All About Spider and Varicose Veins

By Gabby Hyman gabby.hyman@hqpublications.com Pharmavita Columnist October 19, 2004

For people who have them, varicose veins and spider veins are mostly of cosmetic concern. These enlarged blood vessels that lie close to the surface of the skin tend to affect women more often than men, and older women most of all.

Found primarily along the backs of your calves and inside of the leg, varicose veins bulge out with a dark blue or purple color. So-called spider veins are smaller in size, fan out like webs in the legs and face, and may be more reddish in appearance.

While spider and varicose veins are not usually harmful, they can ache, itch, and occasionally ulcerate in the lower extremities. If they form ulcers, they do require immediate medical treatment.

Options for Varicose Vein Treatment

Whether you choose elective treatment for appearance, or require medical treatment for ulcerated or painful veins, there's a wide range of proven modalities performed as outpatient procedures.

Doctors use surgical lasers to close down swollen veins and diminish their size and color. For larger varicose veins, physicians insert heated catheters into the vein to collapse it. You won't miss the vein at all since your body automatically sends blood elsewhere.

Other varicose vein treatment options include sclerotherapy, where solution is injected to close the vein, and vein stripping, in which a long vein is reduced through a series of small incisions.

Doing Your Part

Total prevention may impossible for some people. But you can reduce your vulnerability to varicose and spider veins by losing weight, taking frequent exercise, in wearing low-heeled shoes and loose fitting clothing, and elevating your legs several times a day to reduce swelling and pressure.

About the Author
Gabby Hyman has written for print and online media for more than 20 years. He has created online content for eToyds, GoTo.com, Siebel Systems, Avaya, and Nissan, UK. He has also been a web consultant to the Governer of California. As an author of fiction, journalism, and poetry, Gabby is a former English professor for the University of Illinois, Universityu of Alaska, and Old Dominion University. He holds an MFA in fiction writing from the University of Alabama.