When it comes to blood vessel issues in the legs, varicose veins and spider veins account for a vast majority of them. By the numbers, nearly one-quarter of adults in the United States have varicose veins, and spider veins affect millions of Americans.
While many people think that spider veins are just smaller versions of varicose veins, the reality is that these two issues are quite different.
At the Vein Institute here at Upper East Side Cardiology, Dr. Satjit Bhusri and our team believe that patient education is important. With that in mind, we want to take a brief dive into the differences between spider veins and varicose veins, both of which are easily treated.
We’re going to kick off this discussion with a point that might be slightly confusing — spider veins don’t develop in your veins.
Instead, this issue affects much smaller blood vessels, like capillaries, venules, and arterioles, that connect your larger vessels.
Also called telangiectases, spider veins are the result of many factors, including:
The reasons spider veins tend to develop more often in women is because of hormone-related factors.
Unlike spider veins, varicose veins do affect your veins, which are the blood vessels that return blood to your heart for oxygen. Varicose veins affect more than 25 million Americans. Varicose veins tend to form in superficial veins closer to the surface of your skin, and they’re often the result of chronic venous insufficiency (CVI).
In more detail, the veins in your legs feature one-way valves that close off as blood passes through. With CVI, these valves don’t close all the way or they malfunction, which allows blood to leak backward and pool. As the pooling continues, the vein can engorge and rise to the surface, creating a varicose vein.
The good news when it comes to both spider veins and varicose veins is that, in a majority of cases, they’re only cosmetically problematic and not medically serious.
That said, varicose veins in people with moderate to severe CVI can become troublesome in terms of comfort. As well, slow-healing ulcers can develop around the veins.
It’s important to note that once a spider or varicose vein forms, it doesn't go away on its own and takes up permanent residence on your skin.
Thankfully, getting rid of both spider veins and varicose veins is fairly easy. For example, a few simple injections here at our practice can make quick work of your varicose veins, while laser therapy is a great solution for spider veins.
If you’d like to figure out your next steps for dealing with either spider veins or varicose veins, we’re happy to help. To get that ball rolling, please contact our New York City office on the Upper East Side of Manhattan by clicking here, or you can call us at (212) 752-3464.
