Also referred to as telangiectasias, spider veins are minute, distended veins that can be seen near the skin’s surface. Normally they can be a mix of purple, blue, red, or any of these individual colors. Spider veins are mostly found on the legs, although they can also form on the nose and all over the face. This article is about how to get rid of spider veins, but we must first understand what the health condition is.
Anyone can get spider veins. Some people become victims simply because it’s a hereditary issue that involves valves working ineffectively. For a large part of the population, spider veins look ugly but are harmless.
Vein disease affects 50% of adults and this includes widely known symptoms of spider veins and varicose veins on legs. A lot of people believe that legs with spider and varicose veins are just a cosmetic issue but what they don’t know is; they can lead to extra health symptoms like leg heaviness, skin discoloration, and regular leg cramping. When you notice that you’ve started having such symptoms, it’s normally an indication of an underlying medical problem that needs an expert vein doctor’s intervention. In this piece, we talk about eliminating spider veins, what causes them, whether its treatment is covered by insurance, and if they are caused by an underlying disease. Let’s get started.
Reasons Why Spider Veins Are A Problem
A significant number of people with spider veins want to remove them because they are unsightly. If this medical condition makes you feel uncomfortable, you might want to steer clear of activities where your legs are exposed. Therefore, you will likely not visit the swimming pool or beach with your relatives and friends. Spider veins make some individuals less outgoing and adventurous, and this messes their self-esteem.
Another reason for removing spider veins is the painful physical symptoms such as aches in your legs. Symptoms that usually accompany this medical condition include burning sensations, throbbing in the lower legs, and muscle cramps. You can also have other symptoms such as:
- Skin ulcers
- Pain, normally when you sit or stand for a long time
- Veins bleeding
- Skin inflammation
Note that vein hardening and inflammation symptoms could show that you have a serious vascular disease, which means you should immediately seek help from a certified vein doctor.
Causes Of Spider Veins
What Causes Spider Veins?
Spider veins are caused by increased pressure in the veins. The exact cause of spider veins’ development in some people isn’t exactly known, but it has been proved that the condition tends to be hereditary and older folks are at more risk. In addition to that, studies show that people who stand for prolonged periods, such as teachers and nurses put more pressure on the veins in their legs and are also vulnerable.
Typically, people with spider veins develop a patchwork of blue and red veins that can be seen through the skin. They can also experience the following:
- Tiredness in the legs
- Feeling a heaviness on the legs
- Swelling in the legs
How To Lower The Risk Of Spider Veins
Totally preventing spider veins may be impossible, but there are some spider veins natural treatment methods you can use to reduce the risks.
Let the blood flow
You can increase blood circulation in the legs and strengthen the leg muscles through exercises such as walking or running.
Be supported
We advise people to wear lightweight compression stockings as they are instrumental in managing and preventing spider vein symptoms like swelling. The ideal lightweight compression sock should have a gradient of 15 or 20 mercury milliliters (the amount of pressure it puts on the veins). Medical supply stores and pharmacies offer these types of stockings.
Treatment of any varicose veins
Varicose veins are big, look like ropes, and have valves that don’t work, and this makes blood accumulate in them. By treating your varicose veins, pressure in the legs is reduced, preventing the creation of extra spider veins.
Use suncream
When people with light skin expose themselves to the sun, they could develop spider veins on the nose or cheeks. Wearing sunscreen helps reduce the problematic veins.
Hold up your feet
Propping up your feet is an effective treatment for spider veins. To get the best results, your feet should be held up higher than your heart.
Reduce pressure
As we had mentioned earlier, pressure on your legs can cause spider veins. You can reduce pressure by not standing or sitting for long durations and not adding more weight. Professionals say avoiding crossing your legs while seated and going for a walk every half an hour if you sit for long periods helps.
Ways To Remove Spider Veins
Spider vein removal is done through sclerotherapy or laser treatment. These two treatments offer relief within a short time and those treated can take part in high-intensity physical activities the following day.
Laser treatment eliminates the vein by penetrating the skin and is well-known. But in the process, it burns and damages the skin. In addition to that, it removes a little part of the vein at a time. Personally, I don’t use this treatment method for spider veins.
In sclerotherapy, an injection of a painless solution through a tiny needle is employed to treat large parts of the veins. This solution irritates the vein and makes it scar and close, and then moves to all the vein’s branches. One can see them disappear there and then. This is a more effective method and there are high chances it won’t damage the skin. The needle is quite delicate and small, and just like the solution, it’s painless.
All patients who undergo both the procedures are required to put on a compression wrap for a few hours and if the veins were larger, overnight. This way, the vein wall scars down and sticks (so it doesn’t let in blood) and completely disappears.
Spider veins don’t come back after they are treated, although new ones may develop. You cannot remove all 100% of the veins that can be seen (advertisements that show no veins at all are lying). However, it is possible to destroy about 80 to 90% of the visible veins.
Sclerotherapy also doesn’t guarantee the complete elimination of the veins after one procedure. Two or three trips to the doctor will get you the best results, and thereafter you can visit again for maintenance when new veins form.
READ MORE: HOW TO GET RID OF DOUBLE CHIN AND REGAIN YOUR CONFIDENCE
Treatments for Spider Veins That Work
There are two effective treatments. Note that your insurance may not cover both procedures:
Sclerotherapy
It’s the most popular spider veins treatment. A solution is injected into the vein, making it shut and blood flow is halted. The vein becomes a scar and disappears after a couple of weeks. A 50%-90% improvement is seen by people who employ this treatment method.
Laser treatment
Less popular than sclerotherapy. The advantage of this procedure is that the smaller, fine, reddish spider veins are easily removed by laser treatment because it’s more difficult to inject them.
Spider veins are essentially cosmetic tissue and you can pay them no attention if they don’t affect your daily life. On the other hand, if they make you self-conscious, get in touch with Beverly Hills Med Spa and we’ll help you remove them.
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