Spring into summer with great looking legs

Warm days are on the horizon in San Diego. Walks on the beach, summer weddings and shorts season will be here soon.

If you are dreading your summer wardrobe because of unsightly spider veins or varicose veins, there is time to complete vein treatment before your daughter's summer wedding or you begin to wear your favorite skirts and shorts.

Treatment time varies depending on the size of your varicose veins and other factors. Because varicose vein and spider vein treatments generally involve at least a couple of visits to the vein center, plan to start your treatments about two months before an event.

Many patients notice a significant improvement in the reduction and visibility of varicose veins and spider veins soon after their first treatment.

The treatments

Sclerotherapy is one of the most common treatments for spider veins and varicose veins, which develop when the valves in your veins do not work properly.

Sclerotherapy is a series of injections that uses medication to close varicose veins. Laser ablation uses heat to close varicose veins.

Spider veins resolve quickly and easily, because these tiny red or blue-purple veins that create the appearance of a “spider” web are close to the skin’s surface. In most cases, spider veins do not cause physical symptoms.

Varicose veins are large, bulging veins that can change how your legs look and feel. Some symptoms can include pain, heaviness and aching in the legs, itching, swelling, brown skin discoloration, and skin ulcers or wounds.

What are the side effects?

Most spider and varicose vein treatments can be done quickly and are low-risk, however some patients can experience side effects.

Sclerotherapy can cause tenderness, redness, or hard lumps at the injection site and along the veins, as well as matting, or a small cluster of thin, red spider veins near the injection site.

Bruising, scabbing, leg swelling, and rarely, small ulcers can occur with treatment. A light brown discoloration of the skin called hemosiderin staining can be seen around the treatment area, but this discoloration usually fades with time.For some patients, it can take several weeks for these troublesome veins to disappear completely and for potential side effects to resolve.

In most cases spider and varicose vein treatment can be done as an outpatient. Consult with your vein specialist about which treatment is right for you and to develop an individualized treatment plan.

San Diego Vein Institute specializes in creating beautiful legs and optimizing venous health. San Diego Vein Institute is located at 336 Encinitas Boulevard, Suite 130, Encinitas, CA 92024. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call (760) 944-9263 or visit www.sdveininstitute.com