Are These 3 Reasons Keeping You from Getting Your Veins Treated?
When you work in a vein clinic like we do, or you’ve undergone a vein treatment at Hamilton Vein Center, vein disease, its symptoms, and the vein treatment options available are on your radar.
It seems everywhere you go, you notice people with bulging veins, discolored ankles, spider veins, ulcers and other symptoms of vein disease — and you think, “Why on earth aren’t these people getting that treated?”
Well, one probable reason is they don’t even know they have vein disease. Because, more than likely, they’ve been told that their symptoms are related to some other medical condition or the signs aren’t recognized.
Then there are the people who know something is going on with their legs because they ache, feel tired; their activity levels have dropped off; wearing shorts is out; the skin has become very dry and itchy; and more. Depending on the progression of this under-diagnosed medical condition – you could be experiencing a bevy of symptoms.
So why aren’t these vein sufferers coming in for a vein treatment?
Most of us are guilty on some level of putting off going to the doctor because we’re “too busy” and think “it can wait.” But we also have pinpointed three other reasons people put off getting their veins treated:
1. You think vein treatments are painful.
We can certainly understand why a lot of people think this. Just search “vein treatment” and words like “vein stripping,” “vein ligation,” “surgery” make the pulse rate go up as your eyes scan down the page. You probably know someone who has undergone one of these painful, invasive procedures.
In the last 15 years, vein treatments have evolved out of the interventional radiology field where targeted, minimally invasive technologies originated. These technologies make it possible to treat veins through nicks in the skin the size of a grain of rice. At Hamilton Vein Center, we only perform today’s most advanced vein treatments that utilize image-guided technology to pinpoint the exact source of the vein problem and close the vein with radiofrequency energy.
However, there’s still a lot of outdated information out there, leaving people thinking that vein stripping and vein ligation are still the standard vein treatment options. And there are doctors and surgeons still performing these outdated procedures. Know your options. Today’s vein treatments are not your mom’s or grandma’s vein treatments.
With today’s vein treatments you can expect:
Little to no discomfort
Quicker recovery
Immediate relief
Little to no bruising
No downtime
For the best, most current treatments, it’s important to choose a vein specialist. Someone who specializes in the diagnosis of vein disease and its treatment. At Hamilton Vein Center, treating veins is all we do. Each of our vein specialists are board-certified interventional radiologists with years of training and experience.
2. I’m not sure which vein treatment is best for me.
No worries here. Leave that decision to the expert vein specialists at Hamilton Vein Center!
When you come in for your initial vein consultation and screening, an ultrasound of your leg veins will determine if vein disease is present or not. If it is, your vein specialist will determine which vein treatment will end your vein pain, discomfort and embarrassment. It may be one treatment or multiple, depending on your personal situation.
Treatments your Hamilton Vein Center vein specialist will consider are Radiofrequency Ablation, Ambulatory Phlebectomy, Sclerotherapy and Foam Sclerotherapy. All gentle, all minimally invasive.
3. Vein treatments are expensive.
This is a common misconception because vein issues are considered by most to be a cosmetic issue. But vein disease is a progressive, medical condition. So if you are diagnosed with vein disease, Medicare and most insurance companies will cover the cost of treatment.
Our financial and insurance specialists will work with you to determine your coverage and if your insurance company requires any conservative “wait time” before treatment. We look at all the options available to you to ensure you get the treatment you need, in the most cost-effective manner.
Please note that spider vein treatments – sclerotherapy and foam sclerotherapy – are considered cosmetic and are not usually covered. But it is on a case by case basis.
Myths. Busted.
We hope we’ve dispelled the misconceptions that are keeping so many away from getting their veins treated. Listen to your body. You know if something isn’t feeling right. Especially if you’re experiencing any discomfort, noticing skin changes or feeling pain of any sort in your legs – come in for an ultrasound and find out if vein disease is to blame.
All of our vein treatments are performed on an outpatient basis and take less than hour to perform. There’s little to no downtime – so make the time (and it’s not much!) to feel better and look better today!
For appointments, please call 281-565-0033.
