Spider Veins – Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment

Every woman in the world dreams of having beautiful legs and flawless skin. This is especially true, since it has become fashionable for women to flaunt their legs and bare a decent amount of skin on social occasions. The problem is that spider veins often get in the way of having beautifully smooth skin. Not only that, spider veins can also become very painful when left untreated. Spider veins therefore not only reduce the attractiveness of your skin, but also impair your ability to walk long distances because of the pain. This is why it’s important to include spider vein treatment in your skin rejuvenation and general skincare regimen.

What are spider veins, anyway? Simply put, these are blood vessels that twist and turn and become clearly visible through your skin. They’re usually found on your face and legs, which makes it easily understandable why women would want to get rid of them. They’re similar to varicose veins, but are smaller and closer to your skin’s surface. They have the appearance of red, blue, or purple spider webs (hence, the name) or tree branches. Depending on the severity of your case, spider veins may cover a small and largely unnoticeable area or a very large and extremely visible area of your skin.

There are several factors that are known to cause spider veins. These include hereditary obesity, occupations where you stand for long periods of time, birth control pills, skin injuries, hormonal changes, blood clot history, too much exposure to sunlight or synthetic ultraviolet rays, and practically any situation that places too much pressure on your abdomen like girdles, tumors, and constipation. Your risk for having spider veins also increases with age. Other than that, you may want to note that women suffer from spider veins more than men. To be specific, about 55% of women suffer from it as compared to about 45% of men.

People who suffer from spider veins usually start out complaining about pain in their legs that feels like a cramp. Pretty soon, you’ll also start to feel a constant restlessness, tiredness, heaviness, tingling, throbbing, and even burning in your legs. These feelings of pain and discomfort are usually eased by elevating your legs. Women usually experience a worsening of the symptoms during pregnancy or certain periods in their menstrual cycle. In more severe cases, you may suffer from skin pigmentation, rashes, swelling, and ulcers, particularly on your ankles.

The most basic approach to treating spider veins is to wear support stockings. These stockings help ease the pain and discomfort you feel when you have spider veins. You can easily purchase them from your local surgical supply store or maybe even from the local pharmacy. It is also advisable for you to lose excess weight, walk regularly, and adopt proper skin hygiene. If your case is severe, then you may have to undergo a cosmetic or surgical procedure. Of course, it would be best for you not to leave spider veins untreated and seek advice from a reputable skin centre as early as you can.