There are creams to make your skin smooth and lasers to zap away stubborn hair, but what do you do when your veins cause your skin issues?
Everyone wants flawless skin from head to toe, but it can seem nearly impossible to achieve your goal when the veins below the surface start to criss-cross across your skin. Fortunately, there’s an effective, lasting treatment for your spider veins.
At Results Medical Aesthetics & Wellness, Dr. Laura Bilbruck and her experienced team specialize in clearing the web of veins that appear on your skin with the best treatments available.
What are spider veins?
You know them as the unsightly blue, purple, or red zig zags on your skin, but there’s a reason they’re there in the first place.
This annoying vein problem is a result of damaged valves. Your veins are equipped with a series of valves that help them pump blood back and forth from your extremities to your heart.
When these valves are damaged or weakened, your blood has nowhere to go so it pools in your veins. This causes your veins to become noticeable on the surface of your skin.
Why you get spider veins
Spider veins aren’t hazardous to your health, but they can negatively impact your overall look and self-confidence. There are lots of reasons why your veins are damaged and spider veins appear on your legs or face.
The most common reason is increased age. Other common causes of spider veins include:
- Being overweight
- Being a woman
- Taking birth control pills
- Having a job that requires lots of time on your feet
- Hormone changes from pregnancy, puberty, or menopause
- Genetic predispositions
- History of blood clots
Some injuries, overexposure to sunlight, or previous vein surgeries can also result in spider veins. Whatever causes your spider veins, there’s no need to suffer with them any longer.
Treating your spider veins
There are certain surgeries and other invasive procedures you can have done, but we believe that there’s a much more conservative way to successfully get rid of your spider veins. This procedure is known as sclerotherapy.
Since its debut on the medical and cosmetic scene in the 1930s, sclerotherapy has continued to lead the industry in spider vein treatment. It’s a minimally invasive, nonsurgical procedure that addresses your annoying vein problems.
How sclerotherapy works
You’ll begin with a consultation with Dr. Bilbruck to discuss your medical history and goals. If you’re pregnant, you may have to wait to receive sclerotherapy.
Before your sclerotherapy treatment, you may be asked to avoid taking certain medications, so be sure to tell Dr. Bilbruck if you’re currently on any prescriptions, taking over-the-counter medicine, or using supplements. Try to avoid applying lotion before your procedure as well.
When you arrive for sclerotherapy, Dr. Bilbruck prepares the solution to inject into your veins. We offer Asclera injections, which use a prescription medication solution to treat spider veins. Once injected, the solution seeks out the damaged veins, destroys them, and causes them to collapse and fade from view.
The vein eventually becomes scar tissue, which is then processed and removed from your body naturally. You may need a few treatment sessions to achieve the best results, but you should see improvement within a few weeks.
What to expect after spider vein treatment
Sclerotherapy typically lasts around 45 minutes, depending on the severity of your spider veins. Dr. Bilbruck requires you to wear a compression stocking for 2-3 days following treatment and then during the day for the next 2-3 weeks.
It’s best to avoid extraneous exercises, long periods of sitting or standing, or hot environments like sunbathing or saunas for at least a few days after your treatment. We encourage you to walk right after treatment and add short walks during the day to help your body recover and remove the destroyed veins.
You don’t have to accept spider veins as a part of your life. If you’re ready to untangle your web of spider veins and live life confidently, call our office in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to get started today.
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