While nobody wants it, millions of Americans have spider veins. These are small, damaged, and discolored veins that show through the skin’s surface. Spider veins can be unappealing but also painful. The good news is that if you are troubled by spider veins Edina, you can eliminate them with innovative vein treatments. These treatments can help you get rid of spider veins and leave you feeling more confident, particularly in the hot summer when you want to wear shorts. Here is a look at various preventative and treatment measures for spider veins you should consider.
Lifestyle Changes
Lifestyle changes are normally the first line of treatment. If you have a job where you spend most of your day sitting in the office. One way to improve spider veins is getting up and walking around regularly. This helps activate the calf muscles and return blood to the heart. Consider elevating your legs on a stool at home or the office. Getting up and moving around instead of sitting all day is one of the best ways of decreasing your chances of developing spider veins. Doing this for about five minutes every hour will help elevate spider veins symptoms. Other recommendable lifestyle changes include losing excess weight and exercising.
Compression Stockings
Compression stockings are another type of conservative treatment your doctor might recommend. These socks function by squeezing the vein to prevent the blood from pooling, preventing the wall from weakening. However, although compression stockings are effective, they only help to manage the symptoms but don’t eliminate the varicose veins.
Sclerotherapy
This is one of the most effective procedures in treating spider veins. The health provider injects a chemical into the spider veins that causes swelling that eventually scars and closes off the vein. The loss of blood flow makes the spider vein shrink and dissolve over some weeks. Even better, sclerotherapy only takes several minutes. It is also a low-risk procedure with quick recovery. After the procedure, your body will take about six weeks to absorb and get rid of the damaged tissues.
Venous Closure
Venous closure is another alternative treatment to the conservative management of spider veins. The procedure involves inserting a small tube in the spider veins and using heat to close it. This prevents the blood from going into the venous or spider veins. Like sclerotherapy, the procedure is low risk, causes minimal discomfort, and is same-day. Some people might experience minor side effects such as bruising, but it goes away in some weeks.
Spider veins can affect your self-esteem or cause pain and discomfort. Whether you want to get rid of your spider veins for cosmetic reasons or decrease other chronic venous insufficiency symptoms, you should consult a board-certified vascular specialist. While many medical providers can perform many vein treatment options, finding board-certified specialists is best. This is because non-cosmetic symptoms of spider veins can indicate more serious underlying problems and vascular specialists are better positioned to examine and treat the issues. What might seem like only a cosmetic problem could be a life-threatening arterial issue.