Sclerotherapy – How Long Does It Last?

Sclerotherapy – How Long Does It Last?

The state-of-the-art treatment for eliminating unsightly or bothersome veins is sclerotherapy. This popular, minimally invasive treatment is highly effective in reducing the symptoms and appearance of certain veins. But a common question about sclerotherapy is how long does it last?

 

What Is Sclerotherapy?

Vein doctors consider sclerotherapy to be the best and most effective treatment for spider and reticular veins, and some smaller varicose veins.

Some people want vein treatment because they are bothered by the veins’ appearance, while some suffer with uncomfortable symptoms. Sclerotherapy will make both types of patients happy. However, insurance will usually only cover treatment costs if it’s a medical necessity.

Sclerotherapy treatment is used to treat veins on the calves, thighs, and other places on your body. It’s a treatment that permanently eliminates existing troubling veins.

During sclerotherapy, your doctor will inject a specialized solution into the vein. The vein becomes irritated and collapses. Blood can’t flow through the damaged vein and instead moves through a nearby healthy vein.

The collapsed vein is naturally reabsorbed into other tissue and is no longer seen through the skin nor painful for the patient.

 

About the Sclerotherapy Treatment

A sclerotherapy treatment can be as short as 15 minutes or as long as an hour. Patients enjoy the fact that the procedure does not require any anesthesia.

Treatment time will in part depend on how many veins are being treated and the condition of the veins being treated.

If only a few small spider veins in close proximity to one another are to be removed, you might only need one treatment session.

If many veins of various sizes and locations need to be treated, the varicose vein specialist will need to schedule several treatments—usually about a month apart. The varicose vein specialist often treats all veins in two to four sessions.

At the start of the procedure, the medical professional applies numbing cream to the treatment area. This will keep the patient from feeling any pain when the sclerosing agent is injected.

With visual sclerotherapy, the doctor injects a sclerosing agent directly into the vein. This treatment works extremely well for spider veins and reticular veins.

Ultrasound-guided sclerotherapy is often the best way to treat reticular veins and some varicose veins.

Most people resume their regular activities after the procedure. However, you will want to avoid strenuous activity for about a week. You should also avoid hot showers and baths, and direct sunlight.

 

A woman sitting on her bed putting on compression stockings.

 

Your varicose vein doctor may direct you to wear compression socks or stockings for up to two weeks following the treatment—especially when you expect to be on your feet for extended periods of time. Walking for a half-hour a day for the first few weeks will help with results and recovery.

Soon you will see the results you want. With spider veins, you will enjoy results in as little as three to six weeks, with up to 80% of treated veins disappearing after each treatment. Larger veins may take longer to show results, taking three to four months.

Here you can watch an actual demonstration of veins disappearing after sclerotherapy treatment.

 

 

How Long Does Sclerotherapy Treatment Last?

Sclerotherapy treatment produces long-lasting results. More precisely, the treated veins will permanently fade away as they collapse and will not be used again by your body. They will never need further treatment.

However, if the original causes leading to spider and reticular vein development persist, new veins will likely develop as time goes on. People often confuse these new veins with a reappearance of the old veins, but this is never the case.

Sclerotherapy treatment is effective and permanent. But it does nothing to keep new problem veins from developing.

Are new problem veins likely to develop after treatment? It depends on whether the causing conditions still exist.

 

A woman sitting at a desk at working on her laptop.

 

These conditions include:

  • Family history
  • Being female
  • Pregnancy or taking birth-control or hormone replacement pills
  • Being overweight
  • Taking certain medications
  • Continuously sitting or standing for long periods of time
  • Aging

Hereditary factors will strongly determine whether you develop more veins in the future. In fact, if both of your parents have varicose veins, you have a probability of about 90% of developing them again in the future. Happily, should new problem veins develop, sclerotherapy will successfully eliminate these new veins too.

 

Are You a Good Candidate for Sclerotherapy?

Your overall health will determine whether you’re a suitable candidate for this treatment. A consultation with a varicose vein doctor will give you a definitive answer. Happily, most people who are interested in this treatment are excellent candidates.

If you are a woman who is pregnant or breastfeeding, you will need to hold off treatment until after delivery or until breastfeeding concludes.

