How are Varicose Veins diagnosed?

So, how are varicose veins diagnosed? Well, patients, as we mentioned, will present with a series of symptoms that are leg swelling, pain, general discomfort, and what we look at is we examine the patient and we look for specific signs and skin changes in the leg as well as the presence of varicosities in the leg which are all suggestive of having venous insufficiency as well as questions around the timing of when the symptoms are at their worst. So from that point on, we get a venous duplex. So this is an ultrasound scan using jelly that is able to visualize the veins themselves as well as the direction of blood flow. So it will be able to tell us if there is any reflux in these veins and whether they are incompetent. And then from point on, if we are able to identify incompetence in the superficial veins, so the veins that are closest to the skin, we can then make a decision about what the most appropriate management for patients are. And it's all about matching up what we see from our investigations compared to what the symptoms are.