FAQs: Vein Treatments

• Take a 10 minute walk immediately after vein treatment
• Wear your compression hosiery day and night for 72 hours; at the end of the 72 hours you may take the stocking off and have a short cool shower or bath. Do not be alarmed that the thread veins look worse, this is normal at this stage
• Thereafter, wear your compression stocking during the day for 7 days; you may take them off at night
• Avoid extremes of temperature for 14 days i.e., very hot baths, saunas, sunbeds
• Avoid sun exposure for 4 weeks – pigmentation may take longer to fade
• Avoid high impact exercise for 2 weeks
• Avoid waxing of the legs for 4 weeks
• Elevate your legs as much as possible for the first 2 weeks
• If you are planning air travel, discuss with your practitioner who will advise
• Consider wearing compression hosiery long term to minimise thread vein recurrence.

• If possible do not use fake tan for a week before vein treatment, or expose the area to be treated to the sun without using a sunscreen SPF30+
• Do not use bath oils, lotions of creams on your leg for 24 hours before your injections
• Dress in loose clothing, jogging trousers or skirt and comfortable shoes to accommodate the compression hosiery
• If you are going to be wearing compression stockings, bring a suspender belt with you to hold up your compression hosiery
• If you have already been supplied with a compression stocking, please bring it with you on the day of treatment
• Avoid Aspirin and cold remedies containing Aspirin for 72 hours before and after vein treatment
• Avoid excessive alcohol consumption the day before and day of vein treatment.

Some localized tenderness and bruising may be apparent for a few days after vein treatment, sometimes this may last for longer.

The area should not be painful.

Initially the area treated may be itchy and inflamed. This is perfectly normal and will disappear shortly after treatment.

Though safe, vein treatment is not entirely without risk.

The two most common side effects are something called haemosiderin deposition and telangiectatic matting.

Haemosiderin deposition

This occurs when the vein is not entirely closed, blood is trapped and clots.  In some people, iron pigments leak from the clot and this stains the skin over the vessel brown.

These brown marks are usually not permanent, but may take 6 – 18 months to fade. They darken when exposed to the sun and will take longer to fade if tanned.

Telangiectatic matting

Matting occurs if the fragile vessel is injured during the injection, leaving a mat of tiny veins that look like a blush or a red bruise.

Matting usually disappears completely after 6 – 12 months, but if it persists, it can be treated with sclerotherapy if the needle can access the fine vessels and flush the solution gently through.

Other risks are extremely rare but these include:

Allergic reaction – any drug carries risk of allergic reaction.  (It is quite common for patients to experience some itching and some redness at the treatment site. This is no cause for concern and will pass within a few hours.)

If the solution irritates the tissue surrounding the vein, in rare instances, blistering can occur.  If left alone these can potentially lead to further blistering and scarring.

The veins treated by Sclerotherapy or Microsclerotherapy should not recur.

However, as the underlying inherent weakness of your veins still exists, new veins can appear with time.

The treatment is therefore aimed at treating the current condition, with periodic future treatments being likely for most patients.

Sclerotherapy provides about 85% improvement over the treatment course.

Although most people are very satisfied with the results of vein treatment, sometimes it is not possible to eradicate every single vein.

The improvement may be gradual with some vessels taking up to four months to show maximum benefit.

Results are also dependent on patient compliance with compression regimes for the duration of treatment, and following the post care advise.

Treatment sessions are spaced 4 weeks apart. The results achieved after one treatment vary considerably from one client to another.

You should budget for up to 4 treatments 4 – 16 weeks apart and you can expect an improvement in their appearance of 60 – 80%.

In rare cases, the treatment has little or no effect.

Results cannot be guaranteed.

This will depend on the extent of your veins.

Your practitioner will be able to advise you on the amount of treatment sessions you will require on your first visit.

Slight discomfort is felt on injection to the vein, but because we use very fine needles, this is kept to a minimum.

Sclerotherapy is the name given to the treatment for Reticular and Varicose veins by injection technique.

Microsclerotherapy is the name given to the treatment for thread veins by injection.

A solution is injected using a tiny needle with the same diameter as a human hair into the vein.

This solution irritates the vein wall and, with the help of compression, the vein walls ‘stick’ together.

You will be advised at the time of treatment, how long to keep the compression bandage and/or stockings on for.

Over a period of time, the vein will close and fade. This process may take several weeks and it is quite normal for the veins to appear worse before they look better.

Abnormally dilated veins appearing on the legs affect a significant percentage of the population at some stage during their lifetime.

There are three main types of abnormal veins, the most common being the fine variety known as, “spider” or “thread” veins. These often occur in association with larger vessels called, “reticular veins”.

Varicose veins are somewhat larger and often bulge above the skin’s surface.

Although these veins may be asymptomatic, it is more common that symptoms attributable to venous disease are present, such as heaviness, aching, burning and throbbing sensations as well as restless legs, swollen ankles and feet.

A definite cause of these veins is not known, although strong hereditary links suggest that some people are born with veins that are prone to deterioration.

In women, the hormone oestrogen may also play a role, as the onset of puberty and pregnancy gives rise to the prevalence of vein abnormalities.