When you notice the blue and purple web-like veins on your legs, it might feel intimidating to begin your search for quality vein care. Spider veins are usually harmless, but they can greatly affect your confidence.
At Florida Lakes Vein Center, our team of experts, led by Dr. T.C. Lackey II, D.O., understands the complexities of navigating your vascular health. We prioritize patient education, high-quality care, and the most advanced treatments for vein disease.
Our reputable vein clinic in the Central Florida region helps patients discover life without vein disease. Let’s discuss how to get rid of spider veins, one of the most common vascular concerns, and what you can do to prevent them.
What Are Spider Veins?
Also known as telangiectasias, spider veins often appear in clusters that resemble spider webs. These clusters form due to damaged blood vessels under the surface of your skin, most often found on your legs.
Spider veins are extremely common, especially among aging individuals. Their likelihood of appearing increases as you age, and women have a higher chance of developing these veins. Spider veins shouldn’t cause significant concern, as they are usually harmless.
If you have spider veins, we recommend speaking to an expert, like Dr. Lackey or a member of our team. We can help determine whether your spider veins result from a deeper issue and point you in the direction of treatment.
If you are curious about spider vein treatment, keep reading as we discuss our process for sclerotherapy.
Sclerotherapy: Spider Vein Treatment
For those wondering how to get rid of spider veins, we provide sclerotherapy, a quick, minimally invasive, and efficient treatment. Dr. Lackey and our certified team help patients around the Central Florida region feel confident again with this advanced treatment.
Let’s take a look at how our experts treat your spider veins with our comprehensive process.
New Patient Consultation
Before all of our vein treatments, including sclerotherapy, we start with a new patient consultation. Here, we discuss your vascular concerns, your medical history, and your lifestyle habits to confirm that sclerotherapy works with your goals.
Since no two patients are the same, we take a personalized approach to your care. Our highly trained professionals create a treatment plan that helps alleviate your symptoms and improve your vein health.
Sclerotherapy Appointments
After we decide that sclerotherapy can effectively address your concerns, we schedule your appointments. From his years of experience, Dr. Lackey finds that most patients require a minimum of 4 treatments to reduce the appearance of their spider veins effectively.
During each appointment, we begin with a numbing injection to make your session as comfortable as possible. Sclerotherapy should not be painful—you should only feel small pricks from the needle as we inject the medication.
The sclerotherapy solution consists of a sclerosant, or an active ingredient that closes the damaged veins. This ingredient, polidocanol, irritates the blood vessel linings to collapse them and send blood flow to the surrounding veins. When thinking about how to get rid of spider veins, sclerotherapy is one of the most efficient treatments available for reducing their appearance.
After your expert provider finishes injections, they wrap your leg with a pressure dressing that should stay on for around 48 hours.
Recovering After Sclerotherapy
Sclerotherapy requires no downtime, so you can drive yourself home and resume your daily activities immediately. Dr. Lackey provides you with instructions and recommendations for you to follow during your healing process.
What to Expect
Over the next few weeks, your body begins to reabsorb the treated veins, minimizing their appearance. After your treatment, you might experience some mild symptoms from the injections. These are completely normal and expected as your body heals.
You may notice:
- Tenderness and pain
- Redness
- A pulling sensation
- Warmth and itching
- Bruising and swelling
- Small welts or knots
Dr. Lackey’s Aftercare Instructions
For proper healing, follow these tips and directions:
- Keep your compression bandage on for 48 hours. This helps optimize blood flow and keeps the injection site covered.
- Use anti-inflammatory medications as directed. These can help alleviate minor discomfort.
- Avoid direct sun exposure and wear sunscreen when outside to protect your skin. The treated area will be sensitive to the sun for the next few weeks.
- Engage in light physical activity, such as 20-minute walks a few times a day. Encouraging blood flow promotes faster healing.
- Avoid sitting or standing for extended periods during the first week after your treatment.
- Refrain from using pools, hot tubs, and saunas to minimize the risk of infection and swelling.
- Take showers and not baths for the next 3 days after treatment.