 

A close-up of a woman’s healthy and attractive legs

 

How to Help Keep New Problem Veins from Developing

After sclerotherapy you will want to keep your legs looking and feeling great. The key to keeping new spider or varicose veins from developing is to work toward a strong vascular system.

This includes:

  • Eating a balanced diet, low in salt, with lots of fresh fruits and veggies
  • Exercising regularly
  • Keeping at or getting to a healthy weight
  • Avoiding putting unnecessary stress on your body
  • Avoiding high heels
  • Avoiding sitting or standing continuously for long amounts of time
  • Walking daily
  • Staying on certain medications—check with your doctor
  • Wearing compression socks when flying or taking a long car trip

Contact us at The New Jersey Vein and Vascular Center to learn more about sclerotherapy treatment with our vein specialist.

Can Spider Veins Come Back After Treatment?

Can Spider Veins Come Back After Treatment?

You’ve seen them before. And now you’re seeing them again! Those pesky, unattractive spider veins.

Perhaps you originally had them around your ankles or on your thighs and you sought treatment.

Now they seem to have reappeared, and you’re asking, can spider veins come back after treatment?

 

About Spider Veins

Spider veins are those thin red or blue veins on your skin’s surface.

You will commonly find spider veins on thighs and calves. They also appear on the face and breasts.

Spider veins can be itchy and annoying, or cause legs to feel slightly tired. But they are rarely painful and are almost always harmless.

Today, doctors consider sclerotherapy the best treatment for the removal of spider veins. But this isn’t always the medical procedure performed.

A close-up of spider veins on the skin

 

Reasons Spider Veins Return

There are several reasons spider veins return, or at least seem to return.

But what happens most often is that new spider veins develop in the same area after treatment.

So, it’s not that the spider veins that were treated are returning. Rather, new spider veins show up and are mistaken for the original veins.

Reasons spider veins return in the same area include:

  • A person has venous insufficiency, so deeper, untreated veins are causing the development of new spider veins
  • A person’s body doesn’t properly regulate new vein formation
  • The person continues with activities that cause spider veins, such as long periods of sitting or standing, or staying obese
  • Saline or skin laser was improperly used to treat them
  • Genetics

Graphic showing legs in various stages of venous disease 

Venous Insufficiency

Venous insufficiency is a progressive vein disease. A vein specialist can treat it, but venous insufficiency will not go away on its own.

If a person has venous insufficiency, the underlying varicose veins combined with an increase in venous pressure encourage the development of new spider veins.

So new spider veins form.

It seems like the old ones are returning, but they’re not.

Doctors can diagnose venous insufficiency with a simple, painless ultrasound of your legs. This will show whether your vein valves are working correctly, and whether you have this condition.

Spider vein treatment should be delayed until this test is performed. If the cause of the spider veins is indeed venous insufficiency, the underlying veins need to be treated first.

If the underlying problem remains untreated, the spider veins are sure to return.

And venous insufficiency needs to be treated for health reasons.

Endovenous laser ablation (EVLT) or Varithena, a micro-foam sclerosant, are favored ways to treat venous insufficiency.

The spider vein won’t be under pressure once the varicose vein receives treatment. At that time, sclerotherapy can treat the spider veins successfully.

If spider veins recur after sclerotherapy, they usually come back in a much less severe form. This happens quite some time after the sclerotherapy procedure.

 

Genetics and Hormones

If your genetic makeup is encouraging the development of spider veins, trying to get rid of them is an uphill battle.

How do you know your spider veins are caused by genetics?

The easiest way to find out is to ask immediate family members if they’re developing spider veins, too. If they are, you have your answer!

If they aren’t, your spider veins may still be genetic. But the good news is that spider veins caused by genetics are no reason for any health concerns.

Hormonal changes such as pregnancy or menopause can also encourage the development of spider veins.

 

 Laser Therapy

Some doctors use laser therapy as a treatment for spider veins.

Many patients find this procedure to be painful since heat is applied directly to the skin. It also takes a longer time to treat a small area.

Lasers can also cause hypopigmentation­—­a loss of melanin in the skin.

But most discouraging is that if the laser doesn’t produce enough heat to seal the vein, the procedure will fail. For this reason, you will need additional treatments.

