What kind of doctor specializes in veins?
The official terminology for a doctor specializing in veins is a phlebologist. A vein specialist is a medical professional who diagnoses and treats numerous disorders related to the veins, such as leg ulcers, spider veins, varicose veins, venous insufficiency, deep vein thrombosis, and more. Basically, phlebologists address all cosmetic and functional concerns related to the vascular system.
Vein doctors can come from all medical backgrounds. They can be hospitalists, anesthesiologists, cardiologists, dermatologists, or primary care physicians. The only requirement for vein specialists to practice vein treatments is that they must have specialized training in the diagnosis and treatment of vein disease. They must also have advanced training in minimally invasive spider vein and varicose vein treatments.
The board-certified vein doctors at our vein treatment clinics in California specialize in minimally invasive vein treatments. Our vein doctors are individually selected from the country’s leading medical schools, residency programs, and fellowships, and they stay abreast of the latest developments in vein care. Furthermore, they also undergo a challenging board certification from the American Board of Venous and Lymphatic Medicine.
If you have spider veins, varicose veins, or other symptoms of vein disease, please contact our vein doctors in California today.
What does board certification indicate?
You should ideally find vein doctors who are board-certified by the American Board of Venous and Lymphatic Medicine. The ABVLM is an organization that officially certifies and recognizes the country’s leading vein doctors after they pass a series of challenging tests. As such, ABVLM-certified vein doctors are the country’s top 1% vein doctors. You should ideally find board-certified vein doctors because they’re guaranteed to have undergone residency programs, fellowships, and thorough vetting.
What is the main cause of varicose veins?
Varicose veins are dilated blood vessels that bulge out of the skin’s surface in a dense network of twisted, knotted, and tangled rope-like veins. They’re essentially dilated blood vessels caused by an underlying medical condition known as chronic venous insufficiency. Healthy veins contain valves that carry blood towards the heart while preventing blood from flowing backward due to gravity. Venous insufficiency is a condition wherein your vein valves collapse, and blood flows backward, eventually accumulating in the leg veins, which leads to varicose veins.
How to take care of veins?
If you want to improve vascular health and minimize the risk of vein disease, you must take active measures and implement certain lifestyle changes. The following tips will help you improve your vascular health:
- Remain active and engage in regular cardiovascular exercises
- If you have a desk job, get up and walk around every 30 minutes
- Drink lots of water and fluids
- Eat lots of fibrous fruits and vegetables to strengthen vein walls
- Stop smoking
- Wear compression stockings regularly
- Elevate your legs above your heart’s level while sitting down
How to prevent varicose veins and spider veins?
Varicose veins and spider veins are symptomatic of chronic venous insufficiency, a medical condition wherein the collapse of vein valves leads to blood accumulation in the leg veins. This is an extremely common condition that can happen to anyone. However, some factors increase the risk of varicose veins and spider veins — genetic predisposition, being female, pregnancy, being older than 50, obesity, and a sedentary job that involves long periods of sitting or standing still.
Since varicose veins and spider veins can occur because of numerous reasons, there are no definitive means of preventing them. However, if you have a high risk of vein disease because of the aforementioned risk factors, you can implement some lifestyle changes. The following lifestyle changes may minimize your risk of varicose veins and spider veins:
- Engage in exercises that work your calf muscles, such as running, swimming, and cycling.
- Wear compression stockings regularly to push blood towards the heart.
- Elevate your legs above your heart’s level while sitting down to move blood towards the heart.
Is walking good for varicose veins?
Yes, walking is definitely good for varicose veins because it improves blood circulation and pushes some of the accumulated blood in your leg veins towards your heart. Walking regularly may alleviate some of the symptoms of vein disease, such as leg heaviness and cramps, for a short period. However, walking won’t treat varicose veins because it can’t fix your damaged vein valves. The only way to treat varicose veins and achieve permanent relief is through minimally invasive spider vein and varicose vein treatments.
What happens if varicose veins are left untreated?
If you don’t seek treatment for varicose veins and chronic venous insufficiency, blood will continue accumulating in your leg veins. Venous insufficiency is a chronic condition, which means its symptoms continue worsening with time. The continued accumulation of blood in leg veins will weaken your vein walls, thereby increasing the risk of burst varicose veins. When your varicose veins burst, you have to be taken to an emergency room.
The following are some of the other complications of untreated vein disease:
- Skin Discoloration: The lack of blood circulation in the leg veins will cause discoloration.
- Skin Disease: The breakdown of blood cells will lead to a patchy and reddish appearance.
- Leg Ulcers: Without sufficient blood circulation, you will develop non-healing leg wounds.
- Deep Vein Thrombosis: You may develop blood clots in your leg veins.
Do I need surgical treatments for varicose veins?
No, you don’t need surgical treatments for varicose veins. In fact, you should avoid vein treatment clinics in California that recommend varicose vein surgeries. Thanks to advancements in technology, we can now provide minimally invasive varicose vein treatments that are completely safe, effective, and conclude within an hour with no downtime. Please schedule an appointment to explore your varicose vein treatment options in California.