Valves in the veins keep blood from flowing backward. When the valves don't work or are weak, blood pools in our veins, the NIH says. These pools stretch the veins, which become swollen. Horse chestnut appears to be the only known cure for varicose veins. Exercise helps boost circulation, while elevating the legs during rest relieves discomfort, the NIH says.
Women can wear support or compression stockings to help push blood toward the heart.
Other traditional options include surgery, injecting a solution to diminish the veins or zapping them with lasers for cosmetic improvement. With spider veins, compression is standard treatment, although a solution also can be injected to eliminate them. Often, scars will appear and the spider vein will return after a few months. A study out of West Germany, reported in the early 1980s, showed horse chestnut products affected both the collagen content and architecture of the varicose vein and helped make the veins more normal. Symptoms of CVI include edema, enlarged veins near the skin surface, and fatigue in the legs.