veins

Are they spider veins, lauren?

drink more water, cut down on the sodium and exercise!!!

PUBLIC WARNING to any ilxor with serious varicose veins (w/triggery content).

I've never suffered from them and to be honest never spent a moment's thought on them. Yesterday a close family member, who I'll call K, was strolling in central london, windowshopping really before he walked home (he walks a lot, often to and from work). He noticed the pavement felt a bit sticky and he looked down, and wondered how he'd walked into a patch of wet red paint without noticing. Then he noticed it was all over his trouser leg below the knee -- he reached down to touch and it was sodden. He realised it was blood, his blood, and -- puzzled and alarmed now -- rolled his trouser leg up to see how he'd cut himself without noticing.

He has had bad varicose veins for some years. I only discovered this yesterday evening -- he'd never mentioned it, or (more to the point) done anything about it. Blood was spurting in a thin sharp stream from one of the veins, which had apparently simply split. Very freaked out, he rushed to a shop -- a chemist's I guess -- to buy some plasters. They handed them over, looking quite oddly at this obviously distressed middle-aged man, with blood all over his hands, but made no offer of help.

Outside he tried to apply the plasters but his leg was now slick with blood and they just slipped off. Luckily passersby now arrived who had their heads screwed on. They told him he needed to get to hospital immediately, and told him to lie down (on the pavement) and elevate his legs. One of them called an ambulance, another got a traffic cone from the middle of the road and used it to help him elevate the leg, then applied pressure, as K had been unable to do. The ambulance wasn't coming, so the people helping him flagged down a police car, which stopped. The cops bound his leg up, basic first-aid style, and rushed him to A&E. In A&E, the doctor told him it was a ruptured varicose vein -- something this doctor had never encountered or actually heard of -- and cleaned, bound and dressed it properly. K's home again now, but has to go in for an op, to strip the damaged veins out, first thing next week.

Anyway, I guess my warning is, don't wait around: get them checked out. K lost two pints of blood while waiting for the ambulance that didn't come, and is still in shock. There was no warning, no pain at the time, and -- while he's now achey from adrenaline and tensions and such -- it still doesn't really hurt especially. He was, he says, incredibly frightened -- and I would have been too. The passersby deserve a medal.

terrifying - hope he recovers quickly

That's incredibly scary stuff, but I'd like to take a brief and compliment you on some great story-telling.

I mean, no, really - the first paragraphs's buildup was beyond what was necessary for an internet forum. It really relayed to me how your body is never seemingly totally under your control.

/11thgradeneglishtutor

Update: K had a quiet and restful weekend and is seeing his doctor this morning.

Eeeek! I've got varicose veins and sometimes toy with the idea of getting them seen to for cosmetic reasons. Didn't know about the leaky legs thing at all - that sounds like a horrible experience. The one thing that's always put me off is the thought of having to wear those horrible surgical stocking things for weeks after the op (don't know if that's still the done thing, just remember my mum compaining complaining about hers).

christ almighty!

i once had that "what's this red stuff" chain of events and while mine wasn't life threatening at all there is something incredible eerie about it.

http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/8671/1307243683j.jpg

*burns all my bicycles*

anyone ever get a laserblast on a varicose vein - and did it help