- Use ice packs for the first 48 hours post-treatment. After 48 hours, use a warm compress on the injection site to reduce swelling and irritation.
Dr. Lackey’s Homeopathic Recommendations for Recovery
We understand that everyone takes a different approach to their health, so we also help you during your healing process with natural, homeopathic remedy recommendations.
If you prefer natural remedies, try these:
- Grape seed extract: Take one tablet twice a day with meals for 2 weeks to reduce bruising and inflammation.
- Vitamin C: Take 1000mg twice daily for 2 weeks to stimulate wound healing.
- Arnica gel: Apply to the skin to reduce swelling, pain, and bruising.
Sclerotherapy Overview
| Number of Treatments | Appointment Length: | Downtime: | Compression Time: | Anesthetic? |
| 4 or more | 30 to 45 minutes | None | 24 to 48 hours | Numbing Injection |
Why Care at Florida Lakes Vein Center is a “No Veiner”
If you’re wondering how to get rid of spider veins, our providers use advanced treatments to effectively reduce their appearance. Dr. Lackey combines his years of experience at Florida Lakes Vein Center and his attention to detail to provide well-rounded patient care.
Through an in-depth consultation, we get to know your unique struggles and goals for vein treatment. With this information, we create a personalized treatment plan, focusing on the best way to treat your vein concerns with the least downtime and most comfort.
In addition to treatment, we provide guidance and encourage you to adopt healthy habits to improve your vascular health.
Preventing Spider Veins
Once spider veins form, they can’t go away without medical intervention like sclerotherapy. Practicing healthy habits and prioritizing a healthy lifestyle can lower your risk of developing spider veins.
Here are a few ways you can prevent the formation of spider veins.
Prioritize Physical Activity
Engaging in regular physical activity, like walking, biking, and swimming, helps optimize circulation and keeps blood pumping in the right direction. Additionally, maintaining a healthy weight keeps excess pressure off of your blood vessel walls.
Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle
In addition to exercise, eating a heart-healthy diet of foods low in salt and high in fiber promotes circulation and enhances vein health.
Another way to promote healthy veins is to quit smoking. Tobacco products constrict the vein walls, which can damage them and increase your chances of spider veins or other vein conditions.
Adopt Circulation-Boosting Habits
If you have to sit or stand for long periods of time, like on a plane or a long car ride, flex your feet and ankles regularly to stimulate blood flow in your legs. We also recommend elevating your legs on top of pillows or blankets for at least 30 minutes a day to encourage blood flow back to the heart.
Frequently Asked Questions About Spider Veins and Sclerotherapy
One of the values that drives us is patient education. Whether that’s educating you on vein disease, your best treatment options, or how to get rid of spider veins, we want you to have the knowledge you need to make informed choices.
Here, we answer some frequently asked questions.
Are the results of sclerotherapy permanent?
The results of sclerotherapy are permanent in the treated veins only. However, new spider veins can still form as you age, if you have high risk factors, or if you stop practicing healthy habits.
If new spider veins appear and affect your confidence, we can treat those with sclerotherapy too.
Is sclerotherapy safe?
As you search for how to get rid of spider veins, you might think that collapsing veins sounds unsafe, but your body has more than enough veins to promote healthy blood flow. When performed by the trained providers at Florida Lakes Vein Center, your sclerotherapy treatment is very safe.
We use efficient solutions to enhance your vascular health and help you live vibrantly again.
What’s the difference between spider veins and varicose veins?
Spider veins appear as thin, web-like formations on the surface of the skin and are usually asymptomatic and harmless. We use sclerotherapy to treat spider veins, and sometimes very small varicose veins.
Varicose veins appear as bulging, twisted, swollen veins that occur due to weakened vein walls. These veins can present symptoms, usually achiness, pain, swelling, and soreness. To treat varicose veins, we use Varithena and/or VenaSeal.
If you have more questions about vein disease or want to speak with our professionals, contact us.
Visit the Experts for Your Vein Concerns
Curious about how to get rid of spider veins? Our physician-led team can help you feel confident and embrace your skin again with sclerotherapy for spider veins. Start your journey to discovering better vein health and request a free vein screening!