Frequently Asked Questions

Varicose veins are rope like veins that usually appear on the legs and feet.  They are associated with vein disease, a progressive disease that tends to get worse with age. Whilst factors such as diet and exercise can help mitigate symptoms, the disease will tend to get worse with age.  It is for this reason that treatment is recommended to avoid future complications

Spider or thread veins are red, purple or blue veins that are visible through the skin. They are usually smaller veins and appear as a network of thin, damaged veins that are visible through the skin. Unlike larger varicose veins, they may appear on the legs, feet, face or hands

The most effective treatment to get rid of damaged veins is to collapse and block them completely so that they are naturally reabsorbed into the body. Our clinic offers both varicose vein treatment and spider vein removal. The treatment you will have will depend on your particular case, as advised by your specialist

You can click here for varicose vein treatment prices and here for spider vein treatment prices

We can arrange for payments to be spread out over 6 or 10 months, subject to
approval. UK Vein Clinic have partnered with Chrysalis Finance to be able to offer
flexible 0% interest payment options following your diagnostic assessment

In most cases, treatment should take under an hour and, as it is a non-invasive procedure, patients can walk in-and-out of the clinic on the same day. Although results may be seen immediately, it can take up to 5-6 weeks of healing and recovery time for all signs of the treatment to fade

Varicose veins may become itchy or painful. They can cause the skin to dry out and become discoloured, and varicose veins can lead to numbness or heaviness in the feet and legs. For more information, you can visit our varicose vein symptoms page here

There aren’t any effective natural remedies for varicose or spider veins. Some people may suggest trying apple cider vinegar, coconut oil or vitamin C. Unfortunately none of these things will help the damaged veins, which are trapped under the skin. While topical creams may temporarily mask or cover spider veins, none of them have any effect on the veins themselves. Retinoid creams may temporarily obscure the veins, but they will reappear as soon as the effects wear off

Leg exercises are good for overall health and the health of your veins. This may help prevent varicose veins from forming but there are no exercises that will get rid of them once they have appeared. Here are some low impact exercises that you can incorporate into your daily routine

Compression stockings can help to support veins in the legs and are good for both preventing varicose veins from forming and are helpful in recovery. However, they won’t get rid of varicose veins that have already formed. You can read more about compression stockings and varicose veins in our Blog here

Most varicose vein treatments are not available through the NHS. In very severe cases they may be covered if they are causing a lot of pain or putting the patient at risk of further complications. But for most people this is not the case and the NHS is unlikely to cover treatment. You can find more information in our blog article, ‘Varicose Veins & The NHS: All You Need To Know’

By themselves, varicose veins are not dangerous. However, they can lead to more serious complications that are associated with varicose veins, including venous ulcers, May-Thurner Syndrome, and Deep Vein Thrombosis

Unfortunately varicose veins won’t go away on their own, and will remain until they are treated

The treatments for varicose veins are permanent. However, new varicose veins may form in the future. This is especially the case for people in high risk groups

At the first stage of our clinical pathway, our Vascular Scientists complete a detailed scan of your veins to identify which ones need treating. At your follow up appointment after treatment, we will re-scan your legs again to check if the treatment has been successful. If at this stage we identify that the veins have we treated are not successfully closed we will re-treat those veins free of charge

Women are more likely to form varicose veins than men. Pregnant women are also more likely to have varicose veins due to increased blood volume. Other risk factors include age, obesity, a family history of varicose veins and sitting or standing in the same position for extended periods of time

Our treatment packages are priced according to whether you need truncal veins or tributary veins treating, rather than 1 or 2 legs. Therefore, our packages are designed to give you maximum coverage across both legs, depending on your individual needs.

Whilst we don't use laser treatments in our clinics, we do use radiofrequency ablation (RFA) to heat and close veins instead. Clinical evidence and published research has demonstrated that RFA has a better clinical outcome and is the gold-standard recommendation within the UK. With the guidance of leading vascular surgeons and Professor Stephen Black, we've carefully and rigorously designed our treatment pathway to optimise patient experience and outcomes.

Unlike other comparative treatments like laser, radiofrequency ablation has sufficient evidence to support a better clinical outcome and is currently the gold standard treatment recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Therefore, although laser treatment is cheaper, we believe that the improved consistency of clinical outcomes demonstrated by RFA is worth the investment on behalf of our patients.