What Are Spider Veins?
Unlike Varicose veins, spider veins are small, blue, purple, and red vessels that can easily twist and turn. Moreover, spider veins are highly visible on the face and legs. These veins are painless, but some people might want to remove them due to cosmetic reasons.
What Causes Spider Veins On Legs?
Spider vein occurs in the legs when the vein valves stop working and start diverting oxygen-depleted blood back to the legs — resulting in inflammation and the veins appearing onto the skin.
Other causes of spider veins include:
- Heredity
- Obesity
- Hormonal changes- pregnancy, menopause and puberty
- Birth-control pills
- Blood clots medical history.
- Job positions that require constant standing, such as nurses, teachers, factory workers, and hair and makeup stylist, etc.
- Health condition where there is major pressure on the abdomen. Such as constipation and tumor.
Are Spider Veins Dangerous To Health?
Pain is not an issue for someone who has spider veins. However, it might create a little discomfort in terms of appearance. Also, the spider veins worsen with age; some of the after-effects include:
- Swelling legs and feet
- Burning sensation and minimal itchiness on ankles and skin of the legs
- Bearable cramps
How To Prevent Spider Veins?
You must have heard how prevention is better than cure.
Luckily, there are several ways to prevent spider veins from appearing on the skin of your legs. Some of which include:
- Daily workout. It will strengthen your legs muscles, improve blood circulation, and help the veins valves to work properly
- Remember to not sit with your legs crossed
- When resting, keep a cushion under your legs. The reason being, elevating your legs will maintain the blood circulation. Thus, zero clottings and vein inflammation.
- Do not put too much pressure on the legs.
- Consume in a moderate amount. Controlling your weight is one way to put less pressure onto the legs, and decrease cholesterol levels, which might clog the vein.
- Prevent standing and sitting in one position for too long.
How To Treat Spider Veins?
Spider veins disrupt your physical appearance. However, it gets worse when it causes discomfort in terms of itching and swelling up of the leg.
There’s not much to worry about, as the treatment options are immense. The treatments are easy to carry out, also, highly effective.
First, your dermatologist will carry out a physical exam, which requires close monitoring of the spider veins, to figure which treatment will suit you. The dermatologist will also consider your medical history.
The second step is to choose one of the treatments from these:
- Self-care includes exercise, elevation of the legs when resting and avoiding sitting with legs crossed.
- Wearing Compression Stockings: This wouldn’t clear your skin, but it will eradicate any itching and swelling in the leg.
- Sclerotherapy: Injecting certain chemicals that might open the valves improves the blood circulation; remove any clotting or inflammation, etc
- Laser Treatment
- RFA (Radiofrequency ablation)
- EVLT (Endovenous laser therapy)
Bottom Line
If spider veins have been affecting your overall appearance, and you want to get rid of them as soon and possible, you should book an appointment with Norman Chideckel, MD- Vascular Surgery and Vein Center.