Varicose veins are swollen, twisted, blue or purple veins that can be seen under the skin’s surface. These abnormal, dilated blood vessels result from a weakening in the vessel wall or faulty valves. They can show up anywhere on the body, but most often appear on the legs or pelvic area.
Spider veins, a smaller version of varicose veins, affect the capillaries, the body’s smallest blood vessels. Spider veins, which are red or blue, look like a spider’s web or tree branch, and they tend to appear on the legs and face.
Although varicose veins and spider veins are common, many patients find them unsightly. Varicose veins can also cause unpleasant symptoms, such as tiredness, itching, burning, throbbing, tingling, heaviness, soreness, or swelling in the legs.
Sometimes, lifestyle changes can improve symptoms. For example:
- Avoid standing or sitting for long periods without taking a break.
- Shed extra weight to improve blood flow and ease pressure on your veins.
- Don’t wear tight clothing, especially those that fit tightly around your waist, upper thighs, and legs. Tight clothing can worsen varicose veins.
- Don’t wear high heels for long periods. A better choice: shoes with lower heels, which can help tone calf muscles and improve blood flow through veins.
- Elevate legs while sitting, resting, or sleeping, if possible, to a level above your heart.
- Avoid crossing your legs.
- Do physical activities that move your legs, which will improve muscle tone.
If your doctor recommends them, consider wearing compression stockings. These stockings create gentle pressure up the leg, which keeps blood from pooling in veins and also decreases leg swelling. You can buy compression stockings in pharmacies and medical supply stores.
Usually, varicose veins don’t cause medical problems. But in some people, they can lead to pain that interferes with walking or standing, as well as blood clots, skin ulcers, infections, and other troubles.
If lifestyle changes don’t help, if varicose veins become more severe, or if you’re bothered by the appearance of your varicose or spider veins, talk to your doctor about the various medical treatments available.
Be aware, though, that although treatments can help your varicose veins, they won’t prevent new ones from forming.
Medical Treatments
Sclerotherapy
Sclerotherapy is most often used for smaller varicose veins and spider veins. This procedure can eliminate the pain and discomfort of varicose veins, as well as prevent complications from the condition, such as ulcers or vein bleeding. However, it’s also used frequently for cosmetic reasons -- to improve appearance.
With sclerotherapy, doctors inject a liquid chemical called a sclerosing agent directly into a varicose vein to close it off. The chemical irritates and scars the inside of the vein, causing it to collapse. Over the course of six months, the vein disappears. You may need several treatments to close off a vein entirely. Typically, treatments are done every 4 to 6 weeks.
