Tomato Slices Curing Varicose Veins Sadly Isn’t True
When you search for varicose vein treatment options, you might come across some that seem odder than others. In fact, there are some claims that putting tomato slices on your skin can help treat varicose veins. While this might seem like a simple and easy way to get rid of these vein problems, it won’t work. However, there are more effective treatment options available.
Why Tomatoes Don’t Cure Varicose Veins
When you have venous issues, such as varicose veins, these typically occur when you develop problems with the way blood flows through your blood vessels. Putting tomato slices on the affected parts of your body for a few hours at a time five times per day is said to help heal these issues, but it’s not effective.
Why do some people suggest tomatoes? Tomatoes have acidic content that resembles aspirin and acts as a blood thinner or anticoagulant. They also have flavonoids that help make the walls of blood vessels stronger. These properties are said to help treat varicose veins if you wrap tomato slices around your legs. However, the acidic content and flavonoids won’t seep through your skin and reach the affected veins, even if you leave tomato slices on your legs for hours at a time over the course of a few weeks.
What Varicose Veins Are and How They Occur
Varicose veins develop when you have weakened or damaged blood vessel valves that blood can’t easily flow through. Blood accumulates inside the affected veins instead, which causes them to become swollen and purplish. Varicose veins can end up causing pain, itchiness, and other symptoms in addition to their cosmetic appearance.
Your risk of having these vein problems can be higher with certain risk factors, such as being a woman due to pregnancy and other hormonal changes, having a family history of varicose veins, and being overweight. You might also have an increased risk of having this kind of vein issue if you stand or sit for long periods of time. Your risk of varicose veins also goes up as you get older.
Treatments for Varicose Veins
Effective varicose vein treatment doesn’t involve tomatoes, but there are ways to ease the symptoms they cause. In addition to making lifestyle changes, such as losing excess weight and getting regular exercise, professional treatment options are available. A few of these include the following:
- Sclerotherapy: Sclerotherapy involves having varicose veins treated with an injectable solution. This foamy solution enters the affected veins and closes them off, which helps prevent more blood from building up inside them. This form of treatment typically works for small or medium varicose veins.
- Endovenous ablation: This treatment involves having a small wire inserted into the affected vein, along with a thin needle and tube. Heat enters the affected vein and damages it, which causes it to close up. This treatment helps stop blood from continuing to enter the vein.
- Microphlebectomy: This type of treatment is done for varicose veins that are medium-sized or larger. This treatment involves making tiny incisions in the affected area in order to remove the vein. Since these incisions aren’t large, they’re unlikely to leave scars or cause complications, such as infections.
Contact Us at Vein & Vascular
If you need effective vein treatment for varicose veins or other vein problems, contact Vein and Vascular Institute. We encourage you to schedule a consult, so you can meet our vein physicians in Vineland, Voorhees, Sewell and Lumberton, New Jersey and discuss treatment options. We can help you find the right kind of treatment for venous issues.