Tag: Blood Clots

What is the Treatment for Spider Veins

A lot of women experience spider veins. In the medical field, these are known as telangiectasias or sunburst varicosities which happen to be small and thin veins that are very close to the surface of the skin. The good news is that you can make this cosmetic problem disappear through spider vein treatment.

The most common procedure to treat spider veins is with sclerotherapy. Here, the plastic surgeon will inject the patient with a sclerosing solution, which causes the veins to collapse and fade from view. Aside from that, you will no longer feel the symptoms associated with this problem that includes aching, burning, night cramps and swelling.

This procedure has been practiced in Europe for more than 50 years and has been practiced in the states for more than a decade. The solution used for the procedure are safe to use on your small veins and relatively painless.

But how does spider veins develop? Studies have shown this is caused by activities that require prolonged sitting or standing, heredity, hormonal shifts, pregnancy, the side effects of certain medication and weight gain.

Some people may think that spider veins and varicose veins are the same but they differ in a number of ways. Varicose veins are much bigger, darker and at times bulge. If this should happen to you, you will feel a lot of pain and this is often related to more serious vein disorders. Just like spider veins, it can be treated with sclerotherapy.

Spider veins may happen in your teen years or later on in life. The ideal candidate for sclerotherapy must be between 30 to 60 years of age. Those who are breastfeeding or are pregnant are advised to postpone this form of treatment since it could affect breast milk while this may disappear on it sown after pregnancy.

Women are not the only ones who may experience spider veins because a number of men have had it. Unlike the opposite sex, they dont do anything about because they have facial hair on the legs so people will hardly notice that it exists.

Although sclerotherapy is very popular, you have to realize that it will not totally make the spider veins disappear. What it can do is make the veins appear lighter but it does not prevent new ones from appearing in the future. This means you will have to see your doctor when this happens.

One reason why sclerotherapy is so popular is because complications are extremely rare. Some of the things that could happen if there should be a problem are allergic reactions to the sclerosing solution, blood clots in the veins and skin injury which will leave a permanent scar.

The most common is pigmentation irregularity where brownish splotches will appear on the affected skin and it may take months to a year before it fades and “telangiectatic matting,” where fine reddish blood vessels appear around the treated area and the only way to treat that is a few more injections.

Spider vein treatment can be done and no complications may occur only if are treated by a doctor who has experience and training in sclerotherapy. This is because there are many types of sclerosing agents at his or her disposal and together, you can find one that works.

What Can You Expect From Spider Vein Treatment

What can you expect from spider vein treatment? Simply put, better looking legs because although your doctor will not be able to make those veins disappear, he or she will be able to conceal it by making these appear lighter in color thus making these unnoticeable.

But how does that happen? This begins after the doctor has done all the necessary tests before approving this procedure. You will then be scheduled to come at a certain time so he or she will be able to get to work.

The most popular spider vein treatment these days is sclerotherapy. It last between 15 to 45 minutes and is relatively painless.

Before the spider veins are injected with the sclerosing solution, it will first be cleaned with an antiseptic solution. The number of injections to be given to a patient varies depending on the number of affected veins. This could be from 5 to 40 per session and after each one is injected, it is covered with a cotton ball and compression tape to make sure it does not get infected.

This procedure does not require anesthesia. You will be awake the whole time and you can listen to music, read or just talk to your doctor while you are lying down on the bed. You might need to shift positions several times so just follow what your doctor says so this can be finished.

After treatment, you will need to wear a tight fitting hose that is prescribed by the doctor. This helps against blood clots and also promotes healing which has to be worn for 72 hours or longer. You will feel cramping during the first few days after the injection. You wont be given any pain killers because this is normal so you just have to bear with it.

You should also expect your veins to look worse than they are now before it gets better. Any improvements will only be seen after 2 or 3 sessions so you will have to go back for your next one apart about a month. Since your legs are still healing, you shouldnt sit, stand, squat, carry heavy items or exercise.

If there are no complications, you will be like a lot of patients who are happy with sclerotherapy. You will feel proud of how your legs look that you will go to the beach often and wear that two piece suit or put on a mini skirt should you go to a party.

One thing you should remember thought about sclerotherapy is that it does not prevent new veins from appearing. It can happen and it is up to you whether or not you want to undergo through the same procedure again.

Sclerotherapy is a form of spider vein treatment that is done by a plastic surgeon. If you are looking for one, you should seek specialist that is a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). These people are members of a bigger organization namely the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS) and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

So do you want to improve how your legs look? If you do, ask a doctor to see if you qualify for this procedure. It is affordable and painless which are the two things that any patient would want to look better than before.