Compression stockings come in a variety of compression strengths ranging from support pantyhose to Class 3 medical compression stockings. The “Class” of the compression stockings refers to the compression strength they provide. Class 1 provides 15-20 mm Hg (millimetres of Mercury compression), Class 2: 20-30 mm Hg and Class 3: 30-40mm Hg. Class 1 stockings or

It depends on what your concerns are about your leg veins and what the severity of your situation is. If for example you are concerned about spider veins turning into varicose veins then you have nothing to fear – it does not happen. If you are worried about blood clots in your legs and you just have spider veins then you have nothing

In many countries, Endovenous techniques (especially Laser Ablation and Radiofrequency Ablation) are replacing, or have replaced, the traditional surgical “stripping” of veins. The reasons for this are that both these procedures can be done as an office procedure (walk-in, walk-out) and has less risk than surgery. They also do not have the recovery time associated with

For all patients, there should be two considerations as to where they get treatment for varicose veins or treatment for spider veins. What is the expertise of the treating practitioner? Where is the practitioner physically located? No doubt the first of these considerations is the most important as poor treatment often leaves lifelong consequences. That being said

I often get asked are there any natural treatments for varicose veins and spider veins. The answer depends on what aspect of veins you are trying to treat. If it is the ache from varicose veins there is ONLY ONE product that has undergone any sort of rigorous scientific evaluation and that is Horse Chestnut Extract. This

Unfortunately, when patients have had Sclerotherapy at another clinic, the results are usually less than impressive. As a consequence, the patient thinks that Sclerotherapy doesn’t work for them. The reason for this poor result is usually simple – the reticular veins, the veins that feed into the spider veins, have not been treated PRIOR to treating the spider veins (“telangiectasia”).

I have often been told by patients that they need surgery to fix their varicose veins. This statement is usually made after the patient has seen either a general practitioner or vascular surgeon. The statement may have been true 20 years ago but has not been correct for the past 20 years since Ultrasound Guided Sclerotherapy (UGS) was first

In some patients, an annoying consequence of Sclerotherapy is dark staining of the skin where the spider veins have been treated. Fortunately, severe cases are uncommon and invariably, even with severe cases, the pigmentation fades with time. The patients that are of greatest risk of developing pigmentation are those who are from Asia or those who have

I am often asked “Should I get my varicose veins or spider veins treated?” The answer is generally “yes” for someone with cosmetic concerns provided the patient has been fully informed of the risks of treatment and they are realistic in their expectations for treatment. If the cosmetic concerns are minor and the patient is young then I generally

I am often asked by patients if they are at risk of getting blood clots when they travel on an overseas trip. To clarify what is meant by a blood clot you must first understand that there are 2 types of blood clots: Superficial (that involves the veins just below the skin surface) and Deep