Varicose veins are a common disease, the disease progresses slowly, the early manifestation is only the protruding veins bending or calf soreness and discomfort, but as the disease progresses can gradually appear “cramps”, itching, pain, dermatitis, pigmentation, thrombosis, rupture bleeding and other complications, and eventually can form a hard to heal ulcer, commonly known as “old rotten foot”. Complications are more likely to occur in winter when the climate is dry and cold and blood viscosity is increased. In the work of venous disease clinic, we often see serious consequences caused by improper winter care and treatment. Myth 1: Itchy skin “scratch and burn” Varicose veins can cause skin inflammation or increased skin sensitivity, coupled with dry skin in winter, the symptoms of itching will often occur. The patient’s instinctive response to this is to scratch, and many patients like to scald their feet, feeling particularly comfortable after scratching a hot. In addition, folk have the “common knowledge” of scalding feet to promote blood circulation, all even if it is not itchy, many varicose veins patients also like to scald their feet in winter, or moxibustion some acupuncture points in the foot and calf. After “scratching and burning” may indeed feel a lot more comfortable, but it will not reduce the disease, but on the contrary, it can make the skin damaged and drier and more itchy. More importantly, after varicose veins local skin bruising and malnutrition, the skin is easy to scratch and burn, especially the parts where veins bulge out. Once the skin ruptures, on the one hand, it may bleed profusely, on the other hand, it will induce ulcer formation and make the “old rotten feet” happen earlier. Therefore, patients with lower limb vein problems should pay special attention not to scratch the skin, not to burn their feet excessively, and moxibustion and other treatments must be operated under the guidance of a professional doctor. The correct way to deal with itchy skin is firstly to promote venous reflux by elevating the lower limbs or squeezing the calves from the bottom to the top and other physical methods to improve the state of skin stasis, and those with dry skin can apply some emollient lotion and then supplemented with some drugs to improve the function of the veins. But because most of them contain hormonal ingredients, long-term application may lead to adverse reactions. In addition, in case of vein rupture, you can immediately lie down and elevate the limb, use gauze or napkin to compress the rupture to stop the bleeding and then send it to the hospital for treatment. Misconception two: calf cramps “indiscriminate calcium” Calf belly “cramps” is the most common symptom of varicose veins, and it is more likely to happen in winter. The most direct reaction of the people when they encounter cramps is often “calcium deficiency”, and naturally they think of drinking more milk or buying some calcium tablets to supplement calcium. But the fact is that cramps caused by real low blood calcium are very rare on the one hand, and because low blood calcium must be low all over the body, not only limited to the lower limbs. The most common cause of calf cramps is venous stasis in the lower extremities, resulting in mild edema of the tissues and the accumulation of metabolites that stimulate abnormal nerve firing and spasm, not related to calcium deficiency. This is why we often encounter patients in the clinic complaining to their doctors about how leg cramps are still bad after taking a bunch of calcium tablets. For the “cramps” confined to the legs, most of them are related to poor venous return, so usually pay attention to avoid standing for a long time, you can elevate the lower limbs for a few minutes every hour or two, or wear medical elastic stockings specially designed to treat venous disease, and if necessary, take some oral medications to improve venous function, most of them will be relieved. Of course, some patients may need surgical treatment to improve venous reflux to relieve cramps. Blind calcium supplementation not only can not play a therapeutic role, but also may lead to disorders of calcium metabolism and induce stones and other diseases. Myth 3: Delaying the disease “will leave behind” varicose veins is a slow progressing but irreversible disease, which can be “delayed” but not “long delayed”. The disease often has no obvious symptoms in the first twenty years or so, except for the appearance of the problem, this stage is not a big problem, but is the best time to treat, because most varicose veins eventually need surgery, in the stage of complications have not yet appeared surgery is not only simple, fast recovery, low cost, and can do “once and for all “The surgery is not only simple, quick recovery and low cost, but also can eradicate the disease once and for all. Once the complication stage is reached, the difficulty and trauma of surgery and the cost of treatment increase, and long-term medication must be used after surgery, and most patients have difficulty recovering to full normalcy. Winter is the high-risk season for varicose veins complications because of increased blood viscosity, combined with reduced activity and increased chance of skin breakage, but clinical work often encounters many patients who are worried about inconvenient post-operative care in winter and often have lethargic ideas, always want to delay until after spring, and even already have complications and still do not want to treat them in time, and eventually have serious consequences such as venous thrombosis or ulcers. Not only do they lose the chance of treatment, increase the cost of treatment and also leave lifelong sequelae. In fact, with the improvement of medical level, at present in some professional venous disease treatment centers, the operation has been done very minimally invasive, the next day after the operation is basically back to normal life, no need to change medication to remove stitches, and no other additional care, winter surgery and spring and autumn has no difference. Therefore, patients are advised not to delay the best treatment time because of the weather, especially those who have already shown signs of complications should be treated in time to avoid serious complications that are difficult to reverse.