Navigating Healthcare: A Guide to Modern Medicine and Wellness

Tag: medical myth

Spider Veins and Aging

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.

Spider Veins and Pregnancy

Pregnancy is such a magical time in a woman’s life, isn’t it? That special glow you get when you have life growing inside you. That special treatment you get from your friends, family, and coworkers. And all those special things that are going on inside your body … the weight gain, the morning sickness, and not to mention all those ugly spider veins webbing out all over your legs. As if all the changes your body was already going through weren’t enough, was it really necessary for pregnancy to do this to you, too?! If you’re a pregnant woman who’s noticing those webbed, purplish veins developing most likely on your legs, you’re probably wondering a few things. How did you get spider veins? Is there anything you can do to keep them from getting bigger? What about after you deliver; will the spider veins go away? And, most important of all, will spider veins affect your baby?

Common Myths About Spider Veins

Myths About Spider VeinsSpider veins? Oh, yeah, those are those ugly, purple, webby veins that only grandmas get on their legs. They’re strictly for old people. And men don’t get them, so since I’m a guy, I don’t have to worry about getting spider veins. I know my mom has them, but since spider veins aren’t genetic, that means my sister doesn’t have to worry about getting them either. These are just a few of the myths about spider veins that have been successfully debunked with the advancement of medical science. Only old people get them; they only show up on the legs; they’re not passed down from one generation to another, etc., etc. So, what’s the truth about spider veins – those thin, red-blue, webbed lines that appear on the surface of the skin? Can younger people get spider veins? What about men? Can men get spider veins? With all the untruths and half truths floating around about spider veins, vein centers in New Jersey say … it’s time to set the record straight.