Fortunately, treatment usually doesn't mean a hospital stay or a long, uncomfortable recovery. Less invasive techniques generally allow varicose veins to be dealt with on an outpatient basis. Self-help measures — such as exercising, losing weight, not wearing tight clothes, elevating your legs and avoiding long periods of standing or sitting — can ease pain and prevent varicose veins from getting worse. Varicose veins that develop during pregnancy generally improve without medical treatment within three months after delivery.

If your varicose veins don't respond to self-help or if they're more severe, your doctor may advise one of these treatments:

• Sclerotherapy. In this procedure, your doctor injects small- and medium-sized varicose veins with a solution that scars those veins. The process closes the veins, forcing your blood to reroute to healthier veins. In a few weeks, treated varicose veins should fade. Although the same vein may need to be injected more than once, sclerotherapy is effective if done correctly. In addition, a new and improved type of sclerotherapy, called microsclerotherapy, uses improved solutions and injection techniques that increase the success rate for removal of spider veins. Sclerotherapy doesn't require anesthesia and can be done in your doctor's office.
• Laser surgeries. Doctors are using laser procedures more commonly to close off smaller varicose veins and spider veins, especially on the upper body and the face. In the past, varicose veins in the legs didn't respond consistently to laser treatments, and some doctors doubted whether laser surgery actually worked. Now, however, new technology in laser treatments can effectively treat varicose veins in the legs. Laser surgery works by sending strong bursts of light onto the vein, which makes the vein slowly fade and disappear. No incisions or needles are used.
• Catheter-assisted procedures. In one of these treatments, your doctor inserts a thin tube (catheter) into an enlarged vein and heats the tip of the catheter. As the catheter is pulled out, the heat destroys the vein by causing it to collapse and seal shut. This procedure is usually done for larger varicose veins. Other catheter-assisted methods use a blade to destroy varicose veins or radio waves to close them.
• Vein stripping. This procedure involves removing a long vein through small incisions. This is an outpatient procedure for most people. Removing the vein won't affect circulation in your leg because veins deeper in the leg take care of the larger volumes of blood.
• Ambulatory phlebectomy (fluh-BEK-to-me). Your doctor removes smaller varicose veins through a series of tiny skin punctures. Local anesthesia is used in this outpatient procedure. Scarring is generally minimal.

When it comes to treatment options for varicose veins, it pays to be a cautious health consumer. Advertisements claiming "unique," "permanent" or "painless" methods to remove varicose veins may be appealing, but they may not actually measure up to those claims. Before undergoing any procedure, ask your doctor about any health risks and possible side effects.

You may want to inquire about treatment costs, as well. Most insurance policies don't cover the expense of elective cosmetic surgery for varicose veins. However, in many cases, if you have signs or symptoms such as swelling and bleeding, insurance may cover the treatment.

Current treatments for varicose veins and spider veins are highly successful. However, it's possible that varicose veins can recur.

Beware of Creams and Quick-Fix Remedies

You may be tempted to try one of the many herbal supplements that claim to prevent varicose veins or get rid of them. The active ingredient in most of the products is horse chestnut.

It may be possible that these will help some signs and symptoms, but it's not likely that they will do much to eliminate the veins or relieve the pain they might cause.