Hate your leg veins?
Do you shy away from wearing skirts and shorts because you don’t like the appearance of your leg veins? You are not alone. As someone who treats leg veins, I recommend that you start planning for summer now, as it takes a few months for your body to break down and absorb the treated leg veins after they are injected.
The best way to treat leg veins is through a procedure called sclerotherapy. We inject a solution with a tiny needle into each visible vein. The solution causes an inflammatory reaction for the vessel walls to break down. You have a deeper network of veins in your legs, so, you don’t need the superficial, visible ones.
Think of leg veins like trees with trunks, branches, and leaves. If we just treat the tiny vessels (telangiectasias), it’s like plucking a leaf off of a tree. The leaf will grow back. We have to treat the branches and trunk of the tree, too (the deeper, reticular, bluish veins that are supplying the tiny telangiectasias).
Misconception #1: Laser is the best treatment to remove leg veins
To penetrate to the depth of the reticular veins in the legs with a laser, you’d burn through the skin. Thus, sclerotherapy (injections into the veins) is the gold standard, best treatment to eradicate unsightly leg veins.
Misconception #2: It’s summertime! It’s the perfect time to get rid of these leg veins!
Noooo! Your body will take 2-3 months to break down the blood vessels after they are treated with sclerotherapy, so, WINTER and SPRING are the best times to have sclerotherapy. Also, you will need to wear compression stockings for a week after the procedure. . . it’s much easier to hide these under pants than shorts/skirts.
Basically, now is the PERFECT time to have your leg veins treated if you want to get them in top shape for summer!