Varicose veins When should spider veins be medically treated

Although spider veins are usually only a cosmetic problem, they can also point to a venous disease. Patients should therefore have the causes of the bluish-red veins best clarified by a specialist. Against spider veins can also do something.

Spider veins are seen as a beauty blemish
Especially on the legs they appear: small bluish-red veins that shimmer through the skin. The fine ramifications resemble thin branches - so Reisern - from which earlier brooms were made. Affected feel such spider veins usually as a blemish. From a medical point of view, this form of varicose veins is usually harmless and need not be treated. However, it is not excluded that behind spider veins hides a serious venous insufficiency. To be sure, you should get a check-up with a specialist.

When should spider veins be medically treated? Image: mkrberlin - fotolia

Exact causes not clarified clearly
The exact causes of spider veins have not yet been scientifically clarified. "In many cases sufferers have a hereditary predisposition to spider veins," said the vascular surgeon Horst Peter Steffen told the news agency dpa. Steffen is chief physician in the Hilden Capio Clinic in the park, the venous center North Rhine-Westphalia. In the case of those affected, the blood then accumulates and can not continue to flow unhindered. The Munich naturopath Ursula Hilpert-Mühlig, who is also Vice President of the Association of German Naturopaths, explained: "Spider veins can - but need not - be precursors of serious varicose veins."

Most women are affected
The emergence of spider veins is favored by, among other things, overweight or obesity, lack of exercise and hormonal changes during pregnancy. In addition, they are more common in older age, as Ursula Sellerberg of the Federal Association of German Pharmacists Associations (ABDA) explained according to dpa. Often thick legs or thick calves are added. But they occur not only on the upper and lower legs, but on the entire body, about the stomach. Much rarer, there are also spider veins on the face. According to Hilpert-Mühlig, women are usually affected by spider veins because they have a weaker connective tissue compared to men. Some of them have connective tissue weakness. "As a rule, spider veins do not cause discomfort; they are primarily a cosmetic problem," says Steffen.

Spider veins do not need to be removed
Spider veins can - but do not have to - be removed. However, they do not disappear by themselves. Cosmetically, spider veins cover well. So there are special make-ups for the face. "Even for legs water-resistant camouflage products exist," said Sellerberg. There is also the possibility to have spider veins removed by medical specialists. "Treatment measures include sclerotherapy or laser therapy," explained Steffen. Before starting treatment, the attending physician examines the environment around the affected area of ​​the body. He explores whether and where in the immediate vicinity of the spider veins larger venous congestion, which must be given priority to prevent further blood flow to the spider veins. "Up to now, this often happens via ultrasound," explained Steffen. According to the expert, there is now an even more precise examination method - so-called vein viewer. The blood flow paths are localized by means of infrared light.

No "100 percent success guarantee"
Both laser therapy and sclerotherapy usually require several sessions, each lasting around half an hour. The treatment is performed on an outpatient basis. In the sclerotherapy, a medium is injected into the spider veins after a local anesthesia, in the laser therapy can be a laser beam shrink the spider veins. "A 100 percent success guarantee that the spider veins have permanently disappeared after the therapy does not exist," said Steffen. After removal of spider veins on legs, compression stockings must be worn for a limited time. Because the therapy is usually a cosmetic procedure, the health insurance usually does not cover the costs. Patients have to expect an average of 150 euros per session. A (less expensive) treatment method from naturopathy is the leech therapy. But again, there is no one hundred percent guarantee.

Move a lot and store your legs up
Although health experts give tips on how to prevent spider veins and varicose veins, but there is no reliable scientific evidence, according to Steffen. However, if you tend to have spider veins in your legs, it is generally recommended that you move a lot, for example in the form of swimming or walking. In addition, advised to frequent high-altitude leg. According to Hilpert-Mühlig, in principle, water applications can also have a beneficial effect on the legs. These include, for example, the cold knee nut, a well-tried home remedy for varicose veins. "The water jet is guided from the back of the foot to the heel and then along the calf to the knee," explained the alternative practitioner.