Spider Veins
Overview

What are spider veins?

Spider veins, medically known as “telangiactasias,” are dense clusters of red, blue, or purple blood vessels that resemble spider webs, gradually expanding outwards. They usually occur on the lower extremities of your body, such as the legs and thighs, but they can also develop on your face and other parts of the body.

What Are the Common Causes of Spider Veins?

An underlying circulatory disorder known as chronic venous insufficiency (vein disease) is the primary root cause of spider veins.

The primary goal of leg veins is carrying blood up towards the heart, resisting the gravitational pull. This can be accomplished because of vein valves, flap-like components within your veins that act as one-way doors — they allow blood to flow towards the heart but prevent it from flowing back down.

Chronic venous insufficiency is a medical condition wherein your vein valves collapse and malfunction due to various factors, making blood flow backward due to gravitational force. Over time, blood continues accumulating in your leg veins, placing extreme pressure on your vein walls, eventually leading to spider veins.

Are there any symptoms of spider veins?

Spider veins are often asymptomatic, but you might experience slight discomfort, self-consciousness, and social anxiety, mostly due to their hideous appearance.

However, the underlying vein disease can cause numerous symptoms, including leg heaviness, restless leg syndrome, throbbing leg veins, frequent muscle cramps, aching, itching, and tingling sensations. These symptoms usually worsen at the end of the day or after long periods of sitting or standing still.

If left untreated, the underlying vein disease can also lead to skin changes, discoloration, non-healing leg wounds (ulceration), and deep vein thrombosis. As such, you must contact a spider vein treatment center in California at an early stage to diagnose the root cause of spider veins.

What are the risk factors for spider veins?

Genetic predisposition (family history) is the single greatest risk factor for spider veins. If your mother and father have a history of vein disease symptoms, there’s a 90% chance that you’ll eventually get spider veins, varicose veins, or other symptoms of vein disease.

Sex is the second biggest risk factor for spider veins — approximately 54% of women and 45% of men in the United States experience symptoms of vein disease. This is because higher levels of estrogen increase your risk of spider veins, which means you also have a higher risk if you’re pregnant, taking birth control pills, or undergoing hormone therapy.

Age is an important risk factor for spider veins — your vein valves weaken as you grow older, increasing the risk of spider veins and vein disease.

Other risk factors for spider veins include obesity, leg injuries, a history of blood clots, or if you sit or stand for long periods because of your job.

How do your vein doctors in California treat spider veins?

Our vein doctors in California use cutting-edge diagnostic tools to identify and treat the root cause of spider veins. As mentioned earlier, spider veins are usually asymptomatic, causing nothing more severe than aesthetic problems. As such, it’s important to treat underlying venous insufficiency rather than simply focusing on spider veins.

Without underlying vein disease, it’s not necessary to treat spider veins, though you can still opt for sclerotherapy sessions to improve your legs’ cosmetic appearance.

However, if you have underlying vein disease, seeking prompt vein treatment in California is crucial. If you get spider vein treatments without addressing the underlying problems, you’ll probably experience a recurrence. Our vein doctors always treat the underlying vein disease and the superficial vein problems, ensuring holistic and optimal results.

How Do New Jersey Vein Clinics Treat Spider Veins?

Treatment is optional for some patients, but many choose it for healthier looking skin. Others require medical intervention to address the underlying issue. Our NJ vein specialists are experts at everything from superficial sclerotherapy treatments to comprehensive vein disease care.

What are the best spider vein treatments in California?

Sclerotherapy:

Sclerotherapy is a minimally invasive treatment for spider veins performed within your physician’s vein treatment center in California. Our vein doctors inject a special medicine called sclerosant into the spider veins to fuse (and seal) their walls. However, sclerotherapy is a cosmetic procedure that only removes spider veins — not the underlying vein disease.

Endovenous Laser Ablation:

Endovenous laser ablation is similar to radiofrequency ablation — our vein doctors in CA use laser energy instead of thermal energy to close the diseased vein. However, laser ablation causes more post-treatment discomfort and bruising.

Radiofrequency Ablation:

Radiofrequency ablation is the ideal in-office procedure for underlying chronic venous insufficiency. During your in-office procedure, our vein physicians use thermal energy to close the diseased vein, restoring effective blood circulation. It doesn’t cause any pain, discomfort, or downtime.

Laser Therapy:

Laser therapy is a cosmetic procedure that reduces the visibility of the smallest spider veins, making it a less-effective alternative to sclerotherapy. However, this treatment might cause harsh side effects or complications based on your skin type and it won’t address the underlying vein disease.

Compression Stockings:

Compression stockings are skin-tight garments that squeeze the leg veins, pushing the accumulated blood towards the heart to reduce the symptoms of vein disease. However, you should only wear custom-fitted and accurately-measured compression garments procured from our vein doctors in California.

Daily Exercise:

You can temporarily reduce the symptoms of vein disease by engaging in regular cardiovascular exercises, such as swimming, running, and cycling. These exercises lead to calf muscle contractions, pushing the accumulated blood towards the heart, thereby alleviating the pain and discomfort.