Vein Health During Difficult Times: Working From Home and Adjusting to a New Rhythm

The first few months of 2020 certainly held a surprise for most of us. For many people, lives were uprooted and shuffled around, causing a wild readjustment to life in quarantine. For others, like nurses or other medical workers, they suddenly found themselves on what was called the ‘frontlines’ of a crisis. At the time of this writing, many states in the U.S including Texas, are making small moves to reopen. And there is a lot of information about how to safeguard your health as the country tries to go back to normal. 

And yet, for many people working from home, being somewhat isolated in the office, staying away from the gym, is now a new reality and this affects a whole other aspect of your health: your vein health. For the most part, people don’t pay attention to this until they begin to have issues or experience discomfort. But whether you are having some symptoms already or not, being aware of how to avoid varicose veins can be an important prevention strategy. 

It is quite well-known that heredity is one of the most important risk factors for developing varicose veins and spider veins. So if you know someone in your family suffered from bad circulation and varicose veins, keep a close eye on it. This happens because some people can inherit problems such as having too few valves that do not function properly. Some people may also be born with abnormalities of the vein wall. So if you know that someone in your family suffers from varicose veins, it might be a good idea to take extra precautionary steps. 

A Change in Lifestyle

As word of the coronavirus began to spread, what we knew as normal activities suddenly ceased. Many people were unable to go to the gym, participate in their swimming classes, spin classes, and—depending on where you live—even go out to your local park. A sedentary lifestyle is not good for one’s health in general, but it can also be detrimental to your vein health. So how do you keep your body moving, blood flowing, and working well when you’ve been limited for a few months. 

 Here are a few tips:

• Ease into it. If you’ve been a lot less active for the duration of the coronavirus outbreak, try easing into your exercise regimen. Begin with three or four times a week and slowly build up to your old rhythm. Going hard fast will only mean you’ll have to take time off. It might even discourage you from continuing. 
• Get outdoors. Even if your gym is still closed for the foreseeable future or is not operating at full capacity or normal hours, it’s still possible to get some exercise to help your circulation. Walking is a great way to keep circulation healthy and your veins healthy. During the main lockdown, people had to get creative with home workout, jogs, runs, and walks out on the neighborhood. When you’re outside, maintaining six feet apart is not a big deal. 

Tips For Working From Home

So what happens when the kitchen table becomes your office and your day consists of going from the kitchen table to your couch, to your bedroom? This will very much have an impact on your health and if you’re sitting down on a desk for the first part of the day and sitting on the couch for the other, it can mean bad news for your veins. 

Here are a couple of tips to stay healthy during the time you’re working from home:

• Avoid snacking all day and keep designated meal times. It’s easy to have one part of the day bleed into another when you’re working from home, so make sure to keep those boundaries. 
• Get up every hour or so. As the phrase goes, sitting is the new smoking. Sitting down for a long time can be very much detrimental to your health. It’s important to keep the blood moving and to avoid being in one position for a long time. 
• Try a standing desk. If your job requires a lot of sitting down, consider getting a standing desk in order to change up your position quite often. This way you can alternate between sitting and standing about every half hour or forty-five minutes or so. 
• Wear compression socks. This is old but good advice! Compression socks can really aid your circulation, particularly when you are not that active from day to day. 
• Leave the house. Now that restrictions are starting to lift, it’s easier to leave your home than it was a month ago. Schedule a five-minute walk every hour or two hours, to get up and take a walk down to the stop sign and back. Even just the fresh air and distraction from the screen for a few moments will boost energy levels and improve your productivity. 
• Stay hydrated. It might be easier to forget to drink water while you’re just sitting at home typing away at the computer. Keep a water bottle next to you and drink from it regularly. 

Vein Health is Everyday  Health — Overall Wellness is a Good Place to Start 

We know that things have changed for many people. If you find yourself working from home and therefore not walking around as much or limiting your movements, stay organized, and schedule necessary walks and stretch sessions. 

Here at El Paso Varicose Veins Laser Clinic, we know vein conditions can be uncomfortable and painful. We want to help you stay as healthy and active as possible. If you’re experiencing discomfort or visible varicose veins, however, we can help. Give us a call today!