Techniques which improve the circulation are the most important of Varicose Veins Treatments.
You can look at merrilyn’s posts entitled ‘Causes of Varicose Veins’ and ‘Yoga for Varicose Veins’ for more information on how to improve the condition of varicose veins.
Here are some more ideas for varicose veins treatments which have not been covered fully in the other posts.
Hydrotherapy: The Foot Bath: The simple foot bath can be done at home at any time to help relieve aching varicose veins. The foot bath on its own will improve the circulation, and help to reduce swelling and pain, but we can enhance the therapeutic action by adding certain herbs and spices.
Try and do this hydrotherapy treatment once a day, or twice if your condition is very bad.
Get two large bowls or buckets, big enough for your feet to sit in comfortably, and more. Half fill one of the containers with cold water. Half fill the other with hot water which is at a comfortable bathing temperature.
Add half a teaspoon of cayenne pepper and half a teaspoon of ginger to the bowl of hot water. Cayenne pepper is very good for improving varicose veins, as it helps to shrink them and reduce pain. Both ginger and cayenne pepper boost the circulation.
Begin with the feet in the cold water. Leave for half a minute, then transfer the feet into the warm-to-hot water. Leave in the hot water for a minute. Put the feet back into the cold water bucket for another minute, then return to the spiced-up hot water. You may need to add a touch of boiling water to the hot water bucket after a few minutes. Be careful to add just enough boiling water to heat up the water to a comfortable heat again. Do not have the water too hot, as this will harm your legs and possibly burn you.
Finish the hydrotherapy off with the feet soaking in the warm-to-hot water.
You can experiment using other herbs and spices in this footbath treatment. Herbs and spices which increase circulation are the ones to use here. I would use cayenne pepper in combination with either cinnamon, or ginger, turmeric, or cloves.
Note on Varicose Veins Water Temperature: VERY HOT water should never be applied to the varicose veins. Hot baths are best avoided. If you are taking a bath, then the bath water should be only warm to medium hot. Showers are considered best for people who have prominent or painful varicose veins, as showers do not prolong heat to the legs.
Massage to Soothe Veins: After the foot bath treatment, massage the legs gently with almond oil which has a few drops of rosemary oil added to it. This will soothe the veins, but also help circulation.
Cold Herbal Compress for Painful/Swollen Varicose Veins: Make up an infusion using healing herbs. You can use either comfrey, or borage, marigold flowers, chamomile flowers, witch hazel flowers, or use a combination if you like. Take up to half a cup of the fresh herbs. Put into a pot and add two cups of boiling water. Put on the lid. Leave on the stove to gently simmer for just one minute. Take off the heat, and leave to cool.
Soak a piece of white linen or cotton in the cold liquid. Wring out the cloth and apply it to the sore or swollen varicose vein. Put on a piece of plastic, and wrap lightly with a bandage. Leave the leg up for 20 minutes while you let the compress do its work. Take off. Repeat throughout the day as necessary. You can keep the mixture to dampen the cloth again before each application. Make up a fresh herbal mixture each day for use as compresses.
Drink Silica-rich Teas to help strengthen the veins and heal them from the inside. Silica-rich teas are those made with oat-straw, comfrey, borage, nettles, horsetail, chamomile and rosemary. Drinking plenty of herbal teas such as these will not only provide you with silica and other nutrients, but also cleanse the kidneys, improve your hair growth, and help the intestinal functions.
Homeopathic Hamamelis is considered to be one of the best remedies for healing the veins. Witch Hazel is made from the same plant. You can use Witch Hazel externally on the legs, and take the Homeopathic equivalentof Hamamelis internally. Just three or four drops of Hamamelis 30x, three times a day until relief is felt.
Vitamin C and Vitamin E are also great supplements for helping to relieve varicose veins.
Vitamin C Dosage: Between 1000mg to 3000mg of Vitamin C, preferable a non-acidic type, could be taken until better. Calcium Ascorbate or Ester C are good ones to go for.
Vitamin E Dosage :Take the standard dose as stated on the bottle for Vitamin E – best not to give large doses of Vitamin E.
Castor Oil: To clear the liver, gall bladder and bowels, use castor oil once a week as a remedial measure for the veins. Congestion in the digestive system, over time, will lead to the veins becoming distended. So to prevent varicose veins from forming, take 2 tbsps of castor oil in the morning, once a week.
For serious conditions, you could follow the Gerson programme, which uses castor oil every second day. Gerson used this method to cure cancers, mainly, but he insists it will cure any disease if his recommendations are followed to the letter.