What are Varicose Veins and Spider Veins?

What Exactly Are Varicose Veins?

Those bulging blue, green, or purple blood vessels in your legs are veins that aren’t circulating blood efficiently. Veins contain valves that close once blood passes through, ensuring it flows toward your heart. When valves fail, blood accumulates and leaks backward, building endovenous pressure. This common problem is known as Chronic Venous Insufficiency and it’s the impetus for varicose veins.

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What Exactly Are Spider Veins?

Spider veins are new veins that branch out from a deeper vein when it sustains valve failure. Collapsed valves increase blood pressure in the vein, generating these tiny, unhealthy offshoots. Medically, they’re termed “telangiectasias” and they’re a sign of the vein disease called Chronic Venous Insufficiency.

Telangiectasias are not large or protuberant like varicose veins, but they’re visible at the skin’s surface and are typically red, purple, or blue. They often form in small, spindly clusters diverging from a central point, much like the legs of a spider.

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Vein Disease Symptoms

Rеѕtlеѕѕ lеgѕ ѕуndrоmе (RLS)

Restless Legs Syndrome is an exasperating condition that causes an irresistible urge to move your legs. You might feel jumpiness, itchiness, or tingling sensations in your legs, especially when you are trying to rest.

RLS is particularly bothersome because it interferes with sleep, causing insomnia and anxiety. While factors like inactivity worsen Restless Legs Syndrome, it’s often a direct result of vascular diseases like Chronic Venous Insufficiency.

Don’t tolerate restlessness in your legs any longer. Our Long Island vein treatment doctors relieve this symptom quickly by restoring proper circulation in your legs. By addressing Chronic Venous Insufficiency, we eliminate the compulsion to move your legs, along with correlated symptoms like leg swelling, heaviness, discoloration, and fatigue.

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LEG CRAMPS

Have you ever awoken to a painful, squeezing sensation in your leg? These sudden, involuntary contractions, called leg cramps, are common at night, but also occur during the day.

Dehydration and nutritional deficiencies can cause cramps, but vascular issues are often to blame, particularly in nocturnal cramps. If you have leg cramps despite consuming adequate amounts of water, magnesium, and potassium, it’s time to visit our Long Island Vein Treatment Clinic.

Venous insufficiency causes veins to expand with accumulating blood, leading to leg cramps, particularly in the calves. Many patients don’t know their circulation is impaired until they develop symptoms like these. Contact us to determine whether vein disease is behind those “charley horse” cramps that keep recurring in your legs.

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LEG HEAVINESS

If your legs feel heavy, you might assume it’s a symptom of overexertion or getting older. However, the circulatory disorder called Chronic Venous Insufficiency often causes leg heaviness since it involves excess blood pressure in the leg veins. Leg heaviness caused by poor circulation is typically worse after prolonged periods of standing, sitting, inactivity, or heat exposure. It tends to improve with exercise.

If your leg heaviness accompanies varicose veins or spider veins, it’s a strong indication of Chronic Venous Insufficiency. Our Long Island vein treatment specialists have minimally invasive solutions to rapidly resolve the issue.

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LEG SWELLING

Leg swelling isn’t only uncomfortable, it’s also a symptom of vein disease. Many people associate swelling around the ankles with excess sodium intake or spending a long day on their feet. But several significant medical conditions are linked to leg swelling, including kidney failure, heart disease, and Chronic Venous Insufficiency. If you notice tightness, swelling, and discomfort in your legs, especially at the end of the day, seek an evaluation from an accredited vein treatment center in Long Island.

Vein-related swelling might improve with leg elevation, but it will also recur until the underlying issue is resolved. Left untreated, leg swelling progresses to hyperpigmentation (discoloration) and hair loss on the legs, so don’t delay treatment.

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Causes of Vein Disease

VARICOSE AND SPIDER VEIN CAUSES

The bad news is varicose veins and spider veins are caused primarily by genetics and secondarily by gender, two factors outside of your control. The good news is there are several factors you can control, and also a wealth of effective solutions.

If you are overweight or inactive, your risk of developing spider veins and varicose veins increases, so exercise is a great defense against vein disease. Stationary positions (ie: sitting or standing for hours at work) also contribute to spider veins and varicose veins. So, every 20 minutes, change positions, walk around, or tense and release your leg muscles to help pump blood out of your veins.

Pregnancy and hormone fluctuations with menopause, birth control, and hormone therapy also lend to the formation of spider and varicose veins. Visit our Long Island Vein Treatment Center to minimize your risk of developing vein damage, vein disease, or a life-threatening complication like deep vein thrombosis. Our award-winning team has innovative, minimally invasive solutions to prevent and treat spider veins and varicose veins.

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risk factor for spider veins and varicose veins photo

WHAT DOES CHRONIC VENOUS INSUFFICIENCY MEAN?

Arteries pump oxygenated blood away from your heart to deliver it to your cells. Veins pump deoxygenated blood back to your heart to complete the cycle. This process is facilitated by venous valves, tiny flaps that close once blood flows past them to ensure its upward trajectory. If valves malfunction, blood reverses course, engorging the vein.

Accumulating pressure in the vein causes it to swell and twist (varicose veins) or produce new branches (spider veins), reducing circulatory efficiency. This common disease is called Chronic Venous Insufficiency and it’s the source of symptoms like cramps, restlessness, heaviness, and achiness in your legs, as well as varicose and spider veins.

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