Symptoms Of Varicose Veins And Spider Veins
Many people with varicose veins complain of pain, described as an aching or cramping in the legs. Other common symptoms include tiredness, restlessness, burning, throbbing, tingling, or heaviness in the legs. Pain from these veins is usually relieved by elevating the legs or by wearing support hose, also called compression stockings.
In women, symptoms may be worse during certain parts of the menstrual cycle or during pregnancy. Less common is swelling, ulcers, and a darkening of the skin, especially in the ankle region. Occasionally, varicose veins can form a painful blood clot with inflammation of the vein, a condition called thrombophlebitis.
How To Treat Spider Veins
Spider veins earn their name from the twisting and turning of small red, blue, or purple veins under the surface of the skin which resemble a spider web. Spider veins are a common cosmetic concern for both men and women, affecting up to 50% of the adult population. A spider vein forms as the result of a weak or damaged valve in a vein that obstructs the flow of blood, thus causing the blood to back up and the vein to swell. If you are bothered by these unsightly veins, continue reading to learn about the available spider vein treatments and which are the most effective.
Treatment For Spider Veins On Ankles
Excellent treatment exists for unattractive spider veins on feet and ankles.
You can try some simple things at home to ease minor discomfort and prevent additional spider veins from forming.
Unfortunately, untreated spider veins will worsen over time.
To eliminate existing spider veins, visit our office for safe and effective treatment.
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What Causes Spider Veins On The Face
Spider veins form when the capillaries in the skin on your face become dilated. This happens from poor blood circulation and aging, damaged skin. Broken blood vessels on the face can develop at any age, but some people may have a higher chance of developing them than others.
Some causes of broken blood vessels on the face include:
Get Rid Of My Varicose Veins
Question: WHAT CAN I DO TO GET RID OF MY VARICOSE VEINS? Answer: There are numerous options to treat varicose veins. Some are considered medically necessary, while others are strictly cosmetic. Larger veins are treated in a myriad of ways depending on the provider you consult with and their proficiency in a given intervention. The
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Symptoms Of Spider Veins
Spider veins on the ankles, although unsightly, usually dont indicate a serious health problem.
Sometimes they are itchy or painful. But most often, spider veins are mainly annoying from a cosmetic standpoint. Understandably, people want unattractive spider veins treated.
In rare cases, spider veins contribute to the formation of large skin sores, or ulcers. This problem is most likely to occur near spider veins on the ankles and requires immediate treatment.
Causes Of Spider Veins
There are many factors that can contribute to the development of spider veins some you can influence more easily than others. Risk factors include:
- Family predisposition
- Prolonged standing, sometimes connected with certain professions
- A history of blood clots or circulation problems
- Hormonal influences they are more common during puberty, pregnancy and menopause
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Sclerotherapy And Closure System
Sclerotherapy involves injecting an irritant directly into the affected vein. Due to irritation, the veins stick together and keep blood from flowing into the area.
This procedure can reduce swelling and cause the vein to shrink. Over time, the spider vein fades or vanishes. Several treatments may be necessary to obtain the desired result.
Similar to sclerotherapy, closure system treatment involves injecting a substance into the affected veins. This substance is sticky, and it closes the vein off from blood flow, causing the spider vein to fade or disappear with time.
As with sclerotherapy, a person may require several treatments to produce the desired outcome.
Tips For Preventing Spider Veins
There are steps you can take to prevent spider veins from occurring at all and reduce the appearance if they have already formed.
In some cases, spider veins are unpreventable. For some, spider veins are hereditary. Some are even born with weak vein valves that allow spider veins to form easily. In the same way that medications can cause spider veins, natural hormones can cause visible veins, too. Hormonal changes from puberty, pregnancy, and menopause can be the trigger for veins to become damaged. With hormones affecting veins, its no surprise that women are more likely to develop spider veins than men. Age also plays a role in seeing these small, unsightly veins on the surface of your skin.
While there are many ways to prevent spider veins, how do you handle the unavoidable ones?
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Natural Varicose Veins Treatment
According to a 2012 report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, treatment options for varicose veins range from conservative to minimally invasive , to invasive , to hybrid .
A 2007 report published in the Journal of the Royal College of Surgeons of England found that nerve injuries following varicose vein surgeries are common and that more than half the patients treated will develop some recurrent varicose sites within 10 years of surgery.
Varicose veins are always a symptom of an underlying venous insufficiency disorder. This is true whether or not you experiences other symptoms like pain and swelling. If you visit a dermatologist or doctor to talk about treatment options, youll likely be advised to make certain lifestyle modifications first, before surgery or other treatments are even considered. These can greatly help decrease blood pooling in your veins, while also offering many other perks, like more energy, clearer skin, better heart health and improved digestion. And the best part is that natural remedies pose little to no risk and are far less expensive than surgeries too.
