Can Medication Treat Varicose Veins?

Varicose veins may be thought of as a circulation problem and therefore, you may wonder whether blood thinners or medication to improve circulation may be of assistance. 

If you are diagnosed with vein problems, your doctor may decide to prescribe anticoagulants (blood thinners). This is to prevent dangerous blood clots from forming. The most common options are:

• Aspirin – A low daily dose (81 mg per day), which may be doubled if you are taking a long airline flight
• Heparin or Warfarin – if you have a blood clot, you may need a Heparin injection (strong anticoagulant), which would then be followed by warfarin (anticoagulant daily tablet) for a few months

You may hope to have some improvement in varicose veins, but unfortunately, the nature of varicose veins is such that blood thinning medication has little impact.

Varicose veins are due to the physical breakdown of the valves which pump blood back up the legs. When these become inefficient, the blood pools in the legs, causing the lumpy and unsightly ‘varicose’ veins to appear. As blood starts to pool, this places further pressure on the valves, causing further deterioration.

Blood thinning medication will unfortunately not ‘fix’ the physical problem of inefficient valves, which is what causes varicose veins. It may bring some relief, but won’t cure the problem itself.

Advice on Varicose Veins

If you are on blood thinners and want to get some advice on varicose veins, please contact our friendly and knowledgeable team. At your consultation, your Surgeon will assess full medical history and medication before advising the most appropriate treatment. We offer duplex scan for full and detailed diagnosis of the vein problem in order to establish the most appropriate form of treatment.

However, you are welcome to contact us for any specific queries in advance of arranging an appointment, especially if medication or other conditions are a concern.

Varicose Vein Removal Treatments

We offer a range of varicose vein treatments using the latest laser and surgical techniques, all carried out by our experienced Vascular Surgeon on a ‘walk in walk out’ basis with no overnight stay and no general anaesthetic:

• EVLA (endovenous laser ablation) treatment offers a 95% success rate. Cosmedics Skin Clinics offer EVLA treatment at their London vein treatment centre with a renowned vascular surgeon
• ClariVein® is a treatment which combines a mechanical with a chemical action to seal
• Foam sclerotherapy an injectable treatment for smaller varicose veins or larger thread veins
• Micro surgery for physical, surgical removal of the affected vein where necessary

For more information or to book a consultation, please complete the form on this web page or call 020 7386 0464.