Could u please help. my wife is 19 weeks pregnant & has developed 3 red swollen lumps on her knee over the last week. she has varicose veins. thoughts?

Boil?: It is har to tell without seeing and examining them. Redness and swelling/lumps are concerning for possible infection. Since they are on the skin, they can be easily checked and so i would advise getting it examined by her doctor.

Clotted veins?: If they are firm (like a palpable cord), tender, with surrounding redness, then these could be clotted superficial veins (thrombophlebitis). These are not life threatening like deep vein thromboses (dvts), but they are quite painful. It takes a few weeks for them to "cool off". Tylenol (acetaminophen) is a safe anti-inflammatory to take during pregnancy. A simple venous ultrasound can diagnose this.

Many possibilities: As dr. Nguyen said, it is hard to say without and examination. Certainly superficial venous thrombosis (svt) is a possibility, as dr. Aalami said. Although svt is usually a benign condition, if it is svt, an untrasound examination of the deep veins is in order since there is a 25% risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) associated with svt.

Clots in vein?: Varicose veins are prone to develop clots in them in the non pregnant person and even more so when pregnant. If these areas are where she has varicose veins then it sounds as if she has developed clots in these veins. This is called superficial phlebitis and is treated with heat and compression. She should have a venous ultrasound to make the diagnosis and to ensure that there is no deep clot.