Spider veins

Spider veins symptoms

Spider veins are fine, bluish or reddish networks that appear mainly on the outer thighs, above the knees, on the inner sides of the lower legs or around the ankles. Despite their usually harmless nature, they are often associated with higher-grade varicose veins and can be a first sign of serious venous diseases, such as deeper vascular dilatation, varicosis or chronic venous insufficiency. An accurate diagnosis is therefore essential. For this purpose, we refer you to a colleague who specializes in internal medicine and performs medical tests such as Doppler and color-coded duplex sonography.

Spider veins causes

There are various risk factors that contribute to the development of spider veins. Often, increased pressure on the veins is the trigger, which can be caused by obesity, blood stasis or pregnancy. Women are more often affected by these annoying spots on the legs than men, as they are more prone to the formation and enlargement of spider veins due to their connective tissue, which is loosened by the female sex hormone estrogen. Other risk factors include nicotine and alcohol consumption as well as a lifestyle with a lack of exercise.

Spider veins treatment

Various methods are available for the treatment of spider veins:

Laser and light treatments

• The Clarity Laser is an effective method of removing spider veins without leaving scars. The light from the laser irreversibly damages the vein walls of the skin veins, allowing them to be broken down by the body. With the help of a long-pulsed Nd:YAG laser, spider veins can be successfully treated without injections and without the need for bandages or compression stockings. Depending on the severity and extent of your personal findings, please allow for several sessions. After treatment, you must avoid sun exposure for 6 weeks and sauna and steam baths for 1 week. Sport can be resumed immediately. Unfortunately, the result can only be assessed after complete resorption after a few weeks.

Injections

• The classic Sclerotherapy is another option for removing spider veins, which we also offer in our practice and which is preferable for thicker spider veins. The spider veins are punctured with a thin needle and a sclerosing agent is injected, which damages the vein wall and causes the body to break down the affected skin veins. Compression stockings should be worn for some time after the sclerotherapy. You can have these measured in our practice and we will order custom-made stockings for you. In colors such as black or dark blue, they look like chic, opaque tights, only putting them on in the morning is a little tedious, but the effort for beautiful legs is definitely worth it.

The choice of procedure depends on the appearance and size of the spider veins. The cost varies depending on the number of sessions required, which must be discussed in each individual case. Before any treatment, it should be clarified whether there are more significant vein problems.

Often, a combination of both methods provides the best results. For the prevention of new spider veins and in the post-treatment phase, compression stockings can be useful to reduce the pressure of gravity on the leg veins. We will be happy to advise you in detail about these and other measures.

Spider Veins Frequently Asked Questions