What to Do About Painful Varicose Veins

Varicose veins are often simply a cosmetic problem, unsightly dark and twisted superficial veins near the skin’s surface in your legs. While the appearance may be unsettling, the veins themselves cause no medical issue. 

However, this isn’t always the case. Your varicose veins may have symptoms like a range of aches and pain, depending on how much you sit or stand. You may experience sensations like burning, throbbing, cramps, and swelling in your lower legs. Your skin may feel itchy or become discolored. 

Visit Advanced Vascular Cardiac & Veins in Miami, Florida, when symptomatic varicose veins become a problem. Vascular medicine and interventional cardiologist Enrique Hernandez, MD, can diagnose and treat your symptoms, while also checking that your varicose vein condition isn’t the sign of a deeper problem. 

How varicose veins form

Varicose veins result from a condition called venous insufficiency, where leg veins encounter problems returning blood to the heart. Pressure from heartbeats has little to no effect on blood movement through the veins of your legs. 

Instead, pumping action results from the contractions of leg muscles when you’re walking. Also, veins feature one-way valves along their length. These tiny backflow preventers keep blood moving upward toward the heart. 

The valves can fail for a number of reasons, all of which contribute to pooling of blood, the action that causes the characteristic appearance of varicose veins. 

What to do about painful varicose veins

In the early stages of varicose veins, you may be able to improve blood flow with compression stockings and increased activity like walking to support the function of leg veins. These steps may not be enough if your varicose veins are well established.   

Fortunately, your body revascularizes itself to assure blood supply throughout the body, even as varicose veins become less efficient. This means affected veins can be removed without risk to your legs. 

In the past, it was common to remove veins surgically by tying off sections and removing them through incisions. Dr. Hernandez uses contemporary treatments that require only minimally invasive techniques. 

Sclerotherapy

Injecting an irritant solution into a varicose vein causes the vein lining to swell and close, forming scar tissue that blocks the vein entirely. Your body then naturally reabsorbs the vein tissue. 

Endovenous ablation 

Using laser or radiofrequency energy to heat up varicose vein tissue also starts a natural reabsorption of vein tissue. Endovenous ablation requires only the insertion of a thin catheter under local anesthetic. 

Endovenous glue

Inject a medical-grade cyanoacrylate glue into a varicose vein in the same manner as a sclerotherapy treatment. Endovenous glue successfully treats larger veins when sclerotherapy may not be effective. 

Contact Advanced Vascular Cardiac & Veins at the nearest of our Miami locations to learn more about treatment for painful varicose veins. You can schedule your consultation online or by phone today.