What Are Spider Veins?

Spider veins are very small and very fine red or blue veins. They are closer to the surface of the skin than varicose veins. They can look like a thin red line, tree branches or spider webs. Spider veins can be found on the legs and face and may cover a small or large area.

What Are Reticular Veins?

Reticular veins can also be known as feeder veins. They are the blue and green veins beneath the surface of the skin.

Reticular veins enlarge because of increased pressure in the vein. They can be caused by heredity. You may have reticular veins alone but you may also have spider veins at the same time.

What Causes Spider And Reticular Veins?

Spider and reticular veins can be caused by many factors.

• Heredity. Having a family member with prominent veins may increase the risk of you developing them. Approximately half of the people who get varicose veins have a family history of them.
• Age. The normal wear and tear of aging may cause valves in the veins to weaken and not work as well.
• Overweight and obesity. Having extra weight on the body can put additional pressure on the veins.
• Prolonged standing or sitting. This is particularly true with legs bent or crossed. When standing or sitting with legs bent or crossed, the veins have to work harder to pump the blood up to the heart.
• Gender. Women are two to three times more likely to develop varicose veins than men. Up to half of American women have varicose veins. Changes in hormones due to puberty, pregnancy, menopause, or taking birth control pills may increase a woman's risk of developing varicose veins.
• Pregnancy. During pregnancy, the growth of the fetus increases the pressure on the veins in the legs. Varicose veins that occur during pregnancy usually improve within 3 to 12 months following delivery.

Other possible causes for varicose veins are race, posture, occupation, hormones such as estrogen and progesterone, primary valvular incompetence, and incompetent perforating veins.

What Is Sclerotherapy?

Sclerotherapy is a minimally invasive procedure to treat uncomplicated spider veins and uncomplicated reticular veins. The treatment involves the injection of a solution into the affected veins. The solution or sclerosing agent works by damaging the inner wall of the vein, and eventually causing the vein to collapse on its self.  Over time, the damaged vein is replaced with tissue.  Individual results may vary, and many patients will require multiple injection sessions for complete treatment success.

How Soon Will The Vessels Disappear?

Each vessel usually requires one to three treatments.  The vessels disappear over a period of 2 weeks to 3 months.  Recurrences may occur over a period of 1 to 5 years, but this is rare.  However, this treatment does not prevent new vessels from developing.

A typical session lasts 15 to 45 minutes.

After treatment you can resume normal activity. It might be recommended that you wear compression stockings for 5-7 days after treatment. You may have some bruising in treated areas but this is usually not severe. You will see results anywhere from 2 to 12 weeks.

You should for 2-3 days after treatment avoid:
Heavy exercise
Hot baths/saunas
Long plane flights or car rides
Sun exposure for at least 6 weeks after treatment