Here are five natural treatments for varicose veins:
1. Exercise
If you experience pain when starting to exercise, take it slowly and try icing or heating sore muscles after a workout. You can also elevate your legs to help decrease swelling and pain, or try compression stockings to create gentle pressure up the leg that keeps blood from accumulating.
How To Get Rid Of Spider Veins And Varicose Veins
If youre wondering how to get rid of spider veins, youve probably already come across a bunch of the internets suggestions. When I noticed a series of faint blue lines twisting around my thigh, some of the recommended home remedies I saw included ginger tea, massage, and even exercise. But heres the honest truth: Thats all B.S. Visible veins arent something you can fix at home.
So I talked to dermatologists and surgeons who specialize in treating spider veins and varicose veins . What I learned is that the underlying causes of these visible veins arent always preventableand they can be a sign of a much deeper vein problem that no home remedy is likely to fix. Heres how to get rid of spider veins for realand why its so important to see a specialist to do so.
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How Dermatologists Treat Leg Veins
Treatment options range from self-care to minor surgery. A dermatologist may use one or more of these treatments:
Self-care: Your dermatologist can give you tips to improve your circulation. These tips include:
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Sit for long periods? Get up and walk around every 30 minutes
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Stand for long periods? Take a break every 30 minutes
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Avoid soaking in hot baths for long periods of time
Self-care tips can help prevent new varicose and spider veins but cannot get rid of existing ones.
Compression stockings: These stockings apply steady pressure to help move the blood back to your heart. The steady pressure also lessens swelling in your lower legs and reduces the risk of getting a blood clot. Youll still have visible leg veins, though.
If you need compression stockings, a dermatologist can examine you so that you get the proper size and right amount of pressure.
Sclerotherapy: This is the most common treatment for leg veins. Over the years, dermatologists have improved sclerotherapy to make it safer and give patients better results. Today, dermatologists use it to treat spider and small varicose veins.
If you have sclerotherapy, this is what happens during treatment:
Sclerotherapy causes the walls of the vein to stick together, so the blood cannot flow through it anymore. This improves circulation in the treated leg and reduces swelling.
Spider veins usually disappear in 3 to 6 weeks. Varicose veins take 3 to 4 months.
Laser light can destroy the vein without damaging your skin.
Can You Do Anything To Prevent Spider Veins
There are a few different underlying causes of vein issues that are preventable or reversible, while others aren’t. For instance, if your visible veins are largely due to inherited factors, pregnancy, or how active you can be during the work day, thats not likely something you have a ton of control over.
But there are some general things you can do to prevent them, such as maintaining physical activity during the day. If you sit at work all day, the AAD recommends getting up and walking around a bit every 30 minutes. Or, if you stand at work for long periods of time, the AAD recommends taking a break and sitting down every 30 minutes. And exercising in general, elevating your legs when possible, and avoiding soaking for long periods of time in hot baths can help prevent visible veins as well, the AAD says.
However, these strategies cant treat any visible veins you already have.
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Options In Natural Spider Vein Remedies
Natural remedies are often the first choice for spider vein sufferers that dont want to resort to medical treatment to eliminate the vessels. The natural approach is attractive because it does not require a prescription or therapy administered by a physician. Many of these solutions are as close as the neighborhood grocery store. Some of the most popular natural remedies for spider veins include:
What Causes Spider Veins And Other Visible Veins
To understand why these visible veins develop, youve got to understand how blood flows through the body. Your heart pumps blood to your entire body through your blood vessels. From there, blood circulates outward toward the extremities through the arteries and back inward to the heart through your veins.
Think of veins as being a hose that flows from bottom-up toward your heart, says dermatologist Alicia Barba, M.D., of Barba Dermatology. And theres a little valve. When they work well, the blood shoots up and the valve closes. When it doesnt work, the blood falls back down instead of moving north.
When blood flows in the wrong direction because of a valve problem, it can get backed up in the veins of the legs, which damages the walls of the vein, the American Academy of Dermatology explains. That extra pressure on the vein walls gradually causes them to weaken and then bulge, creating veins we can actually see. In fact, the majority of people who have spider veins and/or varicose veins will be dealing with this type of venous insufficiency, Dr. Hollingsworth says.
However, other factors can contribute to the likelihood that youll develop visible veins, including genetics, age, and your level of physical activity, the AAD says.
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What Are The Best Natural Remedies For Spider Veins
Spider veins are a common byproduct of the aging process, but they are not restricted to the senior set. These visible red and blue vein networks can appear during any season of life, causing cosmetic embarrassment when they occur in prominent areas like the lower legs and face. If you are fed up with hiding your spider veins, maybe its time to say goodbye to them for good. When it comes to eliminating the pesky vessels, what options do you have? Are natural remedies a viable option?