 

Sclerotherapy

Sclerotherapy is the state-of-the-art treatment for spider veins.

It is considerably more effective and faster than laser treatment. And you don’t feel pain.

During sclerotherapy, the doctor injects a solution or sclerosing agent into the vein.

This causes the vein to scar and collapse. Eventually, you can no longer see the vein since it is resorbed by the body.

Sodium chloride is no longer considered an acceptable sclerosing agent. It can be  painful for the patient and can cause serious complications.

Eighty percent of spider veins treated by visual sclerotherapy usually disappear in three to six weeks. So even one treatment of sclerotherapy will create noticeable results.

Patients may need new treatments every few years if new spider veins appear.

A smiling middle-aged woman walking in the park

 

How Can You Keep Spider Veins from Recurring?

Are there things you can do after treatment to keep more spider veins from developing?

The answer is yes.

They include:

  • Exercising your legs regularly
  • Staying at or getting to a healthy weight
  • Eating a balanced diet
  • Wearing compression stockings or socks

If you want to learn more about spider veins, read:

If you are seeking effective, safe, and comfortable treatment for your spider veins, contact us at NJVVC.

Spider Veins on Ankles and How To Treat Them

Spider Veins on Ankles and How To Treat Them

Do you have clusters of red, blue, or purple veins on your ankles or feet? Are these veins thin and close to the surface of the skin? If so, it sounds like you have spider veins. Many people come to our vein center asking about the spider veins on their ankles and how to treat them.

 

What Are Spider Veins?

Spider veins develop when blood gathers in the veins that exist near your skin’s surface. These veins have stopped working efficiently because they are weak or damaged. Blood backs up and pools, causing the veins to become visible.

 

Why Are Spider Veins Commonly Found on Ankles and Feet?

Ankles and feet are prone to developing spider veins. Slower blood circulation and increased pressure on veins causes feet to swell. This encourages the formation of spider veins.

You also find spider veins on the thighs, calves, and face.

Outside in a park, a standing daughter has her arms gently around her sitting mother

 

What Factors Influence the Development of Spider Veins?

Heredity plays a major role in the development of spider veins. In fact, studies show that up to 90 percent of people who have spider veins have a family history of them.

Other factors can include:

• Sitting or standing for long periods of time
• Obesity
• Trauma
• Sunlight exposure
• Pregnancy

A person showing the spider veins on their ankle and foot

 

What Do Spider Veins on Ankles Look Like?

Spider veins have a specific look. They seem to gather and branch out from a central location. Each vein is usually less than 1mm in diameter.

This common grouping of veins often resembles a branch, a spider, or a spiderweb. Now you know where the name “spider veins” comes from!

When blue and/or red spider veins are on the inside of the ankle or foot and form a crown-like pattern, it is called corona phlebectasia. This is associated with advanced vein problems. People with corona phlebectasia should visit a vein doctor for a complete diagnosis and treatment plan.

 

Symptoms of Spider Veins

Spider veins on the ankles, although unsightly, usually don’t indicate a serious health problem.

Sometimes they are itchy or painful. But most often, spider veins are mainly annoying from a cosmetic standpoint. Understandably, people want unattractive spider veins treated.

In rare cases, spider veins contribute to the formation of large skin sores, or ulcers. This problem is most likely to occur near spider veins on the ankles and requires immediate treatment.

 

Treatment for Spider Veins on Ankles

Excellent treatment exists for unattractive spider veins on feet and ankles.

You can try some simple things at home to ease minor discomfort and prevent additional spider veins from forming.

Unfortunately, untreated spider veins will worsen over time.

To eliminate existing spider veins, visit our office for safe and effective treatment.

A special pillow elevates a woman’s legs as she rests in bed

 

Ways to Prevent Spider Veins on Your Ankles

When sitting, keep your feet elevated above your heart. This will improve your circulation and can even reduce the size of spider veins in your ankles and feet. Use a recliner or put pillows under your feet in bed.

Wear compression socks. Compression socks will improve your blood circulation and reduce pressure on leg and foot veins. Your feet will not swell, reducing the development of more spider veins.

Try not to stand for a long period of time. And try to stand on your tiptoes at workable intervals. This will improve leg muscles and blood circulation in spider veins.

