Varicose veins are veins which are abnormally and irregularly swollen.

Spider veins are like varicose veins but they are much smaller. They often began as small capillaries that are blue or red squiggles on the skin.

Varicose veins and spider veins will affect close to 40 million Americans, mostly women. Sclerotherapy is a medical procedure which is used to treat these varicose veins and spider veins through a use of sodium chloride directly injected into the vein.

Varicose veins are unsightly and uncomfortable. They affect both men and women and appear to have a genetic predisposition.

The first sign of a varicose vein is swelling along the path the vein takes down the leg. These varicose veins are result of damaged one way valves that helped push the blood through the veins and on to the heart.

There are two different types of veins inside the leg. There are superficial veins, which sit just below the skin and are easily seen on the surface.