Taking on the appearance of thin branched-out lines, spider and varicose veins are often red, blue, or purple in color, making them quite obvious on the skin’s surface. While they may look intimidating, spider and varicose veins are more often than not harmless and don’t need to be actively treated. However, due to its effect on your skin’s appearance, you may want to have them medically removed either through injections or laser treatments,which are a great option as they’re minimally invasive. While laser treatments do offer great results, there’s aftercare involved which in this case includes ice packs, light exercise, and avoiding water.
So when can you take a hot bath after your laser treatment? Generally speaking, it’s recommended that you avoid hot showers and baths 4 to 5 days after your treatment. Exposing the treatment site to heat could potentially irritate it and cause more issues during your recovery. Instead, use lukewarm water to shower and avoid high-temperature activities so that your blood vessels have time to properly heal and possible after-treatment complications can be avoided.
Learn More: How Do You Get Rid of the Brown Marks After Spider Vein Injections?
Showering After Laser Vein Treatment?
While you might be tempted to take a hot bath right after your treatment, it’s best to avoid hot water baths for the next 4 to 5 days after your treatment. Though laser treatments were designed to have minimal downtime, heat application right after laser therapy may cause problems in the healing process.
Due to the high temperature of the water during a hot bath, your newly lasered skin can be aggravated causing trauma to the laser site. When this happens, it is possible that the veins will dilate and become enlarged. Complications from dilation and enlargement may result in laser therapy simply being ineffective in removing the appearance of varicose and spider veins to possibly more severe complications.
Though you’re not allowed to take a hot bath for 4 to 5 days, you can take a warm shower 2 days after your laser treatment. After 48 hours, you should be able to apply water to the lasered area and shower without any risk of after-treatment complications. It’s recommended to use mild soap and lukewarm water to shower and only use patting motions to dry off after.
Similar Activities to Avoid After Laser Vein Treatments
Like taking a bath with hot water, there are other activities that you should probably avoid right after your laser vein treatments. In general, these activities involve anything having to do with heat application to the lasered area and the body. While these obviously include steam rooms and saunas, you should also avoid intense workouts as they create a lot of heat throughout your body.
After the laser treatment, you’ll most likely be asked to take a light walk for around 30 minutes which you can continue to do once a day after your treatment. While light exercises are fine, intense work-outs like HIIT, boxing, weights, and cycling should all be avoided.
Regardless of where the heat comes from, exposing the lasered area to high temperatures can cause the veins to dilate and cause an adverse reaction leading to the ineffectiveness of the treatment. To keep the treatment effective and prevent the veins from dilating and allowing blood flow, you should also wait 4 to 5 days before engaging in any normal activity that could involve heat. Doing so will ensure that your lasered varicose or spider veins remain closed and properly fade as intended.
Aftercare Essentials
After your treatment, your doctor will run over the specific do’s and don’ts for your treatments aftercare which you should follow strictly. If you’re not sure of a certain thing, it would be best to contact your doctor to ensure that you’re not doing anything that could possibly affect the results of the treatment.
While there are a few things that you need to avoid after your laser vein treatments to prevent complications, there are things you can do to help you during your recovery. Here are just a few general things to keep in mind after your treatment session:
1) Ice Packs for Swelling
After having your varicose or spider veins lasered, it’s likely that some swelling around the area may occur. This is a normal reaction to the laser treatment which should gradually subside and not be a cause for any concern. To help reduce the swelling, place an ice pack on the lasered area throughout the day at 15-minute intervals each time.
2) Compression Socks
While not always necessary, you may be asked by your doctor to wear compression stockings or socks for the first few days after your laser treatment. In general, compression socks provide support to your veins and prevent blood pooling. After the laser treatment, you may need to wear compression socks to help reduce swelling and provide support during your recovery.
While compression socks may only be necessary for a few days during strenuous activities, it’s possible that your doctor recommends wearing them for 3 to 4 weeks after the treatment depending on your condition.
3) Avoid Direct Exposure to the Sun and SPF
After your treatment, it’s important to place sunscreen on the lasered area to protect it from the sun. UV rays from exposure to sunlight may cause complications or minimize the effectiveness of the laser treatment in removing your varicose or spider veins. A sunscreen of at least SPF 30 should be worn at all times for the next 30 days after your treatment.
Learn More: 4 Positive Effects of Laser Treatments on Eliminating Spider and Varicose Veins
Get Professional Laser Treatment to Remove Your Spider Veins at The Vein Clinic Doctor
Reducing the appearance of spider veins on your skin can take a lot of time and effort, but if done by trusted aesthetic practitioners, clear and vein-free skin is not too far out of reach. At Vein Center Doctor, we provide top-of-the-line minimally invasive procedures to get rid of visible veins and treat your discolored veins at the root.
With our laser treatments and other procedures, we can address any of your vein concerns and give you the results you want. Contact us to have a consultation with one of our vein specialists or visit our website to explore more treatment options.
