Older adults are at a higher risk for developing non-healing wounds than anyone else. Because of this increased risk, it’s important to regularly examine yourself for any wounds and keep note of those that look like they’re not healing. Chronic wounds are wounds that don’t heal over the course of 2-3 months. There are a number of different types of chronic wounds and many of them are a result of infection, surgery, or ulcerations. One of the most common types of chronic, non-healing wounds in older adults is an arterial or venous ulcer.

Venous ulcerations, also known as venous skin ulcers, are a type of sore that appears on your lower extremities—most often the legs. These ulcers usually occur due to weakened blood circulation, like in those who have varicose veins or risk factors for varicose veins. The problem with venous ulcerations is that they take a long time to heal—sometimes lasting years. With such a long healing process, you’re more at risk for developing more serious complications. To avoid this, it’s important to get venous ulcerations treated and cured. 

On January 19, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s father passed away. In an Instagram post following his death, Dwayne shared a long video to thank his fans for the support and explain what had happened. His dad had been under the weather and battling a cold. During his fight, he experienced deep vein thrombosis. Deep vein thrombosis is a blood clot usually isolated in the lower extremities. While deep vein thrombosis itself isn’t fatal, if the clot breaks free it leads to pulmonary embolisms, which are extremely dangerous. Unfortunately, Dwayne’s father was not able to get his deep vein thrombosis treated prior to suffering from a pulmonary embolism. He passed away very quickly from a heart attack due to a clotted lung.

Contrary to what you might think, varicose veins aren’t gender specific. Men can, and do, experience varicose veins. In fact, as many as 56% of men suffer from varicose veins.¹ The risk of developing them increase as you get older, but varicose veins can occur at any age. Rather than thinking that it’s a woman’s, it’s time that men start to understand the importance of identifying and treating varicose veins.

Many people who experience varicose veins are uncomfortable simply because of how they look. However, there’s more to varicose veins than meets the eye. Depending on the severity of your varicose veins, they can actually be very dangerous to your health. Untreated varicose veins can cause a number of problems ranging from a minor annoyance to a potentially fatal incident.