There are three types of blood vessels in a human body:
- arteries that carry oxygen-rich blood from the heart to the body
- capillaries in which oxygen-rich blood and nutrients is replaced by blood from body tissues
- veins that complete the circuit and send deoxygenated malnourished blood to the heart
The valves inside the veins ensure the return of blood to the heart.
If these valves malfunction, the veins can engorge with blood, twisting, and subsequently become visible on the skin surface, of the legs and thighs in particular.
This painful condition produced by varicose veins is extremely common, especially in women.
This condition is often accompanied by vascular swelling of the legs, tingling, burning, pain and star-shaped small veins, or spider veins.
Heredity is an important factor responsible for the development of varicose veins and vascular malformation. However, pregnancy, prolonged standing, obesity and aging may also contribute.
To treat spider or reticular veins Dr. Cordoba uses sclerotherapy, injection of a sclerosing agent that closes the vein walls.
Alternative treatments
Sclerotherapy is an elective medical treatment. One option would be to not undergo to a sclerotherapy. Painful and unsightly veins can be treated using compression stockings, laser treatment or surgical removal.