What Are Spider Veins?
Spider veins are harmless, small, thin and red-colored lines of blood vessels that usually have a spider-net shape on the surface of the skin, typically in the legs and face. Although this is a very common condition and it usually affects older women.
Common Signs and Symptoms
Spider veins are harmless and painless . They look like small lines that might turn red, blue or purple, depending on your color skin and how much time you have been suffering the condition.
Usually, the most common cause of discomfort when having spider veins is the cosmetically undesirably result the face and legs skin have.
Causes of Spider Veins
The main reason for having spider veins is the weakness or damage in the vein valves, causing venous insufficiency. As a result, the blood will be stagnated inside the veins and will change the skin color and appearance. Risk factors that increase the likelihood of developing spider vein include:
- Aging
- Female gender
- Pregnancy
- Obesity
- Prolonged standing
Spider Veins Treatment
Treating spider veins is typically and extremely safe and simple process. There are several treatment options including non-invasive and minimally invasive ones.
Noninvasive Treatments
- Lifestyle changes. Including losing weight and doing exercise regularly
- Avoiding too tight clothes
- Avoiding long periods of standing or sitting
- Wearing special compression stockings all day
Minimally invasive treatments
If you don’t show any improvement after conventional treatments or if your case is more severe from the beginning, your doctor might suggest some of the following treatments.
- Sclerotherapy – Which involves the injection of the veins with a solution that scars and close the veins from the inside.
- Laser – This technique has been used to slowly fade and disappear those small spider veins, thanks to the effect of the laser light in the vein.
- Endovenous Laser Therapy (EVLT) – This is a procedure to treat small spider veins in which your doctor will make some very small incisions in the veins and insert a laser fiber that applies heat directly to the vein from the inside, causing it’s collapse.
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