Spider veins are like varicose veins but are smaller and closer to the skin surface. They don’t bulge out and are often red or blue. They can look like branching trees or a spider’s web: hence their name.
Our Manchester and Cheshire based varicose vein clinics provide treatment of spider veins. If you have reflux in the larger superficial veins you may find that once that is treated the spider veins disappear.
If they persist or there is no reflux to begin with then they can be treated by injecting a chemical into them with a fine needle. This is called “sclerotherapy” and relies on the chemical or “sclerosant” to cause a reaction in the vein wall which seals the vein and allows the body to make it disappear over time. Please note that this treatment is usually NOT covered by private medical insurance.