According to the experts at the Mayo Clinic, varicose veins are twisted, enlarged veins that most commonly appear on someone’s legs. This is due in large part to the fact that standing and walking upright increases the pressure in the veins at these points of the body, thus making the condition more likely to occur in the first place.
While it is true that varicose veins can cause pain or other types of discomfort, for most people they are merely a cosmetic issue.
Do Varicose Veins Lead to Weight Gain?
Despite popular belief, varicose veins do not normally lead to weight gain in an individual. In fact, it’s usually the other way around. Gaining weight further increases the pressure on the veins in the legs and other areas, which is what causes them (and related conditions like spider veins) to develop in the first place.
But varicose veins themselves are not necessarily the cause of any weight gain you may be experiencing, but are rather a symptom of them.
It’s also important to note that losing weight does not cure varicose veins as by the time they develop, the damage to the veins themselves has already been done. To that end, there really isn’t a way to truly “rid yourself” of varicose veins on your own, unfortunately. But thankfully, there are a number of treatment options you can choose to explore depending on your needs.
How to Treat Varicose Veins
Two of the most common treatments for varicose veins include laser ablation and foam injections. Both are very different, but they also offer a number of benefits that patients suffering from varicose veins have come to love.
Laser ablation is an image-guided, minimally invasive form of treatment that uses energy to burn and close the types of abnormal veins that lead to varicose veins in a lot of people. Many people like it because it’s not only less painful than other techniques, but it has a far shorter recovery time as well.
Foam injections are also a minimally invasive treatment technique involving the injection of a foam sclerosant into the blood vessel to close it. This allows the blood to reroute itself through healthier veins in the legs, thus reducing pressure and restoring normal blood flow. This, too, is known for its short recovery time – allowing patients to get back on their feet and back to feeling great about themselves as soon as possible.
Both are equally viable treatment options, though you should certainly discuss matters further with your medical professional to help make the best possible decision for your circumstances.
Finding Varicose Vein Treatment in Sewell, NJ
If you’ve been trying to rid yourself of your varicose veins with limited success in the past, the most important thing for you to understand is that this is one road you do not have to travel down alone. At the Vein & Vascular Institute, our team of passionate and dedicated service providers have decades of combined experience between them.
Click here to meet our vein physicians in Sewell, New Jersey and if you’d like to explore these or other treatment options for your varicose veins, click here to schedule a consult at your convenience.