Exercise more. Increase your physical activity to reduce vein discomfort. Regular-paced walking will improve your spider vein health.

Learn useful massages for your ankles and feet. Our doctor can discuss what type of massage will work best in your situation.

 

Visit Our Office for a Spider Vein Evaluation

Patients come to our office for accurate diagnosis and state-of-the-art treatment of spider veins and other vein issues.

At NJVVC, we know the importance of thoroughly understanding your vein health. We perform comprehensive vein evaluations so we can successfully treat your spider vein problems.

 

Sclerotherapy Treatment for Spider Veins

Before our doctor treats your spider veins, he will make sure they aren’t associated with varicose veins. If our doctor finds this connection, he will first treat your varicose veins; this will keep the spider veins from reappearing after treatment.

Spider veins in themselves may not be a serious problem, but varicose veins often need treatment.

Visual Sclerotherapy is extremely effective in the treatment of spider veins. It involves injection of a solution into the spider vein. The solution causes the vein to collapse.

This treatment requires no anesthesia.

The sclerosing agent that we use at NJVVC is safe and comfortable for the patient. Your treated spider veins will collapse and disappear three to six weeks after your procedure.

If you have spider veins or other vein issues, contact us for an appointment. We offer expert diagnosis and treatment.

Guide to Vein Conditions and Vein Health

Guide to Vein Conditions and Vein Health

Good vein health can’t be achieved overnight. It takes eating the right foods, exercise, and putting aside some bad habits. An estimated 40 million Americans are affected by varicose veins, which is just one type of vein complication. About half of those individuals have a history of varicose veins in their family. Women are the most likely to develop the disease. We have created this guide to vein conditions that could be affecting you.

Common Vein Conditions

While varicose veins are one of the most well-known vein complications, there is a range of other diseases that can affect your vascular system.

Raynaud’s Phenomenon

This condition is presented as white or bluish skin in the fingers and toes due to spasms in the small arteries.

Buerger’s Disease

With this malady, you’ll notice a pain in the feet and legs as well as hands and arms. This is brought on by blocked blood vessels.

Peripheral Venous Disease

This disorder initially shows as bulging in the veins under the skin, leading to a feeling of heaviness and pain in the legs.

Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD)

An ailment that causes poor circulation brought on by hardening or narrowing of the artery from smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc

Varicose Veins

Varicose veins are one of the most common vein issues. You’ll notice it by the bulging or purplish veins in the legs due to damaged valves.

Pregnancy Veins

We find that this issue is usually caused by pregnancy, bed rest, or damage to the veins. Pregnancy veins occur due to the increased size of the uterus during pregnancy. The uterus causes pressure on the large vein on the right side of the body, called the vena cava.

Reticular Veins

Usually painless, this condition affects almost 80% of adults due to hormone imbalances, weak veins, and genetic factors.

Blood Clotting Disorders

Whether inherited or acquired, these disorders make it so that blood does not clot normally. When this happens blood can often be found in urine or stool. It may also cause nosebleeds or excessive bleeding during childbirth.

Telangiectasia (Also Known as Spider Veins)

Spider veins are caused by the pressure of body weight, gravity and the tough job of carrying blood back to the heart. You may notice them on the face, breasts, and feet. Almost 60% of adults may have spider veins.

Lymphedema

With this condition, fluid from the lymphatic system builds up and causes swollen arms and legs. Most often this is caused by damaged or missing lymph nodes or vessels.

Foods for Maintaining Good Vein Health

Support good vein health this year by integrating foods that increase and promote blood flow. You can accomplish this by looking for foods that are high in Vitamin C and Vitamin E. Foods like citrus, broccoli, bell peppers, mangos, fish, etc.

It’s also important to include foods like brown rice, leafy greens, chia, and lentils that are high in fiber. Drinking enough water is also important for optimal vein health.

Precautions to Avoid Vascular Conditions

By integrating healthy lifestyle considerations into your day-to-day, such as a healthy diet, regular exercise, and quitting smoking, you can avoid future vascular problems.

If medications are needed to lower cholesterol and regulate your blood pressure, it’s important to take the meds as prescribed to mitigate the occurrence of vascular issues.

