A number of factors can raise your odds. They include:
- Heredity
- Jobs that involve lots of standing, like nurses, hair stylists, teachers, and factory workers
- Obesity
- Pregnancy, puberty, and menopause hormones
- Birth control pills
- Postmenopausal hormonal replacement
- A history of blood clots
- Conditions that cause increased pressure in the abdomen, like tumors, constipation, and wearing girdles.
- Trauma or injury to the skin
- Previous vein surgery
- Exposure to ultraviolet rays