Their position is understandable. Varicose veins affect over 25 million American men and women - a big jump from the 7.6 million figures in 1990. They are the price the human race has to pay for walking upright.

Why is this so? Before it can reach the heart and lungs, blood has to go against the force of gravity. To accomplish this, blood vessels have a series of one-way valves, which keep blood flowing upward and prevent it from leaking down. But the system isn't perfect. Not all people have a complete set of valves and some don't work properly.

"A couple of things can happen along the way. Because of some inherited flaw, the valves may spring a leak. Or a vein may expand, preventing the valves from closing completely. Either way, blood flows back, gets trapped, and pools in the vein. The accumulated blood stretches the vessel walls and poof - a varicose vein is born. Away go the miniskirts. Out come the full-length muumuus," said Mary Hossfeld in Health magazine.

Women are at the losing end when it comes to varicose veins. They're twice as likely to develop them as men. Blame it on their ability to get pregnant. Such a condition stretches the valves and weakens them. Pregnancy hormones and the weight of the growing fetus add to the problem.

But even if you don't get pregnant, that doesn't mean you won't have varicose veins. Taking birth control pills may make you more susceptible to them. In older women, estrogen medication is often the culprit. Tall people are at risk since blood has to travel farther up the legs in order to reach the heart. The same goes for those who sit or stand for long periods, which may aggravate the condition.

The majority of people who have varicose veins don't experience any symptoms. The fact is most people who visit a doctor for vein problems are concerned mainly with their appearance.

"Vanity is the main reason why people want their veins removed," according to Tojino, the only Filipino member of the International Union of Phlebologists. This is especially true in the case of spider-burst leg veins, a pattern of bluish veins that frequently occurs with varicose veins and is often seen in pregnant women.

"Sometimes they appear as small red lines, scattered at different sites of the body. In other women, these blood vessels appear to be little spiders, usually on the nose and cheeks. These odd-shaped clusters of blood vessels are due to the enlargement of small feeder veins around a large blood vessel," said Deborah Chase in 'The No-Nonsense Beauty Book.'

In others, however, the appearance of enlarged and twisted dark veins brings much discomfort. People with varicose veins may complain of tired, aching legs at the end of the day. If the deep veins are involved, the limbs swell and skin ulcers form. But the worse is not over yet: Complications include phlebitis (the inflammation of a vein) or thrombosis (clot formation). More on this in the second part of our series on varicose veins.

If you're concerned about varicose veins, see a competent doctor for the right treatment. To prevent unsightly spider veins from getting worse, use Veinuderm, a natural remedy that helps reduce redness and swelling to give you great looking legs. For details, check out http://veinuderm.com.