Aging is a part of life. That’s a fact that not one of us can change, but it doesn’t mean that as we age we’re required to throw our arms up and just surrender to the myriad things that can go wrong within our bodies. Thankfully, we all have a say in how we age, and it’s called prevention. Millions of Americans have spider veins, and thousands more develop them every day, especially as the U.S. population get older. However, like many other conditions, there are things we all can do to help prevent the development of spider veins, even as each of us moves into middle age and beyond. On the other hand, there are health conditions we may suffer from that have little or even nothing to do with the steps we’ve taken to prevent them, especially if we’ve suffered injuries. And the development of spider veins is no different. The best we can do is learn the truth about how spider veins can affect us as we get older, including risk factors and preventive measures, and then take all the necessary steps we can to avoid them.
One of the biggest risk factors in the development of spider veins is hormonal changes. That’s why women are at more risk of getting spider veins than men. It’s also why pregnancy, menopause, and even puberty can bring on spider veins. Just as when a woman is pregnant, other situations and times during a woman’s life can lead to the development of spider veins, including taking birth control pills and some hormone replacement therapies, as well as other medications that contain progesterone and estrogen. Talk to your doctor if you’re on hormone replacement to learn what you can do to prevent the development of spider veins.
Because of the hormonal changes and imbalances that occur during menopause, women going through this stage of life can suddenly find themselves with spider veins, even if they’ve never experienced them before. Menopause can bring on decreased production of progesterone and estrogen. Along with symptoms and conditions such as hot flashes, irritability, bone loss, fatigue, and weight gain, women in menopausal age can develop spider veins due to their hormonal changes. The reason for this is because the female hormones progesterone and estrogen positively affect a woman’s circulatory system. Therefore, when the levels of these hormones decrease during menopause, she can experience not only decreased libido and bone density; she can also get spider veins because of the negative affects on blood circulation. This drop in hormone levels is a contributing factor to weakening valves that can become faulty, and this can create blood pooling and stagnation in veins.
The good news for menopausal women is that there are steps they can take to help prevent the development of spider veins during this time of their lives. The first step in preventing spider veins, just as with prevention of many other health conditions, is leading a healthy lifestyle. This includes getting the proper nutrition your body needs. Eating a healthy, low-sodium diet is important in helping to prevent spider veins, since proper nutrition helps to promote optimal blood circulation through the veins and blood vessels. It’s also important to maintain a healthy weight, as obesity is a major factor in the development of spider veins. A sedentary lifestyle, too, is a risk factor for spider veins, as blood does not have the ability to move around as it needs to in a body that isn’t as active as it should be. That’s why it’s vital, especially as we age, to observe a regular exercise routine that helps blood flow properly. Finally, some of the other ways women in menopausal years can help prevent spider veins include avoidance of tight clothes that can constrict proper blood flow, avoidance of high heels, and avoidance of standing or sitting for long periods of time.
Of course, if you’re someone who has spider veins, you likely don’t want to keep them. The good news for you is that there are safe and effective treatments for diminishing or even eliminating spider veins. Vein treatment centers in New Jersey have several virtually pain-free treatment options available. These include laser Sclerotherapy, injection Sclerotherapy, phlebectomy, the VeinGogh procedure, and others. Talk to your doctor and contact a vein treatment center to learn about these and other methods of treating spider veins.
Nobody likes spider veins, but sometimes they happen, regardless of what we do, especially as we age. There are, however, steps we can take to minimize the risk of developing this and other venous skin conditions. If you have spider veins that you’d like to get rid of, contact a vein treatment center for more information on the treatment options available to you.