Cosmetic Varicose Veins Treatment and Spider Vein Treatment

Varicose and spider veins are treatable. Sclerotherapy is often the best method of treatment. This in-office procedure is an easy and painless way to resolve this cosmetic issue.

Other procedures can include stripping, ambulatory phlebectomy, endoscopic vein surgery, and endothermal ablation. Laser surgeries can also help to make the veins fade and disappear under intense light bursts.

Natural Therapies to Cure Vein Conditions

While cosmetic vein treatment is effective, regular exercise, dietary changes, compression stockings, and herbal remedies can guide to improve the symptoms and side effects of some vein conditions.

Doing regular yoga with positions where the lower legs are elevated above the heart helps in relieving symptoms of varicose veins.

Sound sleep also affects your vein health. Just one week of fewer hours of sleep can affect your vein condition.

Guide To Preventing Vein Conditions

The same remedies that help to reduce and eliminate the severity of vein conditions are also the treatments that you should continue even after a vein condition has improved.

Keep moving, eat right, and stop smoking. You may also consider wearing looser clothing and not standing or sitting for long periods of time.

For more information about caring for your veins or how to prevent vascular issues, please contact our office.

Can Varicose Veins Cause Hypertension?

Can Varicose Veins Cause Hypertension?

For some of us, it seems that the mere thought of varicose veins is enough to cause high blood pressure. But can varicose veins cause hypertension? 

 

High Blood Pressure and Varicose Veins

While there is clear evidence that hypertension can lead to the development of varicose veins, the jury is still out if the reverse is true. The medical community is currently working hard to research the links between high blood pressure and varicose veins.

Right now, there is one thing that they do know for sure. That is, varicose veins can lead to a condition known as venous hypertension. 

Venous Hypertension

Venous hypertension results when the valves in the veins of the legs are damaged. Damage allows a backflow of blood that begins to pool in the lower legs. As pooling continues, additional strain is put on the heart because greater pressure is needed to transport the pooled blood back to the heart. 

Varicose Veins and Your Health

This is a two-way street. Varicose veins may cause venous hypertension and venous hypertension can cause varicose veins. Varicose veins can also lead to a slew of other problems. Ankle flare, edema (swelling), varicose eczema, lipodermatosclerosis, and haemosiderin stainings are all possible issues. 

This can be particularly dangerous if you already have any other heart condition. More than one issue can build off each other and develop into heart attacks, strokes, and blood clots. That’s just one reason why varicose veins aren’t just a cosmetic issue, but an actual medical condition. 

Varicose veins can also contribute to orthostatic hypotension. This is a marked drop in blood pressure that occurs when going from lying down to standing up.

If you’re sick of the heaviness, the aching, and swelling, seek treatment. When you’re done with the pain, itching, burning, and cramps, you can say goodbye to the suffering. There are several treatment options available that will not only improve your venous health, but simultaneously improve the appearance of your legs. 

Contact our office to schedule a free consultation. Our staff will listen to your needs. We want to help you find a solution to your painful or unsightly venous conditions.

Cause and Prevention of Common Vein Conditions

Cause and Prevention of Common Vein Conditions

Unsightly veins on your legs may be trying to tell you something, but what? If you’ve seen the appearance of bulging veins or blood vessels on your skin, you may have a vein condition. Understanding the cause and prevention of common vein conditions is the best way to get started reclaiming control over them. Don’t let the pain in your legs take over your life. Get to the root of the problem and learn how to maintain healthy circulation!

What Causes Vein Conditions?

We all know there are various vein conditions that can add discomfort and displeasure to your life. It is important to know what causes these problems and how to prevent veins from popping out. To understand how it happens we’ll have to first understand the role of veins and what they do. Our veins carry blood to the heart which replenishes our bodies with oxygen. The blood supply is then recirculated to all our vital organs, muscles, and tissue. Veins play a crucial role in distributing our blood through a channel of tiny blood vessels. Furthermore, they send blood to the heart where the process of filtration continues. The bulging or popping out of veins can be caused by various reasons, including problems with the valves of the vein.  These bulging veins can prevent the proper flow of blood and result in leaking in the lower part of the vein rather than continuous flow towards the heart. Built up pressure in the veins can also cause them to dilate and contort, leading to more curvature where they should be straight. In medical terms, veins that pop out are typically classified and diagnosed as varicose veins or spider veins.

