Sclerotherapy for Varicose Veins & Spider Veins

Introduction

Sclerotherapy is a treatment for small varicose or spider veins.  Sclerotherapy involves the tiny injections of a medication into affected veins.  The solution used causes the veins to shrink and eventually dissolve.  Sclerotherapy may improve the appearance of veins and reduce symptoms of vein malformation.

Your veins carry deoxygenated blood back to your heart.  Varicose veins develop when the blood that should move toward the heart develops a back flow.  Such veins may contain faulty valves, a lack of valves, or deformities which impairs the normal flow of blood.  Varicose veins can hurt.  They often look like blue swollen areas beneath the skin.  Smaller veins, dilated capillaries, produce finer purple colored lines that are commonly known as spider veins.

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Treatment

You can receive sclerotherapy at your physician’s office.  Your doctor will carefully inject medication into your affected veins.  There are several types of medications that your doctor has to choose from - clinical studies have shown them to be equally effective.  You can return to work or activity following the procedure.  You will need to wear bandages for a period of time.  It is helpful to wear compression stockings after treatment.  You may need repeated injections to attain your desired result.
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This information is intended for educational and informational purposes only. It should not be used in place of an individual consultation or examination or replace the advice of your health care professional and should not be relied upon to determine diagnosis or course of treatment.

The iHealthSpot patient education library was written collaboratively by the iHealthSpot editorial team which includes Senior Medical Authors Dr. Mary Car-Blanchard, OTD/OTR/L and Valerie K. Clark, and the following editorial advisors: Steve Meadows, MD, Ernie F. Soto, DDS, Ronald J. Glatzer, MD, Jonathan Rosenberg, MD, Christopher M. Nolte, MD, David Applebaum, MD, Jonathan M. Tarrash, MD, and Paula Soto, RN/BSN. This content complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information. The library commenced development on September 1, 2005 with the latest update/addition on February 16, 2022. For information on iHealthSpot’s other services including medical website design, visit www.iHealthSpot.com.