An ulcer is an open sore that can occur just about anywhere on the body. While they are most commonly known for occurring in the stomach, ulcers can also occur on the skin. Venous ulcers are a skin ulcer that pops up on the legs.
Venous ulcers are easy to detect because they turn the skin on your legs dark red or purple. The skin surrounding the open sore will also become dry and itchy.
They can potentially become a serious condition if they are not treated in a timely manner, so it is vitally important to find and cure the root cause.
What are Venous Ulcers?
Venous ulcers get their name because they occur when the veins in the legs are not functioning properly. If the veins in your legs start to become insufficient, then the blood flow will start to become restricted.
If the veins remain damaged for an extended period of time, then the blood starts to back up and create pools in the veins. Once this starts to occur, the blood and other fluid can start to leak out of the damaged veins. A venous ulcer is then formed when this leaking fluid comes in contact with the skin tissues in your legs.
What are the Causes?
While venous ulcers are ultimately caused by insufficient veins that create a buildup of blood and fluid, the veins become damaged due to another underlying condition.
The conditions that are most likely to cause venous ulcers are deep vein thrombosis, obesity, constant standing or a lack of physical activity, to name a few.
Deep vein thrombosis is a common cause of venous ulcers because it creates blood clots deep in the leg veins. If blood clots exist in the legs, then the blood will not be able to flow through the veins properly.
If the blood clots associated with deep vein thrombosis are left untreated for long enough, then the fluid buildup that causes venous ulcers can easily occur.
Obesity places extra pressure on the legs, which forces the veins to work harder to create normal blood flow. Since the veins are placed under extra pressure, they may start to fail over time.
The same problem occurs when someone stands all day for work or does not have any physical activity. They both place extra pressure on the leg veins that makes normal blood flow difficult.
Venous ulcers are just one of the many problems that can occur when the veins start to fail because of obesity, lack of physical activity or standing for too long at work.
If you think you may have a venous ulcer, it is a good idea to have it evaluated by our vein experts. Venous ulcers that are caught early can be treated and cured in a few months by making a few lifestyle changes.
Contact Beach Cities Vein & Laser Center today to schedule a consultation and have your venous ulcers properly evaluated and diagnosed. We are located in the El Segundo, CA area and look forward to assisting you.