How Effective is Blue Light Therapy for Spider Veins?

Blue Light Therapy is often recommended as an effective method to treat spider veins. But how effective is blue light therapy for spider veins?

To put it simply, blue light therapy is just as effective as laser treatment — not effective at all.

Blue light therapy for spider veins is often recommended by medical spas because they don’t have to be administered by trained doctors. And, yes, after several expensive sessions, you might start seeing a difference.

But it is one of the least reliable types of treatments for spider veins. The most effective method to treat spider veins is Sclerotherapy.

In this article, we’ll discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using blue light therapy for spider veins. We’ll also discuss the benefits of using Sclerotherapy as an effective alternative.

What are Spider Veins?

Before we discuss how to treat spider veins with blue light therapy or sclerotherapy, we need to discuss what causes spider veins.

Spider Veins, scientifically called Telangiectasias, are a small network of blood vessels visible just under the surface of the skin. They are called “spider veins” because they look like red spider webs.

Spider veins generally occur on the legs, feet, thighs, and the face. They can also cause slight pain and discomfort.

Causes and Dangers of Spider Veins

While spider veins aren’t dangerous in and of themselves, they can be indicative of underlying vein disease.

Vein Disease, also known as Chronic Venous Insufficiency, is a disease in which the valves in the veins malfunction. The valves are usually supposed to act as one-way doors and facilitate blood flow to the heart. However, when they malfunction, blood flows back down and pools around the legs. This can put pressure on the veins and lead to spider veins or varicose veins.

While spider veins themselves aren’t dangerous, vein disease is extremely risky and needs to be treated immediately. If left untreated, venous insufficiency can result in bleeding, skin infections, and ulcers.

In the worst case scenario, vein disease can also lead to Deep Vein Thrombosis, a medical condition in which blood clots in the veins. If the clotted blood breaks, it can get carried to the lungs, which can lead to a potentially fatal condition called Pulmonary Embolism.

What is Blue Light Therapy for Spider Veins?

Blue Light Therapy for spider veins is a method in which blue light or laser is used to treat spider veins. The laser is non-UV in nature and emits photons that generate heat. The heat can destroy the damage blood vessel over time. As such, the damaged vein shrinks and eventually dissolves.

Advantages of Blue Light Therapy for Spider Veins

The only time that blue light therapy for spider veins has an advantage over sclerotherapy is when it comes to the foot or face.

Both the face and the foot are dense with venous-arterial connections. When using Sclerotherapy, the Sclero has to be injected into the veins. Injecting it into the arteries can be dangerous. Most conservative physicians prefer not to use Sclerotherapy for spider veins in the face or foot.

As such, it’s better to go for blue light therapy for spider veins in the face or foot.

Drawbacks of Blue Light Therapy for Spider Veins

Blue Light Therapy is an extremely long process. You basically have to go for multiple treatment sessions, all of which are extremely expensive. The entire process eventually ends up being several times more expensive than Sclerotherapy, both in terms of time and money.

Furthermore, it can take weeks or months before you even start seeing any differences with Blue Light Therapy for spider veins. If you want immediate results, Sclerotherapy is your best bet.

Sclerotherapy: An Alternative to Blue Light Therapy for Spider Veins

Sclerotherapy is the most effective and permanent method to treat spider veins. It is a minimally-invasive procedure in which a medicine called Sclerosant is injected into the damaged vein.

The Sclerosant inflicts some chemical damage to the veins, which leads to the vein walls sticking together and eventually closing up. The blood is then routed to healthier veins and the damaged vein eventually gets reabsorbed.

Advantages of Sclerotherapy for Spider Veins

There are multiple advantages of using Sclerotherapy to treat spider veins:

• The process is minimally-invasive and non-surgical in nature.
• Sclerotherapy doesn’t hurt or cause much discomfort.
• It works immediately and you don’t need to come back for multiple treatment sessions.
• It can get rid of spider veins permanently.
• The entire process takes just about 30 minutes.
• You can resume your daily activities immediately after.
• It is cheaper than Blue Light Therapy.
• You’ll wear compression stockings briefly after treatment. 

Drawbacks of Sclerotherapy for Spider Veins

The only drawback of Sclerotherapy is that it shouldn’t be used to treat spider veins on the foot or face because of the dense venous-arterial connections.

Contact your Vein Doctor Today

As we have mentioned above, spider veins aren’t dangerous themselves, but they can be indicative of vein disease. If you have spider veins, you should consult your local spider vein specialist in NY or spider vein specialist in NJ immediately.

At Vein Treatment Clinic, we specialize in using Sclerotherapy to treat spider veins permanently. In conjunction with VIP Medical Group, we give our patients access to some of the world’s leading Ivy-league educated vein specialists. We study your situation individually and curate a treatment plan that is specific to your situation and your needs.

So book an appointment with your local vein treatment clinic today.