If you’re like us, you wait all year for the summer months to come around. Warm weather makes people get outside, enjoying swimming, drinks, and barbecues. The summer heat, though, does come with its disadvantages, especially for your veins. Heat dries the skin and causes swelling to increase, bothering your veins and causing them to lose function in some cases.

Warm summer days in Ohio, are impossible to escape, but with the tips we provide in this blog, you can keep yourself protected as well as someone can against vein health problems and low blood flow. Enjoy many summers to come with healthy veins!

What makes the heat bad for varicose veins?

Warmer temperatures cause swelling in the veins, lessening their ability to pump blood through the body properly. Patients with varicose veins should enjoy high temperatures cautiously. Thankfully, there are several ways you can do this; we will go through them for you in this post.

Summer Tips for Healthy Veins

An easy way to cool off is to change into something less covering, but many of those suffering from varicose veins don’t have the confidence to do that. Many of these people become patients of minimally invasive vein treatments like EVLT, ablations, varithena, and sclerotherapy.

If you aren’t ready for treatment yet,

• Wear lighter-colored and breathable fabrics.
• Escape the sun, opting for a shadier area, getting out of direct sunlight.
• Bring a canopy with you when going to the beach or tailgating.
• Near the pool or lake? Take a dip regularly to cool your body down.

Swim more

Ohio may be a landlocked state, but there are plenty of swimming pools and natural water around to get by. Swimming in cool or chilly water not only cools your veins off, but swimming is an excellent low-impact exercise that promotes blood flow to nearly all body parts at once, making it one of the best exercises for general health and blood flow.

You can do higher-energy workouts like swimming laps or simple, low-impact calf raises while walking around the shallow end. If you have a pool or love a local lake or river, take advantage of it.

Protect your skin

Skin health and vein health issues like varicose veins have more to do with each other than you might think. When the sun burns, the sun’s rays weaken the upper layers of the skin, causing it to dry out. When this happens, veins can become restricted, lacking their optimal elasticity.

Keep yourself hydrated

It’s unbelievable to us how many people do not drink enough water throughout the day. It’s a must for every aspect of your health, and your veins are no different. High temperatures lead to faster rates of dehydration and other heat-sickness issues. It would be best to cool yourself off with sips throughout the day.

Important to note: if you’re craving water and feel thirsty, it’s way past the point of needing hydration. Keeping your levels up will cool your whole body; it also helps with circulation.

Everybody likes a well-mixed cocktail at the summer BBQ, but alcohol dries you out even more. Coffee, too.

Get yourself a water bottle that holds a large amount of water, like 64oz. Lugging a big jug of water around with you all day will remind you to keep drinking it!

Healthy Dieting for Varicose Vein Health

Just like keeping yourself hydrated, being well-fed with nutrient-rich food helps the body to process as nature intended. Instead of processed snacks, opt for delicious choices like fruits. Citrus fruits, like grapefruits, tend to be effective in pumping your blood. If you’re looking for vein-friendly vegetables, try green bell peppers. You can mix them into just about any savory dish.

Compression Stockings

Not the most glamorous choice, but compression stockings apply manual pressure to the legs, keeping your veins pumping blood upward instead of letting it pool, which leads to varicose veins.

The problem with compression stockings during the summer is that they’re hot, making it a tough choice. You may not want to always wear them outdoors, but when inside in the cooler temperatures, slip them on for an hour or two a day to promote healthy blood flow in the area, especially if you lack movement throughout the day.

Visit Columbus Vascular Vein & Aesthetics in Columbus, Ohio, to get fitted for compression stockings.

Keep yourself safe and your veins healthy all summer long

With the quick, actionable tips we laid out in this post, you can live your best summer life and promote the best vein health possible.

If you seek relief from varicose veins or want to be screened for possible vein health issues, get in touch with us. We offer the newest minimally-invasive options for treatments to correct varicose veins fast and reduce their appearance so you can feel more confident in your skin.