Treatment of vascular asterisks with ointments, pills, lasers

When the venous capillaries and postcapillary venules located in the skin expand, blood circulation in the microcirculatory bed is disrupted (blood outflow worsens) with the formation of so-called vascular asterisks - morphogenic malformations of superficial vessels. Treatment of vascular asterisks can be medicinal and surgical.

It should be borne in mind that this pathology refers to diseases of the circulatory system, more precisely, to diseases of the capillaries - telangiectasia, in which dilation of small vessels can have various visual forms: reddish or purple dots, branched lines, asterisks. Foreign specialists often call vascular asterisks vascular spiders or spider angiomas, and this condition is defined as arachnoid telangiectasis. Usually, a red dot is visible in the center of the vascular anomaly - an enlarged arteriole, and the red "spider legs" are the capillaries through which blood flows. If you press and quickly release such a spider asterisk, you can see that the emptied capillaries are again filled with blood from the central point. [ 1 ]

It is noted that the presence of more than three such vascular malformations may be a sign of liver disease, and also indicate the development of esophageal varices.

When the subcutaneous blood vessels on the face dilate and, as a result of decreased skin elasticity, stellate telangiectasia develops, the term couperose is used for this.

Which doctor should I see for spider veins? If they appear on the face, see a dermatologist, and if they appear on the lower extremities and other places, see a phlebologist or vascular surgeon.

Effective remedies for spider veins

Since spider veins under the skin of the lower extremities are etiologically associated with varicose veins, the use of phlebotonics (vasotonics) and angioprotectors may be recommended. First of all, these include creams, ointments and gels for spider veins, such as: heparin ointment; 2% Troxerutin gel, synonyms - Troxevasin, Troxevenol; 1% Thrombocid gel, Escuzan (Escuven). [ 2 ]

Heparin ointment, synonyms - Thrombless (gel), as well as Gepatrombin, Geparil, Venolaif, Venobene, Viatromb, etc. contain heparin (or heparan sulfate). Heparin is a drug of animal origin, a complex linear polysaccharide of the glycosaminoglycan family, consisting of chains of repeating disaccharide units (including glucosamine and uronic acid). It is a direct-acting anticoagulant that inhibits the coagulation cascade, i.e. reduces blood clotting. External use of heparin (twice a day) improves microcirculation, and this is its positive effect, since, as is known, slowing down blood flow during expansion of the vascular lumen affects the rheological properties of the blood, and it becomes more viscous.

Troxerutin or Troxevasin contain a derivative of natural rutin, a plant pigment (flavonoid) that is obtained for medical use from the leaves and inflorescences of buckwheat, the leaves of Japanese pagoda tree (Styphnolobium japonicum) and Eucalyptus macrorhyncha. Rutin can also be sourced from the leaves of some other species of eucalyptus and ginkgo biloba, linden flowers, hawthorn leaves and flowers, and St. John's wort.

Rutin helps to strengthen the walls and increase the tone of capillaries and venules. Troxerutin (Troxevasin) should be rubbed into the skin of the affected segment twice a day. These products should not be used on damaged skin and mucous membranes. Possible side effects include irritation and hyperemia of the skin.

Thrombocid gel, which contains an anticoagulant substance - pentosan polysulfate, classified as a heparinoid and, like heparin, helps to normalize blood circulation in the capillaries. The product should be applied to vascular malformations with rubbing movements - up to three times a day. In some cases, the skin at the site of Thrombocid application may become drier.

Similarly, external remedies for spider veins and chronic forms of venous insufficiency with horse chestnut extract, containing glycosides esculin and fraxin, which help to increase vascular tone, are used. These are ointments, gels and creams Escuzan (Escuven), Venitan, Venastat, Cycloven. And in addition to horse chestnut extract, the Venosan remedy contains heparin.

You can also apply Venosol and Sophia creams, which contain leech extract, to areas of skin with dilated capillaries two or three times a day, and Sophia cream also contains horse chestnut extract.

Oral remedies for spider veins

The oral drug Diosmin (other trade names are Detralex, Diosven, Venarus, Venosol, Venosmin, Venalex, Vasculera, Arvenum) has a positive effect on vascular tone and the state of the capillary endothelium, as well as on local blood circulation. Its active ingredients are the flavonoid glycosides diosmin (diosmetin 7-O-rutinoside) and hesperidin (hesperetin-7-rutinoside). The standard daily dosage is two tablets (one in the morning and one in the evening, during meals). The most common side effects of this drug include nausea, vomiting, discomfort in the epigastric region, intestinal upset; allergies with skin manifestations are not excluded.

Tablets and solution with horse chestnut extract - Eskuzan or Eskuvit - reduce the manifestations of venous congestion, which has a positive effect on the state of the lumen of the vessels and venous valves. In the form of a solution, the drug is taken three times a day - 12 drops (before meals, with water); tablets are also taken three times (one tablet per dose). Treatment can last about three months.

Preparations with horse chestnut extract are contraindicated for systemic use in case of kidney failure, pregnancy and breastfeeding. Side effects include nausea, gastrointestinal problems, and allergic reactions.

In addition, to strengthen capillaries, doctors recommend taking vitamins for spider veins: vitamin C (ascorbic acid) and vitamin P - rutin (or rutoside), preferably in combination with magnesium, iron and potassium.

Vitamins C and P are contained in the combination drug Ascorutin (take one tablet twice a day).

Find out whether succinic acid can help with spider veins in the publication – The Benefits of Succinic Acid.

Removal of spider veins

Is it possible to puncture a spider vein to remove it? Nothing like that should be done!

Removal of spider veins is performed using:

• injection sclerotherapy, which is performed by introducing special sclerosing substances into the dilated vessel, under the influence of which the vessel walls “glue together”; [ 3 ], [ 4 ], [ 5 ]
• laser ablation (coagulation) using lasers of various modifications (fractional carbon dioxide, alexandrite, pulsed PDL, Sciton ClearScan, Elos Plus); [ 6 ]
• radio wave surgery (radioscalpel), this is the removal of spider veins with a Surgitron - a high-frequency radio wave generator that allows all manipulations to be carried out without contact with the skin surface and does not leave scars on it. [ 7 ]
• high-frequency electrocoagulation, which is now used less and less due to the painfulness of the procedure and the formation of scar tissue and areas of skin depigmentation.

Since the mid-2000s, the minimally invasive VeinWave Therapy technology, developed by British vascular surgeons, has been introduced into the practice of leading foreign clinics for the treatment of telangiectasia affecting very thin vessels (too small for sclerotherapy and laser coagulation). The essence of the method is thermocoagulation of a dilated vessel using an electric device that supplies a unipolar fluctuating current to an ultra-thin insulated needle, which painlessly pierces the outermost layer of the skin without passing through the vascular wall.

Read also – Removing spider veins at home