As the weather gets cooler, you may be itching to cover your varicose veins or visible spider veins with longer pants or stockings, concealing the problem until the warmer weather returns in spring. You may be surprised to learn that fall is the best time to invest in your legs, while they remain largely unseen until the temperature rises in spring and summer.
Why Get Treatment During the Fall?
Vein disease is a common, progressive condition that varies from individual to person based on many factors. Genetics, lifestyle choices, gender, age, and whether a patient has postponed seeing a board-certified vein doctor to treat their unique symptoms will all impact the severity of a person’s vein disease. While patients report seeing and feeling relief after as little as one treatment, full results usually require a series of treatments as part of an individual vein treatment plan. One patient may need two appointments to see full results, but another may need several before the physical symptoms, and visible signs of their chronic venous insufficiency are fully resolved.
Each vein treatment focuses on a specific area of your legs. Focusing on a targeted area allows your doctor to treat unhealthy veins while enabling rapid healing and recovery between sessions. The vein treatments offered at Metro Vein Centers are minimally invasive and designed to keep you active and able to tackle your typical day-to-day activities with little to no downtime. Though full results may take time, incremental improvements are seen and felt after each treatment.
A treatment used at Metro Vein Centers, Sclerotherapy, offers noticeable improvement to both the visible and invisible symptoms of vein disease after just one treatment, yet full and permanent results will be achieved after one or more follow-up appointments. Veins will fade between treatments, but to permanently reabsorb the vein and remove visible webs of damaged veins, patients typically return for a second and third appointment. At Metro Vein Centers, we treat one leg at a time to keep our patients as mobile and free of discomfort as possible, so if one leg requires a spider vein treatment and the other requires varicose vein removal, or if one leg requires more than one treatment, multiple sessions will be scheduled.
Vein treatment is often marketed as a “one and done” cosmetic option, leaving patients surprised if their doctor recommends multiple treatments. Starting your vein treatments in Fall gives you and your vein doctor the longest runway to achieve maximum results and follow up as necessary in time for the Summertime.
Sun Exposure
Another vital factor to consider when considering vein disease is healing time and the post-care protocol patients must adhere to achieve the best results. Most vein treatments will require the use of compression stockings for a limited amount of time following a procedure. These garments promote healthy blood circulation but can also not ideal to wear in the warmer months, serving as heat magnets for sensitive legs. In Fall, however, the heat is far less of a concern for Michigan, New Jersey, and New York vein clinic residents seeking care in Metro Vein Centers. As the colder months roll in and the temperature drops, compression socks can work to benefit in more ways than one. A hidden layer of long stockings beneath the fabric of pants or skirts will keep you warmer.
With the changing seasons comes a reduction in UV exposure. Direct sun exposure can be damaging to just-treated legs. Cutera’s excel-V+ laser, a 100% non-invasive and very popular treatment for removing spider veins, requires patients to keep out of direct sunlight for some time following treatment. When you’re already planning on wearing long pants, tights, or leggings to keep warm in the windy Fall chill, sun exposure concerns take care of themselves. Seeking vein treatment in the middle of summer may keep you away from the beach more than you would like to protect your legs from harmful UV rays. Remember that full results take time, often multiple appointments with your vein doctor, and results can be impacted by exposure to the sun. There’s no better time to embrace the nip in the air and let it keep you on top of protecting your post-treatment legs.
Any temporary minor bruising you may experience following injection therapies, such as Sclerotherapy or Varithena, or any small bandages you may need to wear after radiofrequency ablation or microphlebectomy, will be concealed by the longer, full-coverage clothing options. If you feel insecure about how your legs look pre- or post-treatment, Fall is the perfect time to treat yourself to some vein care.
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Safety Comes First
Waiting for spring or summer to tackle uncomfortable or painful symptoms to be beach-ready after a single appointment is a mistake often seen in vein clinics. It’s ill-advised to ignore any medical symptoms that arise at any time of year, especially if they interrupt your sleep (such as restless legs, varicose veins, and chronic venous insufficiency side effects), negatively impact your mobility (like experiencing chronic pain, when standing) or cause any pain (like the burning sensations commonly caused by varicose veins). Vein disease is progressive and will only worsen if your symptoms are neglected. Ignoring your body’s warning signs or postponing medical care when dealing with chronic venous insufficiency can lead to worsening symptoms, further loss of mobility, and new or worsening pain, and can even prove fatal in the case of DVTs. The Summer months can wait, but your body will not. Investing in your health when you first notice symptoms is the safest option.