What Are Spider Veins?
Spider veins can differ in appearance from person-to-person, but typically consist of a cluster of tiny veins stemming off each other, resembling a ‘spider web’. Some of their main features include:
- Usually found on the legs or face
- Appear close to the surface of the skin – which is what makes them so visible to the naked eye
- Around 50% of individuals have spider veins
- Often occur more in women than men
Veins in the legs move blood one way, controlled by valves to stop blood from going backwards. When veins become defective this can interrupt the valves, causing blood to pool in the veins instead of going back to the heart. Blood pooling can increase the pressure within small veins tremendously, causing them to dilate and sometimes even create spider veins on the surface of the skin. You can read more here.
Main Causes of Spider Veins
There are multiple causes for spider veins, with some reasons for development coming down to genetics. Most often, spider veins are affected or caused by:
- Gender – as it is more common for women to develop spider veins than men
- Sitting or standing for prolonged periods of time
- Lack of physical activity, or obesity
- Age – as the older you get, the more likely your vein walls become weakened
- Pregnancy
Spider Vein Treatment
Sclerotherapy is an extremely quick and pain-free treatment used to treat spider veins effectively. This procedure is offered at our Adelaide Laser Skin and Vein Clinic and is conducted by trained professionals.
The process of sclerotherapy involves small injections of sclerosant solution being inserted directly into the ineffective vein. This allows the body to then naturally absorb and discard of the vein, which will improve blood flow and rid your skin of the spider vein appearance.
Post-treatment, recovery can take anywhere between 2 to 8 weeks to have clear and vein-free skin. The excellent part about this treatment is the fact that there are no interruptions to your normal day-to-day life, neither for recovery nor for gaining adequate results.
How to Prevent Spider Veins/Post Treatment
Wear support stockings
Support stockings are great for encouraging effective blood circulation and reducing the risk of blood pooling within your veins. These stockings can be purchased directly from Laser Skin and Vein Clinic, and come in an array of different sizes and colours to suit you.
Partake in regular physical activity
Taking part in regular exercise is important for your health in many ways. In terms of vein-health, physical activity helps to improve your blood circulation, as well as reducing symptoms of spider veins.
Limit wearing heels
Wearing high heels can not only give you sore feet at the end of the day, but can also negatively contribute to the development of spider veins. The position that your legs and calves are in whilst wearing heels can be detrimental to your vein health.
When your foot is flat on the ground, it allows the calf to act as a pump, pushing blood away from the legs as you walk. However, when your foot is in a heightened position, it can cause the calf to be constantly contracted, restricting it from its function to pump blood. Without the ability to have a strong pump, blood pools in the calves cause disruption to veins, increasing pressure and inevitably developing spider veins.
Try to maintain a healthy weight
Maintaining a healthy weight increases effective blood circulation in the body and reduces the amount of pressure placed on fragile veins. Physical activity and keeping mobile are recommended to those with a genetic background of spider veins.
The cost of a Sclerotherapy procedure starts at $365 and depends on the area and severity of spider veins. To book in for a professional assessment and a consultation, you can contact us here.
