Four Tips For Traveling With Varicose Veins

Summer is here! As the weather warms and COVID-19 restrictions ease, people around the country are excited to go on new adventures, but for those suffering from varicose veins, travel can lead to pain and discomfort. To ease these issues and take on your next trip with confidence, follow the tips below.

1. Find Time to Walk

Hours on end in a car or plane can wear on anyone's legs, so you can imagine the discomfort they might cause for people suffering from varicose veins. When you’re traveling long distances, try to get up and walk around every 90 minutes. If you’re driving, that means taking a pit stop. If you’re flying, we suggest taking a quick walk to the bathroom and back.

2. Fill Your Body with the Right Fluids

One of the best (and easiest) ways to reduce discomfort when traveling is to drink plenty of water beforehand. A lot of factors, like height, weight, and age, change how much water you should drink every day, but a good rule of thumb is 15.5 cups for men and 11.5 cups for women. Try doubling that the day before your trip. To help even more, avoid dehydrating liquids like alcohol and caffeine.

3. Dress Comfortably

Believe it or not, the clothes we wear make a significant impact on how blood flows through our body, and that’s why it’s important to reduce any restrictive garments when we travel. Your shoes should have large soles and fit well, meaning tight enough not to cause blisters, but not so tight that they hurt at the end of a long day. Similarly, loose fitting pants will help your legs relax, while a compression sleeve over varicose veins will help blood flow evenly.

4. Move Your Feet (Even When You’re Sitting)

Raising your legs above your head is a great way to keep blood from building up in your legs, but it’s not very practical on a long trip. Thankfully, the simple act of shaking your feet and wiggling your toes is a helpful alternative. Try doing that every 15 minutes. Then, when you finally reach your destination, spend 15 minutes resting your feet above your head to flush out the blood that built up over your journey.

Follow the steps above to reduce the pain you may have become accustomed to! Varicose veins are serious, but they should never hold you back from taking that well-deserved vacation or attending that destination wedding. If you try our tips and still experience discomfort while traveling with varicose veins, give us a call at 866-695-8346 so that we can remove them in a safe, efficient manner.