How to prevent heavy legs and varicose veins in summer

Exercise in the water

Swimming, aquagym, stretching … Doing sports in the water is very beneficial for your legs, especially if you want to prevent the appearance of varicose veins or if you already have them. As there is no impact against the ground, the water exerts a gentle massage that promotes the health of the veins.

Get a refreshing massage

If you have tired legs, you can feel great relief if you massage yourself with a gel with a cold effect that contains active ingredients such as menthol, eucalyptus, green tea, butcher's broom or red vine. It is recommended to massage as if you were giving large pinches for about 10 minutes.

Drink water to eliminate fluids

It will seem like a contradiction to you, but it is not. If you drink little, your body tends to retain fluids. On the other hand, if you are well hydrated, it is easier for you to eliminate them. To accentuate this effect, include birch infusions in your drinks, which promote the elimination of urine.

Say goodbye to flip flops on the street

Use them to go to the beach or the pool, but not to walk with them, because to hold them you contract your toes and force your ankle, which hinders circulation and translates into tiredness and heaviness in the legs.

Better to have chicken or fish for dinner

To wake up without feeling bloated, it will be good to include low-fat but high-protein foods such as chicken or fish in your dinner. Protein helps the body synthesize albumin, a substance that prevents excessive fluid accumulation.

Allowed to cross legs

Yes, contrary to what has been said your whole life, you can cross them. "That crossing the legs generates venous insufficiency or circulation problems is a myth", explains Dr. Enric Roche, specialist in Vascular Surgery and Angiology and director of the Barcelona Vascular Clinic. "So far no one has shown that this is a reason for varicose veins or overload." Discover here more myths and truths about varicose veins and circulation.

Try the Red Vine infusion

Red vine leaves are very useful against heaviness because they make the walls of your veins more resistant and prevent the formation of painful edema.

Sleep better with a nightgown

The fact that you do not have to wear tight clothing if you want to avoid varicose veins is a myth. "Tight clothing has never caused varicose veins," Roche explains. However, it is true that "very tight garments can contribute to the feeling of heaviness and discomfort due to venous overload". So it doesn't hurt to moderate the use of tight clothing if you don't want to feel bloated.

Be careful with the yo-yo effect of miracle diets

Be careful with the yoyo effect of miracle diets

If you have flaccidity in your legs, try to be especially careful with the famous miracle diets. They all promise rapid weight loss and all they do is keep your body fat and lose muscle mass, thereby increasing flaccidity. Do you want to combat sagging at home? Take note of these tricks.

To eat dishes full of color

The pigments that give color to citrus fruits, berries, grapes, spinach, strawberries or chocolate are called flavonoids and have an anti-inflammatory effect, which helps deflate your legs.

Put your legs up

As Dr. Roche explains, "Elevated leg rest is a useful measure to reduce stress on the legs." That is, it can alleviate the feeling of heaviness. However, it also maintains that "it is not a prescription or a treatment in itself".

Get active and get your legs moving

Exercise has a double benefit: it improves circulation and helps maintain the ideal weight, which is essential for light legs. The most convenient, in addition to walking, is swimming or cycling.

Beware of impact sports

It has always been said that sports that imply an impact of the foot against the ground (running, steps, tennis, basketball …) should be avoided because they hinder the return of blood to the heart, allowing it to remain stagnant and begin to stand out the veins of the legs due to the pressure it supposes. However, there are experts like Dr. Roche, specialist in Vascular Surgery and Angiology and director of the Barcelona Vascular Clinic, who do not believe that they should be avoided because the heaviness depends on other factors.

Try electro stimulation

There are devices that stimulate microcirculation –in sessions of 20 minutes– and help make your legs lighter and less swollen. They are so light that they can be used anytime, anywhere, standing, sitting or lying down.

No salt shaker on the table

At the table, no salt shaker

An excess of salt in the diet makes you retain fluids. Therefore, do not take the salt shaker to the table and in the kitchen use it very sparingly. Discover some foods that have hidden salt that you may not know.

Cook like a masterchef

Or at least go into the kitchen frequently, because if you cook yourself, it will be easy for you to regulate the amount of salt in your meals and avoid the excess that comes in precooked foods.

Grape seeds to eliminate veins

They are high in antioxidants and flavonoids, which strengthen the walls of your veins and improve blood flow. You can also consume them in pills, as a food supplement.

