A: Did you know that if you are fair skinned, you are more at risk for facial spider veins?

As you certainly know, people with fair skin have a higher tendency for their skin to be more damaged by the sun than their darker skinned friends. Sun damage can cause a variety of harmful skin issues, the most immediately noticeable of which are sunburns. Repeated sunburns cause damage to the skin, and skin damage caused by the sun can lead to facial spider veins. So yes, sunburns and spider veins can go hand in hand (sometimes).

Spider veins can be completely unrelated to sun exposure, however, so if you have spider veins already, they may well not have been caused by too much fun in the sun.

What can you do to protect your skin against facial spider veins? Your number one defense is to wear daily — EVERY day — sunscreen with a high sun protection factor. You should probably be doing this anyway if you are frequently exposed to strong sunlight, as it can prevent a plethora of other medical complications in the future. Also, a hat or similar extending protection keeping your face from the sun’s rays may be beneficial.

If you have already noticed spider veins on your face,the Veinwave may be an option to eliminate them.Veinwave involves radiowave pulsed on the vein to close it so you don’t have the visible spider veins anymore. Luckily, facial spider veins are usually more of a cosmetic nuisance than a painful medical problem, as varicose veins can be. Your doctor can help you determine whether or not your spider veins are a substantial problem, or merely something you wish to be rid of for aesthetic reasons.

- Dr. Wright

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A: I wasn’t aware the Veinwave could cause scars. The company that sells the machine claims it doesn’t scar. I have not seen any scarring. My guess is that you have some hyperpigmentation, which usually fades over a year or so. Consult with your doctor about your results and their cause.

- Dr. Wright

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A: I am asked this question many times. You can safely get pregnant immediately after a treatment. But if you do get pregnant in the middle of a series of treatments, you should stop all treatments until 3 months after you deliver. This is a wide safety margin for the prevention of blood clots. The medications that are used by almost all experts, Sodium Tetradecyl Sulfate and Polidocanol, are very safe. They are fatty acid esters similar to lidocaine. They are cleared out of your system in 24 hours or less and present no difficulties.

- Dr. Wright

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A: Phlebectomy hooks would be the general name for the tool. There are many types including Varaday, Ramelet, and Mueller to name a few.

- Dr. Wright

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A: Leg crossing has by myth been accused of causing all varieties of circulatory problems.

Interestingly, there has not been a scientific article confirming this ingrained and still-propogated rumor. Even more fascinating, there is strong and growing evidence the leg crossing favors circulation, especially the vein system! Many studies well designed have demonstrated that sitting with legs crossed reduces stagnation and pooling of blood.

- Dr. Wright

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A: No, the Veinwave can not treat the size of a varicose vein. Only the tiny red spider veins. Veinwave is very effective with these, but a larger vein calls for different treatment.

- Dr. Wright

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VeinWave is very precise. The tiny probe that touches the skin is only 0.002 to 0.003 inches and is micro-insulated to protect the surrounding tissue.

- Dr. Wright

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The Veinwave has been widely used outside the USA for rosacea, but has not yet been cleared by the FDA for this. The European physicians find the Veinwave is very successful at removing the symptoms of rosacea (removing the vascular areas), but not actually curing the disease. The number of treatment sessions depends on the severity of the disease state.

- Dr. Wright

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For the vessels that were correctly treated, the body’s processes it as unwanted debris and it eventually dissolves/fades away (like a bruise). Your health, metabolism and other factors will dictate how long this takes. Although the coapted vessels are gone forever, this does not prevent new ones from forming.

- Dr. Wright

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Absolutely! Some of the best results come from treating the mattes that were caused by sclerotherapy injections or similar treatments. The tiny vessels are difficult to treat with lasers and other technologies, but the Veinwave provides a very high level of patient satisfaction.

- Dr. Wright

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