Understanding Different Vein Conditions

There is a lack of proper information about various vein conditions, symptoms, and causes in people. Understanding vein conditions can save you from needless pain, discomfort, or a lack of confidence.

Three Types of Vein Conditions

  • Varicose Veins
  • Spider veins
  • Reticular veins

What are Varicose Veins?

This type of vein condition is often painful. Varicose veins are clearly visible as they are usually bulging or bumpy veins in the lower extremities, and often have a rope-like appearance. This may occur anywhere in the leg. Most people have it in the back of their calf or the inside of the leg.

Symptom and Causes:

Symptoms of varicose veins include pain in the leg, cramping, continuous fatigue or heaviness in the legs. Other symptoms include swelling in the ankles, restlessness and in more severe cases, blisters and ulcers. There are many factors that can raise the risks of varicose veins according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Some of these include family factors such as their history, age, chronic problems, pregnancy, obesity, and lifestyle. People in certain jobs or occupations may develop this condition as well, particularly those who sit/stand for a prolonged period. Varicose veins can be extremely disrupting as it may limit or impair a person’s movement which can affect their quality of life.

What Are Spider Veins?

Spider veins are often a tangled group of blood vessels that bear a close resemblance to a spider web. The formation of the group of veins just under the skin is usually red, purple or blue in color and is clearly visible on the thighs, legs, and face.

Symptom and Causes:

Spider veins may cause itching, burning and even severe discomfort and pain. But, for many people there may be no symptoms present aside from the appearance of veins. Just like in varicose veins, spider veins are also caused by a common medical condition which is known as venous insufficiency. As discussed previously, our veins carry blood from our body tissues to the heart. Our hearts then replenish the blood supply with oxygen and re-circulate it throughout the body. This is made possible with the help of tiny one-way valves.  Each vein has microvalves and with every pump of the heart, our blood flows through a series of them in the veins. This is to help the blood flow travel upward from our legs as it returns to the heart. When these valves fail or leak, the blood collects in this region causing the veins to form a spider web-like appearance.

What Are Reticular Veins?

Reticular veins are sometimes called feeder veins or blue veins. It occurs when veins become dilated, causing blood to flow backward. This creates an increase in pressure leading to enlarged veins. The veins become twisted and can often bulge and look unattractive as they make blue or green lines appear under the skin. Reticular veins can take on a marbled appearance.

Symptom and Causes:

Reticular veins are very common, affecting about 80% of adults and can be caused by hormone imbalances, weak veins, or as a result of certain genetic factors. It also depends on weight, UV skin damage, and occupations which require a lot of time spent sitting or standing.

Prevention

Now that we understand the causes and symptoms of vein conditions, here are some tips to help prevent varicose veins and related symptoms.

  • Exercise regularly to improve your leg strength, circulation, and vein strength, however, do not overdo it. Exercise should be done in a disciplined manner. Overexerting yourself may put extra pressure on the veins and can cause muscle pain.
  • Control your weight to avoid placing too much pressure on your legs. Excessive weight puts a lot of pressure on the veins and can promote venous disease, damaging the veins and cause them to pop out.
  • Eat healthy food and maintain a good diet. Adding fruits, vegetables, and vital nutrients can help improve circulation and keep veins healthy.
  • Take proper care of your body and skin, maintaining a healthy, active lifestyle and consult a doctor if you feel any leg pain, discomfort, uneasiness or restlessness in your legs.
  • Embrace a healthy lifestyle, get rid of unhealthy habits like smoking, excessive drinking or eating too much junk food.
  • Do not cross your legs when sitting and try to elevate your legs when resting
  • Do not stand for long periods of time

By taking these preventive measures, you can not only maintain healthy circulation and veins but also improve the overall health of your skin and vascular system.

Book an appointment with us or call to know more!

Here, at NJVVC we offer you expert diagnosis and treatment of various venous diseases. We are equipped with the latest and most advanced technologies for quick diagnosis and effective treatment. We achieve high-quality care for our patients through minimally invasive procedures and therapies, restoring patients to their ideal lifestyle. Contact us today for more information or to schedule an appointment!
Call Now
Contact Us