Home Remedies For Varicose Veins And Spider Veins
While it’s not possible to “cure” them entirely, there are several home remedies for varicose and spider veins, including:
- Movement! Force yourself to get up every 30 minutes to 1 hour. Avoid sitting still or standing for long periods.
- Exercise! Exercise! Exercise! Even a daily 30-minute brisk walk can help to improve circulation, tone calf muscles, alleviate pressure, and reduce swellingas well as support a healthy weight.
- Put your feet up. When at rest, elevate the legs. Raising your legs above the level of your heart gives your veins a break as they don’t have to work against gravity.
- Invest in compression stockings, which can aid in contraction of the veins and muscles in the legs to increase blood flow. For mild symptoms, regular support stockings or over-the-counter compression stockings should help. For more severe symptoms, your health professional will prescribe a special stocking.
- Increase fiber in diet. This means incorporating more whole grains like bran, plus fruit and vegetables. Eating fiber reduces the chances of constipation.
- Reduce salt intake. Eating less salt can help with the swelling that comes with varicose veins.
- Lose the high heels. They put undue stress on your legs.
- Avoid tight clothing around the waist and legs.
That’s about all there is to it. There are many misconceptions and “quick fixes” on the Internet that you should avoid. A couple examples of falsely advertised products include herbal supplements and creams containing vitamin K.
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Remedies That Boost Full Body Circulation
Its important to address your body circulation and improve the overall flow of blood. Read more about it in my article on how to improve blood circulation and why its so important. This is best achieved by doing some gentle exercises swimming, walking, cycling.
Herbs can help as well. Some of the herbs used topically, can also be taken internally, such as horse chestnut and witch hazel.
The following three are particularly well known circulation boosters:
Ginger
According to research, the versatile ginger improves your circulation by lowering blood pressure and thinning the blood. Therefore, if youre already on some type of drug for this, consult your doctor before you start eating large doses of ginger.
Small amounts of ginger will not make a very big difference, but you can use them in combination with other natural remedies. Add it to your fruit shake, spice up your meal or enjoy a rejuvenating ginger tea. Alternatively, you can buy powdered ginger extract and consume that. For more information about ginger, read my post on how to use ginger as a medicine. Adding ginger to your diet is also one of the 70 habits featured in my e-book 70 Powerful Habits For A Great Health which will guide you how to take positive steps to improve your wellness and overall health.
Ginkgo biloba
Massage
Gently massaging the area with the spider veins is another easy and simple way to improve circulation, which can help get rid of spider veins. It also helps reduce pain and inflammation.
What Are The Symptoms Of Varicose Veins And Spider Veins
Some women do not have any symptoms with varicose veins and spider veins. If you do have symptoms, your legs may feel extremely tired, heavy, or achy. Your symptoms may get worse after sitting or standing for long periods of time. Your symptoms may get better after resting and putting your legs up.3
Other symptoms that may be more common with varicose veins include:
- Throbbing or cramping
Changing hormone levels may affect your symptoms. Because of this, you may notice more symptoms during certain times in your menstrual cycle or during pregnancy or menopause.
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Ways To Treat Spider Veins Of The Face
1. Concealers – Use of a good quality concealer may be enough if your broken capillaries are minimal or are in a less obvious place on your face. A green-based color corrector, like this one by Smashbox, will work better than a skin toned one.
2. Retinol / Vitamin A creams – Retinoids make facial spider veins less visible by building collagen in the dermis and minimizing their appearance.
3. Electrocautery and radiofrequency are inexpensive methods used to vaporize broken capillaries and redness of the face and chest. In both procedures, a fine needle-like tip, set at a low setting, is carefully touched to the capillary, vaporizing the dilated vessels. The procedure may be a little uncomfortable, but it is quick and has a very low chance of scarring. These 2 techniques can easily treat even the tiniest veins that cannot be treated by sclerotherapy or lasers. To learn more about radiofrequency, check out our Spider Veins, Skin Tags, Cherry Angiomas page.
“Veinwave, VeinGogh, Veinxpert and Ellman microneedle radio frequency are all variations of a similar technique which involves heating of very small vessels usually in the 1 to 2 mm range. These are veins that cannot be treated with sclerotherapy.”
– Dr. John Landi, Naples General Surgeon
*After treatment, you’ll need to use sunscreen daily to keep more broken capillaries from developing.
Deterrence And Patient Education
Naturally, there is little that can be done to address non-modifiable risk factors such as age, sex, ethnicity, and gravidity. Measures can be taken to address other factors such as maintaining a normal BMI, smoking cessation, keeping active, and avoiding tight clothing proximal to the spider veins. There is some evidence to suggest that compression stockings may be of some benefit in preventing new spider veins from forming after treatment.
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