Male or female, we all like healthy-looking legs, right? So should you worry if you have noticed color changes in your legs and ankles? These discolorations may take the form of certain veins becoming swollen and bluish-colored (varicose), but color changes can also take place in the skin itself. Although there are many possible causes for leg discoloration, most of them are serious enough that if you have noticed such color changes on your own legs, you should see a Chicago vein specialist.
What should Chicago residents know about the causes of these changes in color?
To understand why this discoloration process occurs, you need to understand that your blood is not really red. Oh sure, when you cut yourself it appears red, because it becomes oxygenated upon contact with the air. And when your blood is flowing from the heart in your arteries, its red blood cells are also full of oxygen from the lungs, and thus red. But in your veins, on their way back to the heart, your blood cells have become depleted of oxygen, leaving the blood a dark bluish-red color. If your circulation is healthy, you rarely see this color in the superficial veins near the surface of the skin or in the color of the skin itself.
But when veins become diseased, the tiny valves that are supposed to keep blood flowing to the heart and lungs stop working properly, and the deoxygenated (bluish) blood flows back into the veins, causing them to expand and change color. This condition, known as chronic venous insufficiency (CVI), is the most common cause of varicose veins, and can also cause changes in the actual skin color of your legs, calves, and ankles. So can a number of other vascular diseases.
Is this discoloration serious?
If the discoloration of individual veins or your skin has become pronounced enough for you to notice it, it’s serious enough that you should consider seeing a Chicago vein specialist such as Dr. Ramon Castro and having a venous health screening. These screenings are performed right at your Chicago vein center, take less than an hour, and are painless and non-invasive, but at the end of the examination Dr. Castro can let you know the exact state of your vascular health. If the discoloration turns out to be minor and the result of poor circulation, he may be able to recommend conservative treatments such as changes in diet, exercise patterns, and the wearing of compression stockings to improve your circulation and alleviate the symptoms. If the cause of the discoloration turns out to be CVI or other vascular diseases, he can explain to you the most effective treatments to bring you back to a normal state of cardiovascular health.
The important thing is to find out for sure whether this discoloration is serious, and that is something that only a Chicago vascular doctor such as Dr. Castro can tell you. So rather than worry about the discoloration, do something about it and give us a call at Chicago Vein Care Center. We can arrange for a venous health screening and an initial consultation, and put your mind at ease.