What You Can Do About Those Varicose Veins

When you have varicose veins, you may find yourself wondering what you can or should do to deal with a condition that is both internally uncomfortable and physically visible. Many people assume that varicose veins are merely an aesthetic issue but the reality is that they can be quite painful as well. There are many different treatment and self-care options available to you to help you in dealing with your varicose veins. Get to know more about some of these options so that you can be sure you are doing everything you can to properly deal with your condition.

Make Sure Your Skin Stays Moisturized

One of the most important self-care steps you can take when you are dealing with varicose veins is to keep your skin as well-moisturized as possible. When the skin is extremely dry or even just somewhat under-moisturized, the pain and discomfort of varicose veins is much worse.

You will want to avoid any skin creams or topical treatments that can have a drying effect, including options that you may think will help with cuts or abrasions like antibiotic ointments. If you do have skin sores around your varicose veins, work with your doctor to determine a proper treatment protocol that will resolve the issue without damaging the surrounding skin.

Use Minimally-Invasive Therapies to Treat Your Varicose Veins

When it comes to varicose vein treatments, doctors and patients often prefer to use the least invasive therapies first. If these treatments are an effective means of management, then there will be no need to move on to more extensive surgeries, which will benefit you as the patient, reducing your recovery times and improving your overall health and well-being.

One of the most common minimally invasive therapies is sclerotherapy. This is a chemical therapy that involves injecting a chemical into the veins that feed the varicose vein bundles. This chemical causes the veins to close and collapse on themselves. Eventually, this will cause the varicose vein bundle to dry up and be reabsorbed by the body as blood will no longer flow to those swollen areas and will be rerouted around it.

Laser therapy is a similarly minimally invasive therapy that uses concentrated light energy rather than chemicals to achieve the same goal. If you have just a few varicose vein bundles that are causing you discomfort, these treatments can be a quick and easy way to get them taken care of. After the procedure, recovery time is minimal and you will wear compression socks to help prevent further varicose vein development and to keep your blood flowing while your body heals.

If self-care and minimally invasive therapies do not work for you, there are more invasive surgeries that involve surgically cutting the veins and reattaching them to others in order to prevent blood from flowing into areas of large varicose vein bundles. No matter how stubborn your varicose veins seem to be, there are treatment options that will help you reduce your discomfort, reduce the aesthetic effect of your condition, and just make you feel better overall.