Even rudimentary knowledge would perhaps go a long way towards preventing fatal hemorrhaging in elderly people suffering a rupture of their varicose veins, an Australian scientist says.

According to University of Adelaide forensic pathologist Professor Roger Byard, a handful of elderly people die in their homes each year in Australia due to ruptured varicose veins.

"They are usually living alone, vulnerable, and unaware of what to do in the case of a hemorrhage," he says.

"People need to be aware that veins can bleed quite dramatically with only relatively minor injuries. It is crucial to apply a dressing with firm pressure to the site of the hemorrhage and to elevate the bleeding leg. If that is done immediately, there is a chance that people can be saved," he says.

Although the incidence of deaths due to hemorrhage from varicose veins is extremely rare, most of these deaths are entirely preventable, he says.

Varicose veins are common in the adult population, occurring in up to 40 per cent of men and 33 per cent of women in the Western world. Because the skin and tissue of elderly people is so fragile, they are more likely to sustain minor leg injuries and ulcers which can then lead to ruptured veins.

Professor Byard and Dr John Gilbert recently published the results of a 10-year autopsy study on the incidence of fatal hemorrhaging due to ruptured varicose veins in the South Australian population.