Coastal Georgia Vein Center: Dr. Greg Martin.

Spider Veins, causes and modern treatments.

Spider Veins

Spider veins are the tiny veins—usually purple, red, or blue in color—that sometimes appear in the superficial layer of the skin (the epidermis). As the name implies, the individual veins emanating out from a central cluster can resemble the legs of a spider.

Approximately 70 percent of adult females develop spider veins at some time in their lives. In males, the percentage is smaller.

Many people view spider veins as simply a cosmetic problem. But in about two-thirds of cases, spider veins are responsible for some degree of pain, burning, heaviness, itching, stinging, swelling, restlessness, fatigue, or other medical discomfort in the legs.

The causes and cures of spider veins

Spider veins are caused by leaky valves in the veins of your leg, which allow blood to fall sluggishly down your leg instead of rising briskly toward your heart as it should. To restore proper circulation and health, you need to close the defective (insufficient) veins so your body can reroute the flow of blood through healthy veins. After treatment, most patients experience less discomfort and fewer other symptoms, and their legs feel fresher and lighter.

The only effective way to get rid of spider veins is to close the underlying defective veins that feed them. Dr. Martin expertly accomplishes this utilizing the state-of-the-art sclerotherapy treatments developed in the past ten years, supplemented by laser treatments, impulse light therapy, thermo-coagulation, and other advanced techniques as appropriate.

The hypertonic saline injections and the spider vein laser therapies of the previous era were just "surface treatments" that often made the problem worse. They are now considered obsolete.

With the modern treatment methods offered by Dr. Martin, you can expect to experience approximately 70 percent clearing of visual spider veins. If you’ve had substantial spider veins on your legs, a few new ones will appear over time regardless of the quality or quantity of treatment sessions. Therefore, it’s usually advisable to schedule occasional touch-up treatments at least every one to five years.