Swollen legs may be the first sign of venous disease, even before varicose veins or other visible signs are apparent. Prickling, tingling and itching of the legs also indicate the start of venous disease or existing venous weakness.

If you notice swelling every evening, regardless of what you have been doing during the day, or if you have swollen ankles after a long journey, your veins are probably already damaged. If they are visibly thickened, then you already have superficial varicose veins.

Swelling and a feeling of tightness, a dull pain similar to muscle stiffness after exercise, hypersensitive hot skin and possibly a blue discoloration of the skin can also be signs of venous occlusion (thrombosis). Particularly if you notice these signs after a long flight, journey or period of bed rest, you should see a doctor immediately. The danger that a clot may detach and become an embolism, which can sometimes be fatal, is greatest in the first three to five days!

Swellings that initially disappear during the night or after a few days of bed rest, but then stop disappearing on their own over a longer period, may be a sign of lymphoedema. This can develop in the arms and legs, and in some cases in other parts of the body, without an apparent cause or as the result of irradiation, inflammation, injury or a tumour. Often only one leg or one arm is affected.

In more than 80 per cent of all cases, lymphoedema can be detected by means of a simple test: if it is impossible to raise a skin fold at the base of the toes or fingers of the affected limb because that area is so tight and puffy, this is known in medicine as a "positive Stemmer’s sign". It means that lymphoedema is very likely to be present.

Deepened natural skin folds, particularly at the base of the fingers and toes, swelling of the top of the foot or back of the hand and swellings at the knee are also indications of lymphoedema.

Since neither venous disease nor lymphoedema will get better on its own, if you develop these signs you should see your doctor who may refer you to a specialist phlebologist, angiologist or dermatologist (specialists in veins, blood vessels and skin).

In lymphoedema, additional measures such as lymphatic drainage can relieve the congestion. After the decongestion phase has ended, the results must be maintained by wearing compression stockings. These are flat-knit compression stockings that replace the short-stretch bandages.