Sunbathe first thing in the morning

The sun synthesizes vitamin D, which stimulates circulation, but beware of the vasodilator effect of heat: in summer, it is better to sunbathe first or last hour of the day.

Yes to diuretic shakes!

Pineapple, watermelon, asparagus, artichoke or beet are the most diuretic fruits and vegetables. Take them in all your meals or make some delicious smoothies with beets. Not sure what to do with the watermelon? Here we give you 5 super refreshing ideas.

Do squats to gain strength

An easy way to do them is to lean your back and head against the wall, put your legs forward - open at the hips -, lower your torso until your legs are at a right angle, as if you were sitting in an imaginary chair. Hold 10-15 seconds each time.

When the thermometer goes off, it is normal to feel your legs more tired than usual. There comes a day when fatigue in the legs turns into unpleasant heaviness, often accompanied by swelling. These are the first signs of venous insufficiency (poor circulation) that can evolve throughout life and that can lead to annoying and unsightly varicose veins.

A question of health

You may not like having swollen legs aesthetically, but it can also bring you health problems. To the swelling and varicose veins other disorders can be added such as heaviness, pain when walking, cramps, tingling … All this is due to a fundamental problem: poor circulation.

What do we call bad circulation

Our heart is like an engine that sends blood to the feet. The way down is very easy. The problem is when it comes time to get the blood back up to the heart. The heart makes an effort to "breathe in" that ascending blood, but the vein also needs to be in good condition. If not, the veins dilate due to the backflow of blood that cannot rise properly and stagnates, which is why we notice heaviness in the legs. It can also happen that the feet, ankles or even the calves swell due to the accumulation of fluid.

How to take care of your legs in summer

Heat aggravates poor circulation symptoms, acting as a vasodilator and causing more blood to pool in your ankles. But you can do a lot to alleviate the symptoms of poor circulation, and you can even make summer your legs ally. Take note:

More vitamin D. Take the sun first thing in the day, because its rays help synthesize vitamin D, which helps stimulate circulation.
The water gives you a massage. Walking in the water - be it the sea or the pool - intensifies the exercise we do and, in addition, the water provides a gentle massage that also favors venous return.
Find a good shade. So that the sun's rays don't hit your legs directly. Better stay in the shade of a tree or under the umbrella on the beach or on the terrace, and avoid the central hours of the day, when the heat is more intense.
Get soaked. Do it frequently if you are at the beach or the pool, to refresh your legs. As soon as you feel hot, go to the water. And if you are elsewhere, spray them with a thermal water spray.
Travel without being hot. Make sure the car's climate control is in the position that indicates that the air is circulating through the legs. If you are going to travel by plane, wear loose clothing, wide shoes and, if the doctor recommends it, compression stockings.
Attention to hair removal. While it is true that applying heat to the legs dilates the veins and worsens circulation, it is not true that you cannot wax with hot wax, since it is long-lasting and, as it is done on time, it does not have to be a problem. This is what Dr. Roche, specialist in Vascular Surgery and Angiology and director of the Barcelona Vascular Clinic, maintains. However, you can use other less controversial methods, such as the thread, the razor or the electric epilator, better than hot wax.
Cooler fabrics. Cotton, linen, silk or viscose are the lightest fabrics for summer clothing.
Drink plenty of fluids , better if it's water, and don't wait until you're thirsty. Is it difficult for you to drink water? Take note of our super tips.

How to reduce tingling in the legs

When the circulation of the blood is interrupted and then it is “reactivated” is when we feel a tingling sensation. To reduce it, massage from the ankles upwards with an unctuous moisturizer. This texture takes longer to absorb, so you will have to make more "passes" and you will tone the area better.

How to avoid leg cramps

If you get cramps without exercising, it is due to poor circulation and it occurs because the muscles do not receive enough blood. To avoid them, it is essential not to spend many hours standing or sitting. If because of your work you cannot avoid these postures, try to perform certain movements every hour to activate circulation: ankle rotations to one side and to the other, stretching and bending the leg …

Use elastic compression stockings to facilitate a correct venous return

Clara trick

In your weight

Being within a healthy weight means that the veins in the legs do not have as much pressure as if they are overweight or obese. And following a low-salt Mediterranean diet will help, too.