Varicose veins in children

“It comes as quite a surprise to many parents when they suddenly find that their children actually have varicose veins in their legs. So much so that some of them don’t believe it and think it’s something else.Varicose veins were always thought to be an older person’s problem but that’s not the case. I’ve operated on a 12 year old in the last couple of years and I’ve operated on numerous 15 and 16 year olds all with severe varicose veins.

Of course it’s not common and we know that because varicose veins are genetic, these patients often have mother and father with varicose veins or at least quite a strong family history of varicose veins. However, what’s very important therefore for parents now as well as doctors and nurses, is that young people can get varicose veins and if bulgy blue or green veins are seen on the legs when standing up which disappear when the child lies down, they could well be varicose and it’s essential that they have a duplex ultrasound scan to find out exactly what’s going in their legs. These things can usually be treated very easily but if varicose veins are left for a very long time it can lead to problems later on.”