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Why Do People Bleed From Their Veins After They’ve Been in a Hot Shower?

By Dr. Jason Gold, DPM, FACFAS | Dr. Jodi Schoenhaus DPM, RPhs, FACFAS

Why do people bleed from their veins after they’ve been in a hot shower? Often, I get a call from the patient who was taking a hot shower, and the next thing they see is a pile of blood on the bathroom floor. In a panic they quickly call the paramedics. The paramedic arrives, wraps their leg, elevates it and brings them to the emergency department. They come to realize that they have a weakened vessel or varicose vein that is close to the surface and it has opened.

When we are in a hot shower and standing there is a lot of vein pressure bringing the circulation toward your feet. If you suffer from varicose veins it is difficult for that blood to return back to the heart. A hot shower will also cause the vessels to dilate and there is an increase in pressure bringing the flow upward. The skin softens over the weakened vessel and with the increase in circulatory pressure the potential to break the vessel open and bleed is increased.

The problem is not the bleeding vessel that had opened, but the underlying venous insufficiency and poor circulation returning blood to the heart. The bleeding vessel is a side effect of a longer standing problem. That problem is a poor return of blood back to the heart due to poorly functioning vein valves. The purpose of the vein valves is to ensure flow upward against gravity. When the valves do not work effectively the blood flows backward towards the ground. It is that back flow of blood that causes swelling in varicose veins.

Conservative care includes the use of compression stockings however in office treatments can be performed with either laser (endovenous laser) or the newest modality Venaseal which uses a medical adhesive to close the poorly functioning veins.

So the next time you have a bleeding vessel quickly wrap your leg tight and elevate your leg. Unless you have lost a lot of blood and you are on a blood thinner there is no need to go to the emergency room. Stay calm and call your primary doctor for a referral to a vein specialist.

Foot, Ankle & Leg Vein Center is a Boca Raton, FL podiatry. Schedule an appointment at (561)-750-3033. We will surely get you the same day for your bleeding emergency.

Dr. Jason Gold, DPM, FACFAS

Dr. Jason Gold, DPM, FACFAS, is a podiatrist at the Foot, Ankle & Leg Vein Center in Boca Raton, FL, and Boynton Beach, FL. He has over 20 years of experience and specializes in foot and ankle conditions like bunions, fat pad atrophy, and sports medicine. Dr. Jason holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Maryland, College Park, and he earned his Doctor of Podiatric Medicine from Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine in Philadelphia. He's one of only 10 board-certified Reconstructive Foot & Ankle Surgeons in Palm Beach County. Dr. Gold has been featured in highly authoritative publications like HuffPost, PureWow, and Yahoo!

Dr. Jodi Schoenhaus , DPM - Podiatrist in Boca Raton, FL

Dr. Jodi Schoenhaus DPM, RPhs, FACFAS

Dr. Jodi Schoenhaus, DPM, RPhs, FACFAS, is a podiatrist at the Foot, Ankle & Leg Vein Center in Boca Raton, FL, and Boynton Beach, FL. She has over 20 years of experience and specializes in foot, ankle, and leg vein conditions like spider and varicose veins and sclerotherapy. Dr. Jodi holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Michigan, and she earned his Doctor of Podiatric Medicine from Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine in Philadelphia. Dr. Schoenhaus has performed FDA-approved research and has been published in the National Library of Medicine and PubMed. Dr. Jodi has been featured in highly authoritative publications like Cosmopolitan, Lifehacker, Parade, New York Post, and Yahoo!, among others.