What are spider and varicose veins:
Spider veins appear as red, blue, or purple lines that look like spider webs on your legs. They are formed when blood pools inside a vein and branches out to form tiny blood vessels.
Varicose veins are blue or purple in color and appear swollen and enlarged. Frequently, they can have a lumpy, bulging, or twisty appearance. They are formed in the same way as spider veins, except they are more serious than spider veins.
Why are they formed:
The human body has a vast network of veins that help carry blood from all organs to the heart. The veins in our legs and face have the most work to do as they are the furthest away from the heart. Veins on the legs have to pump blood against gravity, making their job even tougher.
To prevent blood from flowing back into the legs, veins have valves that close if blood tries to flow backwards. But over time, some valves may weaken. When this happens, blood may get collected in the veins, straining against the walls of the veins. As a result, spider and varicose veins may appear.
Who may develop them:
Women are more likely to develop spider and varicose veins than men; similarly, they are more likely to appear if it runs in the family. While these factors cannot be controlled, other risk factors such as lifestyle and diet can be controlled. Obesity can also be a factor. If your work or lifestyle involves long hours or sitting or standing and if you don’t have sufficient exercise in your daily routine, you can fall in the risk of developing spider and varicose veins.
What are other associated symptoms:
Spider veins and varicose veins can appear alongside other symptoms such as:
- Leg pain or heaviness in the legs
- Leg cramps
- Worsening leg fatigue
- Leg swelling, especially around the feet or ankles
- Irritation, itching, or burning over areas of the veins
Now that we have answered the what, why, and who, we turn our focus on the next important question: How do we treat them?
How spider and varicose veins are treated
Even if you don’t have a significant amount of spider veins or varicose veins, you may simply not be happy with its appearance. If caught early, spider and varicose veins can be easily treated by our team of expert vein specialist doctors. You will have our highly trained vein doctors in charge of your treatment who will ensure that you receive comprehensive care for your spider and varicose vein treatment. They will take your experience and feelings with your condition into account before going forward with the diagnosis and treatment.
Innovation and massive advances in medical technology have meant that vein treatment procedures have become less and less invasive over the last decade. Most procedures now require only local anesthetic, and some don’t require anesthetics at all. Doctors can use a variety of diagnosis and treatment methods that would work best for your specific needs.
Our Vein Clinic offers a number of spider and varicose vein treatment methods using state of the art technology:
- Endovenous laser varicose surgery: In this vein procedure, heat from a laser is applied to close or shrink the varicose veins. Endovenous laser surgery is a minimally invasive procedure that takes less than an hour and does not require hospital stay. You will be able to walk out of the hospital within an hour after the procedure is done.
- Sclerotherapy: Sclerotherapy is the most frequently used method of treatment of spider veins. An agent called sclerosant is injected into the diseased veins that causes the veins to stick to one another and close up. The veins are then absorbed by the body, clearing the skin.
- VenaSeal: VenaSeal is a minimally invasive medical procedure in which a bio-adhesive is applied on the diseased veins using a catheter, causing the veins to seal off. The vein procedure takes anywhere between 30 minutes to 60 minutes. Eventually, the veins are reabsorbed by the body.
- Radiofrequency Ablation: Similar to endovenous laser varicose surgery, this procedure applies heat on the diseased veins. Heat is produced using radiofrequency. The heat then stops blood flow in the diseased veins, and over time the veins disappear.
- Varithena: Varithena is a micro foam sclerosant that is injected into the diseased veins. This is a non-surgical procedure that takes less than 60 minutes in which the diseased veins are closed down and eventually disappear. The recovery period for this procedure is also very short; the patient will be able to move about freely within an hour of the vein procedure.
If you would like to know more about the best vein treatment options for you, book an appointment with the best vein doctors and in San Diego.
The Vein Clinic in San Diego, CA has a team of highly qualified vein doctors who are double board certified and extremely experienced at vein treatments. All our doctors have been trained at Ivy League universities. Our doctors use world-class medical infrastructure and cutting-edge technology that help them employ the most advanced procedures to treat their patients. But most important of all, all our doctors value patients’ comfort and treat them with friendliness, patience, and kindness. You can be certain that our highly trained doctors will look after you with utmost expertise, and that your concerns and queries will always be heard.
Our vein clinic at San Diego is currently located near the Torrey Pine beach state park, close to the Westfield UTC Shopping Center. Our experienced Harvard-trained vein doctors can offer the best care possible to help you.