Varicose veins can cause pain and discomfort, exacerbating the feeling of fatigue and strain in the legs. On top of this, they can also make patients feel unattractive and self-conscious, preventing them from enjoying their life to the full. This is a real shame, because varicose veins are actually quite simple to treat and remove. Depending on the size and scale of the veins themselves, there are a number of ways to treat the condition today.

Treatment

For minor cases where there are only a very few varicose and spider veins, physicians will typically suggest non-surgical means of treatment, including exercises, weight loss, using compression stockings to increase blood circulation, keeping the legs elevated to ease circulation, and trying to avoid long periods of standing, sitting, or generally remaining stationary.

With regards to treating spider veins, clinicians may opt to perform a sclerotherapy, whereby the veins themselves are sealed through a series of chemical injections which act to close the vein walls completely.
Alternatively, spider veins can be treated through a series of laser treatments which fade the veins as well.

However, these treatments are only effective for mild cases and are not as appropriate for veins which bulge out of the skin. In these instances, surgical intervention is likely to be the only solution. Typically, it involves stripping the vein in a procedure which does involve anaesthetics. The physician will make incisions in the back of the knee and the groin through which the varicose vein is pulled with a specially designed tool.

Although the procedure is an effective way to treat varicose veins, it is associated with increased pain and bruising after the surgery, and therefore prolongs the recovery period for patients.

Recently, however, there have been major improvements in the application of laser technology to remove and treat varicose veins, which also reduces the length of time taken to carry out the procedure. This treatment involves inserting a device into the target vein, to which a catheter delivers radiofrequency/laser energy.

In order to make the blood within the vein clot and seal the vein itself, the endovenous laser generates heat at over 700 degress Celsius. In contrast, radiofrequency devices deliver far less intensive temperatures and work to shrink the walls of the vein. Arguably, this method is a far more comfortable experience for the patient, as it also limits the trauma sustained by the surrounding tissues, and causes less pain and bruising than the laser method.

So, if you’re suffering from pain and discomfort and want to get rid of those varicose veins once and for all, you don’t need to ‘put up’ with it any longer.

We provide advice and support on varicose veins treatment in Birmingham, helping our patients claim back their quality of life in no time.