to improve blood flow.

Ideally, you should raise your legs above the level of your heart. When rest­ing, you may find that lying down and pla­cing your legs on three to four stacked pil­lows helps to relieve pain and discomfort.

Exer­cise reg­u­larly
Reg­u­lar exer­cise is a great way of keep­ing your legs act­ive, and it will help to improve your cir­cu­la­tion. Exer­cise will also help you to main­tain a healthy weight, as well as improv­ing your all-round gen­eral health and fitness.