Tag: pain

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.

The Two Types of Spider Vein Treatment

Spider veins are not nice to look at regardless of where they may be in the body. It can happen on the face but this usually appears on the legs. Fortunately, this can be remedied and people have to choose from two types of spider vein treatment.

The first is called sclerotherapy also known as spider vein injection. Here, the doctor will inject a scleroic agent into you the affected vein which is designed to make them contract and collapse.

This is done when the patient has medium to large spider veins. It is a painless procedure which is why anesthesia is not given. It is over within 15 to 45 minutes and you will have to go back for two or six more sessions to see its full effect.

Sclerotherapy was first used in Europe and then now being used by doctors in the US. This should only be done by a certified doctor to avoid complications.

The second type of spider vein treatment is laser. Here, the doctor will aim the beam over the spider veins so this will coagulate and shrink. This is very effective when the patient has small and medium sized spider veins.

Patients who decide to use laser surgery should know that you will feel a little pain when the procedure is being performed. Despite that, you dont need to be given any local anesthetic, pain medication or sedative.

In both types, you should expect the spider veins in the skin to get darker and become more visible. Within 2 weeks to a month and a half, this should already start to fade so it is slowly improving.

Some patients who have small, medium and large spider veins have to use combination therapy which consist of sclerotherapy and laser which will greatly reduce the cost for laser treatment.

The cost of sclerotherapy and laser treatment are not that far apart. A session of sclerotherapy may cost between $100 and $400 per session while laser treatment could cost $300-450 per session. But you have to remember that this could go higher depending on the number of veins that have to be treated, the doctor who is performing the procedure and where you are having this done. Doctors who have their own clinic can do it right there instead of having this done in the hospital.

The two types of spider vein treatment have similarities and differences. One cannot be substituted with the other because one type is designed to help patients who have small to medium spider veins while the other is to help treat those who have medium to large spider veins.

Which one will be performed on you will depend on the assessment of your doctor. To help with the cost of this procedure, you should see if your insurance provider will be able to cover it. You should know right now that many insurance companies do not shoulder this expense because their argument is that this is a cosmetic procedure.

While this is true, you can with the help of your doctor argue that you need one of the two types of spider vein treatment for medical reasons. Just remember that this should be backed up by pictures and documents so there is a big chance that your request for this procedure is approved.

The Side Effects of Spider Vein Treatment

More and more people who are suffering from spider vein are now considering getting spider vein treatment for two reasons. The first reason is for them to look good and the other one is to maintain their health.

Experts say that there is a steady demand for spider vein treatment options because many people would want to get rid of the ugly lines on their legs as well on their faces. They believe that once these unsightly veins are removed, they can gain more self-confidence because they can now get their positive outlook in life from their fairer appearance.

The demand has also been increasing because many people have now realized the importance of their health in their lives. Many people who are suffering from spider vein treatment believe that these veins can cause them more complicated diseases and illnesses in the future so they would want to get rid of it as early as possible. Removal of these veins cannot only make people feel good about themselves but can also spare them from pain that is brought by this condition.

However, people are not paying attention to the possible side effects of the most common spider vein treatment options available today which is sclerotherapy.

Side effects of sclerotherapy

Sclerotherapy is the process of removing spider veins using a series of medicinal injections which contain saline and other solutions to collapse the damaged nerve wall and allow the system to reabsorb it. This is the most common procedure used by many physicians because it is convenient and less cheaper compared to other spider vein treatment options. The side effects of this procedure are considered minimal and short-lived while the permanent side effects are really rare.

The following are some of the side effects of the sclerotherapy procedure. Before undergoing this procedure, make sure that you have already discussed what to expect with you physician so you will know how to cope with it.

1. Pain or stinging at the site where the needle has been pricked. Usually, after the injection, the patient must expect that his or her ankles or feet will be swollen and his or her muscles are experiencing cramps. But, this should not be a big deal because the sting or pain is expected to disappear about 15 minutes after the injection.

2. Raised red dots present on the injection sites. These are medium sites red dots that are visible especially to those with fair complexion. These dots are expected to disappear in two days if the procedure has been administered correctly.

3. Small blood clot or hematoma. These refer to clots of blood that develop at the injected vein. These small blood clots will cause tenderness that will last in a week’s time.

4. Visible brown lines or dark spots on the site of injection. This is the result of blood that has escaped in the veins that have been injected or treated veins. People who have larger veins are prone to this but they should not worry too much because it can disappear when the year ends.

5. Inflamed blood vessels. This is one of the most common side effects with this spider vein. This is usually treated using with heating pad, oral aspirin or other antibiotics.

Pregnant women are not advised to undergo this type of spider vein treatment because the saline injectionswhich are known to contain large amounts of saltcan lead to high blood pressure as well to congestive heart failure.