How to Treat Spider and Varicose Veins

Sometimes I become a little bit obsessive about my skin and search every surface for any sort of imperfection.  It might sound strange, but women care a lot about the appearance of their skin and spend copious amounts of time and money taking care of it.  In order to avoid diagnosing myself with a long list of skin disorders that need immediate attention, I try to do a little research to learn more about conditions that I could be worried about.

Image: sxc.hu

Lately I have been working on my feet a lot so I have been interested in learning about spider and varicose veins.  These tiny purple squiggles are a common occurrence on women’s thighs and calves and since I am still young, I would like to know if it possible to avoid getting them.

Spider veins are tiny twisted blood vessels that are visible through the skin, and varicose veins are larger twisted blood vessels that become purple and puffy.  Defective blood flow valves allow blood to flow backwards and pool inside the vein, which builds pressure and causes the valve to weaken and twist.  These twisted veins become spider and varicose veins.  Although these veins are unattractive and most women hate getting them, they really don’t pose any serious health risks.  Sometimes they can be associated with aching, cramping, and swollen ankles but rarely ever develop into blood clots.

Visit your doctor if you want to find out if your spider or varicose veins are a serious problem.  There are also a few simple ways to treat your varicose veins at home:

• compression stockings – I just discovered Juzo compression stockings, which improve circulation and relieve pain and discomfort in legs with problem veins.  They have socks and tights that are perfect for work and quickly ease pain associated with these conditions.

Image: Juzo

• exercise regularly – If your varicose veins are caused by being overweight, regular exercise can definitely help.  Keeping your leg muscles toned keeps blood flowing in the direction that it should.  Try walking as exercise and decrease the salt-intake in your diet.

If your at-home treatments don’t produce any results, there are also various medical treatments like sclerotherapy and laser therapy that can destroy blood vessels and close off veins.  Please ask your doctor about these more serious approaches.  Visit WebMD’s Spider and Varicose Veins Slideshow to see images and learn more about treatment.  I am definitely getting myself a pair of compression stockings as a preventative measure…maybe they will start making them in cute patterns for fall!