Reticular Veins: What You Should Know?

Perhaps you are familiar with varicose veins and spider veins, the faulty veins that affect blood circulation in your body.  Both these conditions are associated with “Venous Insufficiency,” which affects more than 40% of Americans, as per the Society for Vascular Surgery.

Besides varicose veins and spider veins, there are another type of defective veins called reticular veins. You may not have heard much about them before. These veins are also a form of CVI – Chronic Venous Insufficiency.

What Are Reticular Veins?

Best Reticular Vein Treatment NYC | Before & After PictureReticular veins are the faulty veins that are smaller than varicose veins but larger than spider veins. Reticular veins – the middle child of CVI – are usually 1mm-3mm in diameter. Like the other two dilated veins, reticular veins are also a result of the malfunctioning of valves in the veins.

These veins may look similar to the varicose or spider veins and appear in the same spots of the body as the other two. However, reticular veins are less twisted and appear as blue or green, flatter veins. While the varicose veins protrude above the skin, reticular veins may form internally.

Some of the common spots where these veins may appear are the back of the thighs, calves, knees, lower legs, and around the ankle. In some cases, reticular veins may appear as an unsightly vein cluster on the face, but that’s a symptom more common to spider veins. Reticular veins may worsen an existing varicose vein issue.

The link between Reticular Veins and Spider Veins

Sometimes, the faulty reticular veins may become the source of discomfort and pain in the surrounding area. They may additionally branch out or feed into spider veins – the smaller veins that appear as a spider web on the face and lower legs.

Thus, reticular veins act as a source of blood, filling the dilated venules of the spider veins. Due to this link, reticular veins are sometimes called “feeder veins”. Removing reticular veins can also help in getting rid of the spider veins.

Symptoms of Reticular Veins

Reticular Vein Removal PicsSometimes, the symptoms of reticular veins are the same as those of varicose veins and spider veins. Besides appearing as unsightly bluish-green veins on different spots, reticular veins may also cause discomfort or pain in the surrounding area.

You may also feel itching, burning, tenderness, or throbbing due to reticular veins.  Rarely, these veins may lead to blood backup in the deeper parts of the leg.

While these are some of the symptoms of reticular veins, most of the time, it is nothing more than a cosmetic issue that is treatable.

Causes of Reticular Veins

Since reticular veins are also a type of venous insufficiency, they also develop due to damaged valves in the veins. Our leg veins have, perhaps, one of the hardest jobs to perform, i.e., propelling oxygen-depleted blood back to the heart.

Leg veins work against body pressure and gravity. These veins have one-way valves that prevent the blood from flowing in the wrong direction. However, when the valves become weak or get obstructed, blood starts pooling in the veins under the skin. As a result, the dilated veins may appear beneath the skin.

Risk Factors

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Dysfunctional valve veins and increased pressure on the vein valves are the main causes of reticular veins. However, some other factors that make you more susceptible to reticular veins are as follows:

  • Genetics –reticular veins are hereditary in most cases.
  • Advancing age
  • Pregnancy
  • Hormonal changes, such as menopause
  • Using Birth Control pills
  • Obesity
  • Overexposure to sun
  • Smoking
  • Standing for a long time

Treatment

Thanks to the advancement in technology, removing reticular veins has become a routine procedure. There are many minimally invasive procedures to treat reticular veins at early stages, within a few minutes. The doctors make sure to provide the best treatment, such as laser therapy or sclerotherapy, depending on the type of problem.

Sclerotherapy Treatment for Reticular Veins NYCSclerotherapy is the most common treatment for faulty leg veins. It is an in-office technique that uses an injection. Therefore, it is also known as “injection therapy.” During the procedure, a mild chemical solution/irritant is injected into the defective vein or capillary. The sclerosing agent irritates the vessel lining, causing it to swell.

This causes the defective veins to stick together, and eventually shut down. The body absorbs the scar veins and redirects blood to a healthy vein. The healthy blood vessels compensate for the missing veins, thereby restoring the venous circulation in the affected area.

You may need more than one session for complete removal. The doctor may advise you to wear compression stockings and bandages post-treatment.

Final Thoughts

If you don’t like those bluish-green veins appearing on your ankles, lower legs, knees, or sometimes face, you can have them removed. The Vein Treatment Center © offers many treatments for varicose, spider, and reticular veins, including painless sclerotherapy.

Contact us today and schedule an appointment with the best vascular surgeon in NYC.

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