How to Get Rid of a Lot of Little Spider Veins?

Hi Ally,

  Getting rid of spider veins (even when you have LOTS of them) is a lot easier than you think. That said, I'd choose a physician who has specific experience/training in sclerotherapy (treatment of leg veins through injections) and who can also evaluate you for deeper (perforator or greater saphenous) vein incompetence.

  Think of your leg veins as being similar to trees. The spider veins are the leaves of the tree and the underlying  blue network of less prominant - though still subtly visible - veins (reticular veins) are the tree branches. If you simply treat the spider veins (leaves), you are not addressing the root of the problem (the tree branches/reticular veins that are supplying the spider veins). Thus, laser or injection treatment only to the spider veins can result in a temporary improvement in appearance, but, chances are the spider veins will subsequently recur. This is because the blue network of veins supplying the spider veins were not treated.

  All of this can be done easily in clinic with minimal discomfort and no downtime.

For varicose veins, we typically recommend a safe, minimally invasive procedure called Sclerotherapy. A salt solution is injected directly into each vein, causing them to collapse and ultimately disappear. For long-term improvement, we often complement Sclerotherapy with IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) photofacial and the Excel V laser, which treats both superficial and deep vascular conditions on all skin types. I suggest seeing an expert for a formal evaluation to determine if this is the best solution for you. Best, Dr. Emer

For smaller spider veins less than 3mm,my office at the Dr.U Clinic in Los Angeles recommends using laser. This works by applying a specific energy wavelength (e.g. 1064nm of the Nd:YAG laser) which is absorbed into the tiny blood vessels by hemoglobin. The walls of the veins are then destroyed and carried away by your immune system. The risk with injecting tiny blood vessels is that there is a bigger chance of inaccurate injections where the drug fluid can then damage the surrounding tissue. You may learn more about spider vein removal in the article written by my clinic below.