Are you afraid to bare your legs because of a maze of purple, blue and red veins? Unsightly varicose and spider veins can put a damper on your confidence and force you to reach for stockings, pants and makeup. While, unfortunately, they’re pretty common, there is an upside: Spider and varicose vein laser treatment is effective, easy and a lot less painful than treatment options of the past. In fact, laser vein removal is one of the most commonly requested procedures at our Vancouver laser clinic. Here’s your primer:
What are Spider and Varicose Veins and Why do we Get Them?
Varicose veins are bulging, twisted red, blue or purple blood vessels that are visible under the skin. They typically crop up on the legs. Spider veins are small, red or blue visible veins that also twist and turn but aren’t swollen or protruding. They usually appear on the face and legs. Ultimately, the valves are weak and aren’t actively pushing the blood through the vein as they once did and the blood gets stuck creating spider and varicose veins.
Varicose and spider veins are mainly caused by genetics but can also be the result of environmental damage including sports, standing for long periods of time, poor diet, or aging, pregnancy, hormonal changes, obesity, lack of movement and sun exposure.
How do you Treat Varicose and Spider Veins?
For years, the only option for treating varicose veins was injections. You’d have to go to a physician and they would inject a solution into the vein that would cause it to collapse. Over time, its appearance would fade or go away. While this approach works on varicose veins, the cons are it doesn’t work on spider veins as they are too fine, the injections are incredibly painful, they cause bruising and the injection sites don’t look very attractive and it requires injecting a toxic solution into your body.
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About 25 years ago, technology emerged that had a similar effect to injections but relied on heat instead. Of course, we’re talking about laser vein therapy. The laser is placed over the vein and a pulse of light/heat enters the skin. The coagulated blood drains out of the vein and that’s it. Over the next six to eight weeks the appearance fades and eventually disappears. The pros are that varicose and spider vein laser treatments are virtually painless and extremely effective. In fact, it’s the only option for those super tiny spider veins.
How Exactly Does Laser Vein Removal Work?
When we perform spider and varicose vein laser treatment in Vancouver, we’re frequently asked, “If you get rid of the vein, what happens then? Where does it go? Will it affect my circulation?”
Well, the vein was not working properly in the first place. Once the valves are unable to push the blood through it will actually cause a bit of a traffic jam. This puts pressure on the surrounding veins and they too can be damaged. Laser treatments prevent the condition from getting worse. The laser cauterizes, or closes, the vein with pulses of light energy so blood can no longer pool in it. The body reabsorbs the existing blood in the vein and blood flow is simply redirected to veins that run a little deeper in the skin.
It’s one of our favorite treatments to do at NuAGE Laser because you can see the spider and varicose veins disappear right before your eyes. The number of treatments needed depends on how large the vein is and, of course, your overall health. On average, we suggest approximately three sessions at four to 10 week intervals. Home care is the key to getting the most out of your treatments.
Laser treatment for veins is ideal because it’s been around for a long, long time, is low risk, inexpensive and, most importantly, it works. Are you ready to regain your confidence and flaunt your healthy skin? Contact NuAGE Laser today and book a free consultation to discuss our Vancouver varicose and spider vein laser treatments.
