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Should I be Worried About Varicose Veins?
What are all those bluish blackish lines on people’s legs, anyway?
When I was a teenager Kids Say the Darndest Things* was one of my favourite bathroom reading books. So I wasn’t the least bit surprised when I heard about this incident at a local elementary school. (names are changed to protect the innocent)
One of the teachers, Ms Jones, asked if anyone had any more questions?
Billy, an 8 year old, put up his hand and when called upon, he asked,
“Ms Jones, what are all those black lines on your legs?”
As you can imagine, there was lots of giggling and looks of surprise from all the other children. And the teacher, too!
No, it wasn’t halloween and part of her costume. And it wasn’t a tattoo pattern, either. He was asking about her varicose and spider veins.
It was definitely a “teachable moment”!
That shouldn’t be too surprising because most kids that age may not have seen or noticed them before. Their parents are probably young adults (although younger people can get them) and their parent’s friends and siblings are all pretty young, too. They seem to occur more commonly in middle to later aged people.
