Choosing a Treatment for Varicose Veins

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Choosing the right treatment for your varicose veins can be extremely important to the results and their longevity. Chemical treatment, surgery, laser treatment, and radiofrequency are all effective treatments and there are few differences in their results. However, there are still situations in which one treatment is preferable to another. In order to decide which treatment would be more suitable for you, you must fully understand the procedure and its results.

Researching Varicose Vein Treatments

You should be aware of the different types of treatment available for your varicose veins before making a decision about which treatment to have. The things that you should research include:

• The anaesthetic used
• How long the procedure lasts
• The recovery time for the procedure
• Whether the results are instant or not
• The chance of recurrence
• Treatments suitable for the size and position of your varicose veins
• Discomfort caused by the procedure
• Combinations of treatments

You can find basic information about all of these issues using the internet. If you are specific when using online search engines you will be able to limit the amount of information that you come across. You should also be aware that some websites are less reliable than others and try to stick to websites with realistic medical advice.

Once you have gathered basic information you should seek medical advice. Speaking to your GP will enable you to ask any questions that you may have regarding the treatments allowing you to get more reliable medical advice.

Making a Decision Using Your Research

Once you have detailed information about all of the treatments you should consider the various factors mentioned above.

Regarding anaesthetic, chemical treatment, laser therapy, and radiofrequency are all carried out using a local anaesthetic. This is less risky than a general anaesthetic and takes less time to recover from. These treatments may require several sessions to remove all of your varicose veins. Surgery usually involves a general anaesthetic, which may be preferable if you would rather not be aware during the procedure. Your surgeon will advise you on the risks of general anaesthetic and whether you are suitable for it.

Smaller varicose veins are easier to remove and are therefore have a much quicker recovery time. If you have larger legs with big varicose veins, your recovery time will be prolonged and will involve more bruising and discomfort. Chemical treatment is usually the most uncomfortable treatment. Surgery carries a greater risk of infection due to the incision made at the groin. To avoid this laser and radiofrequency treatment are the best option but they are not effective for larger varicose veins and may require combination with a different treatment.

If your varicose veins are below the knee compression bandages and compression socks are more effective meaning that the recovery time will be less and you will experience less discomfort. This means that chemical treatment and surgery will require less recovery time. It also means that radiofrequency and laser treatment will be more effective and will cause you less bruising and discomfort than other options. Varicose veins that are higher up are harder to compress meaning that surgery is the best option as this can be effective without as much compression as chemical treatment.

Chemical treatment leaves you without any incisions but can cause discomfort, with hard lumps in the treatment area. Surgery involves a cut at the groin, which could be infected and requires more recovery and pain management. Radiofrequency and laser therapy also involve small incisions but these heal quickly and cause less discomfort although they can cause hard lumps around the treatment area.

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