How are varicose veins diagnosed?

Nobody enjoys being poked or prodded. Thankfully, there are pain-free ways to diagnose varicose veins, says vascular surgeon Steve Elias, MD.

Transcript

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The true diagnosis of varicose veins, though, is made usually by a non-invasive study called ultrasound or people sometimes call it a Doppler or duplex

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study. [MUSIC PLAYING]

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The diagnosis of varicose veins is relatively simple. Most people themselves can diagnose whether or not they have varicose veins.

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They only need to look down at their leg and see are there veins bulging? Are they larger than usual?

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Are they more curvy than usual or more blue than usual? The true diagnosis of varicose veins,

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though, is made usually by a non-invasive study called ultrasound or people sometimes call it a Doppler or duplex

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study. This is a study that uses just sound waves to look at the veins, not just the ones the patients see

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under their skin, but ones are a little bit deeper. These veins may actually be the cause of the visible veins.

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The important thing to understand is that the diagnosis of almost all vein disease can be made non-invasively without any pain,