How To Get Rid Of Spider Veins Without Pain

Spider veins are tiny red, purplish or bluish veins that form a cluster, usually on the legs or face. They can be seen through the skin and are unsightly. You can learn how to get rid of spider veins by reading ahead. People can get spider veins at just about any age but it is more common in women and more common in those who have a hereditary predisposition, are on their feet a lot, are obese or are pregnant and have active hormones. The same is true of those in puberty and who are in menopause.

Patients with birth control pills, postmenopausal hormone replacement, a history of clots in the blood and certain medical conditions that cause increased pressure in the abdomen need to get rid of spider veins more commonly. Spider veins are common, affecting between 30 and 60 percent of adults, increasing with age.

You may wish to remove spider veins because they are unsightly or because you have symptoms of aching in the affected area or cramping in the legs. The legs can feel heavy or tingly and burning pain is not uncommon. Spider veins can be worse if you are premenstrual when the hormones are at their highest and are fluctuating greatly.

The treatment for spider veins depends on how many you have and the doctor you choose. You can choose to wear support stockings for comfort and to reduce the appearance of spider veins. They come as pantyhose, below the knee or above the knee varieties. Some pharmacies carry them or you can go to a surgical supply store. If you lose weight and adopt a walking program, you can help decrease the appearance of spider veins.

Sclerotherapy is a treatment for spider veins that many women have. It involves using a concentrated saline solution or other solution of a chemical that clots blood and collapses veins. Tiny needles are inserted into the spider veins and the veins collapse, the blood eventually being absorbed into the system. The vein collapses either right away or slowly over three to six weeks, depending on the sclerosing therapy used.

Another way to remove spider veins is to use a procedure known as an endovenous laser treatment. This uses a laser fiber that is inserted into the vein with pulses of light delivered into the vein, causing it to collapse. It doesn't hurt much because it is under local anesthesia.

Radio-frequency occlusion is another procedure used to treat spider veins. There is a tiny catheter used to create radio-frequency energy. The vein wall heats up and collapses, sealing the vein closed. Local anesthesia is used to manage the possible pain associated with the procedure.

While surgery can be used on varicose veins, it doesn't work very well on spider veins. Laser treatment and sclerotherapy are the best options. At the end, you are left with whitish colored veins that are void of blood because they have collapsed and no longer carry blood. The veins just blend in with the regular skin and are relatively invisible.