Dealing with Varicose Veins

Dealing with varicose veins is simple, and there are ways to prevent them and ways to treat them. About ten years ago however, people had only two solutions to treating varicose veins and that was either surgery or they had to live with them.

It is believed that varicose veins are more prevalent in people who either have veins with weak walls, valves that are weak, or they don't have the normal amount of valves.

If a person doesn't have the normal amount of valves, this puts extra work on those they do have, and the result is failing, visible veins.

Varicose and spider veins are very common, and could possibly be inherited from either or both parents. If they have varicose veins or spider veins, then more than likely you will also.

There are several things you can do that might slow or prevent their appearance...

1. Try to vary the amount of time you sit and stand. Your goal is to minimize the amount of blood pooling in your legs.

2. Do some low-impact exercises that will help your circulation, without putting extra stress or pressure on your veins. Like swimming, walking, etc.

3. Don't sit with your legs crossed. This puts added pressure on your veins.

4. Reduce your water retention by eating more fruits that are natural diuretics... like lemon juice mixed with water, grapefruit and pineapple.

5. Try sleeping with your legs slightly elevated.

6. Consult with your doctor about wearing below the knee compression stockings. These stockings helps with circulation in your lower legs.

7. Also consult with your doctor about taking horse chestnut seed extract. the aescin in this herb supposedly reduces pain and swelling in your legs, and will slow down leakage from the walls of your blood vessels. The suggested dosage is every 12 hours, take 300 to 600 mg. Do this for 12 weeks.

If you already have varicose veins, and your doctor has suggested treating them with surgery, there are a few options that are open to you. You should review each procedure with your doctor before deciding which one to go with.

Photoderm

This is the more popular treatment today. A tool similar to a laser is used, but it has a much wider light spectrum. The it emits has longer pulses that can treat larger blood vessels, and will not damage any of the surrounding tissue.

Laser Therapy

This painless procedure is used to treat spider veins. It uses short, but intense burst of light that is beamed at your skin. Each session can last up to 30 minutes. A day or so after the procedure, dark spots will up around the area that was treated, but in 2 weeks they will be gone.

Sclerotherapy

This procedure involves having a chemical solution injected right into your vein, which causes it to close, collapse and then eventually disintegrate.

Your sessions will last up to 30 minutes, and in that time, you will receive 50 painless injections. After the treatment, your leg is wrapped with an elastic bandage, then left to rest for a rest hours.

There may be some blood leakage into the surrounding tissue that causes it to turn brown, but this is normal and will take a few months to go away.

Surgery

This is left for the saphenous veins only, which can be either the great or small saphenous vein. These are veins that basically run through your leg, thigh or ankle.

The anesthesia that is use could be a general, a local or a spinal. Two incisions made. A 1 inch incision under your pubic hair, and another 1/2 inch incision is made on your ankle. The surgeon then proceeds to remove your entire vein.

The procedure takes about 30 minutes to an hour, and can be done as an out-patient. You only have to stay in the hospital for 4 hours. Your legs may swell or bruise a little, and the incisions will hurt - but usually in a week or so - it all goes away.

Mini-Phlebectomy

These can be done in your surgeon's clinic or office, and you're usually home in 2 hours. If the pressure of blood in a vein, or the size of a vein prevents the surgeon from doing sclerotherapy, then the mini-phlebectomy is generally used.

Minute incisions are made instead and then the vein is removed. It's less invasive, needs no stitching, it's done with a local anesthesia and it doesn't leave scars.

ClosureFast

This happens to be a new procedure that was recently approved. It can also be done your surgeons clinic or office, and consist of inserting a catheter into the varicose vein, then using a high-frequency radio wave to heat the vein and close it off permanently.

These are some of the for dealing with varicose veins. If you decide to seek any of the treatments listed above, please be aware that walking after wards will help with the circulation and healing in your legs. So be prepared to make this exercise part of your routine.