Best Spider Vein Treatments In 2022
Spider veins, also known as varicose veins, occurs due to damaged blood vessels, which has an array of possible causes. These damaged veins make it hard for your blood to flow through them properly to reach your heart. This results in abnormally bulged, dark blue or purple colored veins.
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Although it’s usually not a life-threatening condition, spider veins cause a lot of itching and bloating, which is very unpleasant and can have a significant impact on your day to day life. Worse still, it can even make your clothes and shoes not fit you as well as they once did. It’s generally considered a condition that seniors often get, but younger people can get it as well. Fortunately, there are many types of treatments available, including over the counter options for mild cases. However, if your spider veins are moderate-severe, your doctor will most likely prescribe a medical treatment that is most suitable for your lifestyle and personal medical file.
Listed below are some of the best treatments available for spider veins in 2022, according to Varicose specialists.
Compression Stockings
This is often the first approach that doctors choose for spider veins treatment, especially in mild cases. Compression stockings boost your leg muscles’ ability to move blood by squeezing them. The compression amount varies by brand and type. There are three types of compression stockings:
Support Stockings: These stockings give the least pressure and are sold in most stores.
Gradient Compression Stockings: These are over-the-counter stockings that provide more pressure around the lower leg, ankle, and feet parts, which need the most pressure to move the blood back to your heart.
Gradient Compression Hose: These stockings provide the largest amount of pressure to the lower leg, ankle, and feet. They need trained fitting personnel that may be covered by your insurance plan, which would require a doctor’s prescription before purchase.
Sclerotherapy
Sclerotherapy is currently one of the most effective and minimally invasive ways to treat and eliminate spider veins. This treatment process involves injecting a chemical agent, Asclera, into the vein using a fine needle. Asclera affects the vessel’s lining, causing it to inflame and harden. Thus, the vein breaks down and eventually fades away after being absorbed by the body. This forces blood to reroute to other healthy veins located deeper in the body.
Additional benefits of Sclerotherapy include:
Non-invasive and works fairly quickly: The process only takes around 15-45 minutes and has an impressive 87% patient satisfaction rate.
Mostly painless: The Asclera solution is effective and painless when injected. It does not cause any reaction and formulates as “foam” that allows the physician to inject even larger veins.
Laser Therapy
Laser Therapy for spider vein treatment is another very effective, quick and very low risk process that uses a focused light beam to heat up and destroy the bad veins. Applying laser energy to the treatment area targets the blood pigment and heats the vessel without damaging your skin or surrounding tissues.
It’s important to note that it takes more than one treatment session to eradicate a spider vein. The repeat treatments are scheduled for every 6-12 weeks. Over time, your body gradually re-absorbs the damaged veins, which then forces blood to find and travel through better and healthier veins.
Closure System
The closure system works best for patients who have spider veins close to the skin’s surface. This treatment process permanently closes the problematic vein by injecting a sticky adhesive material into the vein. This adhesive is a kind of biological glue that equates to a medical version of superglue. After treatment, the blood is forced to pass through healthier veins in the surrounding area of the closed one.
Additionally, If needles, lasers and other methods of “vein burning” don’t appeal to you, then the closure system may be an excellent treatment option for you.
Laser and Radiofrequency Ablation
In this treatment, the dermatologist will cut a small incision and insert a thin fiber or a catheter into an enlarged vein, then heats the catheter’s tip using either laser energy or radiofrequency. As your physician slowly and carefully pulls the catheter out, the heat destroys the vein by sealing it shut and collapsing it. Healthy veins around the sealed one then take over the normal flow of blood.
This treatment process involves:
Anesthesia: Anesthesia application to the problem vein at the surface, which ensures the patient does not experience any discomfort or pain during the process.
Collapsing the Vein: Once the anesthesia takes hold, the doctor inserts a catheter or laser fiber through a small incision and activates the radiofrequency or laser device, heating up and collapsing the vein.
This somewhat more invasive treatment is usually given to those who have larger, bulging veins close to the skin’s surface.
Endoscopic Vein Surgery
This treatment is most often reserved for severe cases involving leg ulcers, or as a last resort if nothing else has been sufficiently effective. It involves making a small cut of approximately two centimeters on your skin near the varicose vein. The doctor then inserts a small camera fixed to the end of a thin tube to move through and visualize the vein. A surgical device attached to the camera end closes the vein. After this procedure, the limb is fully bandaged with average pressure to keep the field hemostatic.
Final Thoughts
Apart from the itch and discomfort, Varicose/spider veins can also have a major impact on your confidence, self esteem and self-image. Our mental health is extremely important for our overall well being, so don’t hesitate to seek out a certified mental health professional that can help you cope with the condition and healing process better.
Lastly, if you want to make any changes to your diet or lifestyle, always consult with your doctor first to ensure that it won’t interfere with the chosen treatment, post-healing process, or any medications you may be taking.
