Spider veins that show up on your legs uninvited can be a concern, and we understand! After all, you may not know if they’re going to get worse over time or develop into varicose veins.
Do spider veins get worse with age?
Yes, they do.
Over time, veins dilate due to gravity and repeated stretching, causing the walls to lose their elasticity and strength. Additionally, advancing age causes repeated wear and tear on the valves. Eventually, the walls of the valve can become so stretched that they can no longer close properly. This is when you may begin to notice spider veins just under the surface of your skin. Typically, spider veins show up on the legs, but can also appear on ankles and even faces.
One other factor that plays into the development of spider veins is that, as we age, we often move our bodies less. This decreased level of physical activity reduces the “pumping” action of the calf muscle on the veins, which helps drive blood back to the heart.
How common are spider veins?
Half of the women over the age of 65 have them, but they can affect people of all ages. They can even be hereditary. People who have spider veins in their 20s likely have an inherited predisposition for them. Spider veins present in people in their 30s are more likely the result of pregnancies. For people in their 40s, pregnancy spider veins can be present, but we also see evidence of the beginning of age-related dilation of the vein walls and failure of the valves. Beyond the age of 50, spider veins are most likely related to general vein incompetence.
When should i start worrying about my spider veins?
If your mom has spider veins and developed them early or excessively with pregnancy, you may struggle with spider veins, too. But that doesn’t mean spider veins are inevitable. With proper evaluation by a vein specialist, we can find vein problems early and prevent them from worsening or developing into varicose veins, which are larger than spider veins, rope-like, bulge through the skin, and can be painful.
ThemoBLOCK® VASCULAR REPAIR SYSTEM
ThemoBLOCK® is a method based on the destruction of capillaries by applying heat generated by radiofrequency directly to the vessel wall.
The success rate of patients treated with ThemoBLOCK® is 97.7%
With ThemoBLOCK® permanent, effective, and immediately observed successful results are obtained in the treatment of capillaries.
Advantages
- It’s safe, effective, and does not require hospitalization.
- The outpatient procedure time is usually less than an hour.
- Recovery time is generally a matter of hours.
- Some studies show that the Thermal Coagulation RFA procedure may be associated with less pain, bruising, and complications compared to similar vein treatments.