Do you have visible spider veins? These blue and purple patterns on your legs can make you hesitant to wear shorts or skirts. Thankfully, there’s a safe, effective solution to spider veins that can give you back your self-confidence and your stylish wardrobe.
At Hamptons Vein and Vascular with locations in Westfield and Rutherford, New Jersey, Dr. Rashmi Sharma provides injectable sclerotherapy, a safe, proven procedure that effectively eliminates spider veins with the help of your body’s natural flushing system.
Spider veins – what are they?
Spider veins are the result of a tiny one-way valve that allows blood flow into a capillary wearing out or getting stuck. The blood starts to pool up in the capillary, making a normally invisible vein turn dark blue or purple and become visible through the skin.
If blood backs up and starts to pool in larger leg veins, you end up with bulging ropey veins that stand out from the leg. These are called varicose veins and put you at risk of blood clots that can travel to the heart or lungs. Spider veins aren’t dangerous to your health, but they should still be treated to remove their unsightly appearance.
Treating spider veins
Spider vein treatment is usually done with a sclerosing agent, which causes the walls of the vein to collapse and then degrade. Dr. Sharma uses a tiny needle and injects a solution containing a sclerosing agent into the spider veins. This causes irritation and inflammation, quickly causing the vein to form scar tissue and collapse.
One the sclerosing agent collapses the vein, it cuts off blood flow, which is diverted to surrounding healthy veins. The collapsed vein then slowly breaks apart into tiny particles that are seen by the body as natural waste, and are absorbed and carried away by your lymphatic system.
After sclerotherapy
There are typically no major side effects of sclerotherapy. The procedure usually only takes 15 minutes to an hour depending on how many veins are being treated. You’ll see improvement within two weeks, and full results in around two months. If you had many spider veins, it may take a few appointments to treat them all.
If you were having night leg cramps, burning or itching feeling in your legs, or swelling around the spider veins, you may find those symptoms are gone. If you have varicose veins, Dr. Sharma can also treat those with a variety of procedures depending on the vein severity and risks to your health.
Are you ready to get rid of spider veins? Call one of our convenient locations to make an appointment for a sclerotherapy consultation with Dr. Sharma today.