Q: I am 38 years old and have 3 beautiful children. But 3 pregnancies left my body a mess, and I want to get back to the way I looked before. I am working out and starting to make some improvements. One problem I don’t think I will be able to fix is my legs. I have many of these little veins in the skin, but I also have some very large veins that bulge out on both legs since the last pregnancy. Will these get better when I get in shape?
A: It sounds like you have what is called “spider veins”, or the little veins you see in the skin, as well as varicose veins, or the larger bulging veins. It is very common to acquire these during pregnancy. Not only does the pregnancy cause you to have increased blood volume, which can accumulate in the legs, but the direct pressure of the baby and the extra weight on the belly compress large leg veins. This causes the valves in the veins of the leg to break. While exercise and weight loss may help, they probably will not go away completely. The good news for you is that there is very good treatment. The small veins can be injected with a chemical which will cure them immediately, and even the larger varicose veins can be eliminated, frequently with laser, as well as other treatment under ultrasound guidance.
To learn more about spider veins and varicose veins, watch this video on VideoMD.com.
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