For Michelle Moore, the hottest days of the year were often the hardest to endure. The 58-year-old council worker had spent decades dealing with painful, visibly prominent varicose veins that first appeared in her late 20s.
The swollen, twisted veins developed on her legs after the birth of her third child and gradually became more severe. What began as faint blue marks eventually turned into raised, knotted lumps she compared to “golf balls” — sore, itchy and increasingly difficult to ignore.
It was only many years later that Michelle underwent a 15-minute treatment that removed the veins for good. The question is: why did it take so long for her to reach that point?
Varicose veins affect around one in five adults and occur when tiny valves inside the veins stop working properly. Instead of blood flowing efficiently back towards the heart, it collects in the veins, causing them to swell. Research indicates that genetics are behind most cases, although pregnancy can make the condition worse — as Michelle discovered.
The condition is not always simply cosmetic. It can increase the risk of dangerous blood clots, with studies suggesting people with varicose veins are 20 per cent more likely to develop deep vein thrombosis, or DVT. This occurs when a clot forms in a vein, usually in the leg, and in some cases can travel to the lungs, triggering a potentially fatal pulmonary embolism.
For Michelle, the veins affected both her confidence and her physical wellbeing. She became so self-conscious that she stopped feeling comfortable wearing shorts, even at home around her husband, while the pain became a constant burden.
“It felt like there were elastic bands tight around my legs at all times,” she says. “The veins itched constantly. And when it was hot outside, these symptoms would get even worse. It was like I could feel the pressure building up in my legs.”
Yet despite the toll the condition was taking on her daily life, Michelle says she was repeatedly unable to get treatment through the NHS.
Since her late 20s, the 58-year-old council worker had been living with painful and disfiguring varicose veins
What started as faint blue lines became knotted ‘golf balls’ on her legs that were painful and itchy
‘I went to my GP time and again, but I was always told that there was nothing they could do to help me,’ she says.
Michelle is not alone. The NHS consider varicose veins a ‘cosmetic issue’, meaning it does not affect a patient’s health, and so it concludes that there is no justification to fund treatment for it.
‘I always said it clearly wasn’t a cosmetic issue as I was in pain all the time,’ says Michelle. ‘But it didn’t make any difference.’
Desperate for an answer, Michelle looked for private treatment. Eventually she came across a procedure called foam sclerotherapy, which involves injecting a special foam solution into the faulty veins that seals them – effectively killing them.
Experts say that, while it sounds drastic, it is safe and highly effective. ‘If you have varicose veins, those veins are no longer working properly,’ says Mr Sanjay Patel, vascular consultant at the UK Vein Clinic in Harley Street, central London. ‘So there is no point in keeping them.
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‘We inject the foam with a needle and the injections are usually done within 15 minutes, though patients will need to have three sessions to get the best effect.
‘Most patients don’t find it painful, and they can go home the moment it is done.’
The procedure is not cheap, costing about £2,500 per leg. However, for patients such as Michelle, it can be life-changing.
Michelle went for foam sclerotherapy in November. Her improvement was so dramatic she only needed two sessions. ‘They injected my legs about 15 times,’ she says. ‘It didn’t hurt at all. My leg was strapped up for two days, and when I took the bandages off I immediately noticed a difference.’
Over the following months, the varicose veins that Michelle had lived with for decades began to fade. Within four months, they were all but gone – something she never thought would happen.
‘I hadn’t realised how much it had taken over my life until they were gone,’ she says. ‘I’m no longer in pain, there’s no itchiness and I feel confident again – I can even wear shorts.’
Within four months the varicose veins were all but gone – something she never thought would happen
Foam sclerotherapy involves injecting a special foam solution into the faulty veins that seals them – effectively killing them
Experts say it is a scandal that the NHS does not offer the procedure to more patients.
Varicose vein patients are offered NHS treatment only if they are classed as being in severe pain or suffer complications. But the criteria are so strict that only 20,000 operations for varicose veins carried out on the NHS every year – for a condition that affects millions.
‘It is unfair and short-sighted that the NHS is so strict about who can get varicose vein treatment,’ says Dr Nisa Aslam, a GP based in Watford, Hertfordshire. ‘I have patients who have received this treatment and had great results.
‘Varicose veins aren’t just a cosmetic issue, it’s often painful to the point where patients aren’t able to work.
‘And it’s normal for varicose vein patients to constantly return to their GP for support, even though there’s very little we can offer.
‘If the NHS offered treatment to more patients, it would improve their lives, boost the economy and free up NHS resources. It seems like an obvious decision.’
