A lot of living to do - Happy Senior Citizens Day!

August 21 is Senior Citizens Day, a U.S. observance established in honor of older adults who have made positive contributions in their communities. The day is also a time to bring awareness of social and health issues that affect senior citizens – like veins!

Paying attention to venous health is an important aspect of successful aging – and one that has historically gone untreated. Many seniors have been told that heavy, aching legs are a normal part of aging, but that’s often not the case. There are solutions for venous insufficiency that make people feel better, no matter what their age.

Venous insufficiency occurs when healthy veins become damaged and allow the backward flow of blood into the lower extremities. This pooling of blood can lead to a feeling of heaviness, aching, and can cause skin changes, such as spider veins or a brown, woody appearance of the lower legs.

Seniors’ veins respond differently to everyday stress compared to that of a younger person’s because vein walls are primarily made of collagen. As the body ages, a decrease in the production of collagen causes the veins to become more brittle and the valves more likely to fail, especially in the superficial veins. Thus, there is a higher incidence of varicose veins in the elderly population.

Additionally, the skin begins to lose its elasticity and doesn’t respond to stress the way it once did. And because skin is the “end organ” of venous disease, ulcers can occur as a result of damaged veins.

Some seniors might think that “vein stripping” is the only option. While it was the go-to procedure for many years, treatment of venous disease today is vastly different. Breakthroughs in phlebology and new approaches to treatment involve less time and less pain, and they are overwhelmingly successful over the long term when performed by an experienced specialist.

The risk-benefit ratio makes treatment an ideal option for seniors. Although seniors have a 50% greater chance of suffering from vein disease, they have the same success with modern treatment options as anyone else.