The ugly red or purplish web patterns and sunbursts made by the smallest veins on your legs and face are called spider or broken veins. Its appearance is dependent on pregnancy and hormonal changes, and is unsightly. However there are various spider vein treatment options you can try to get rid of these veins.
1. First of all, make some lifestyle changes by losing weight if obese, implementing good skin hygiene in your daily routine and starting walking.
2. Wear properly fitted support hoses to give support to the veins. These stockings are available at surgical support stores and pharmacies and are available as below-the-knee, above-the-knee and pantyhose styles.
3. Sclerotherapy is a popular spider vein treatment where highly concentrated saline or special detergent is injected into the skin. This makes the vein gradually disappear over a month’s time. This is a relatively cheap and simple operation that doesn’t need any hospitalization.
4. In radiofrequency occlusion, a small catheter is inserted into the vein to deliver radiofrequency energy to the vein wall. This makes the vein lose heat, collapse and thus, seals shut. This procedure is done under local anesthesia in an outpatient setting.
5. A small laser fiber is inserted into the vein in endovenous laser treatment through which pulses of laser light is delivered in the vein. This too makes the vein collapse and is also done under local anesthesia, as an outpatient.
6. There are various plastic surgery techniques that help treat large spider veins like ligation where a vein is tied off, and stripping where a long segment of vein is removed. Ambulatory phlebectomy is another procedure that removes large surface veins using small incisions, without any stitches. All these surgeries are performed either under local, spinal or general anesthesia, and patients usually return home on the same day.
7. Surface laser and intense pulsed light treatments like Vasculight and PhotoDerm use heat energy to damage or destroy abnormal spider veins. The benefit of these spider vein treatments over other options is that no needles or sclerosing solutions are used. However, there is a chance of your experiencing some minor discomfort and side effects like staining, discoloration, and formation of blisters during laser skin resurfacing.
Except for making lifestyle changes and wearing support hoses, most people don’t require any other type of spider vein treatment as they don’t suffer from pain or any discomfort. However, there are some people who perform these spider vein treatment procedures only for cosmetic reasons
