Six Natural Solutions for Varicose and Spider Veins

What are varicose veins?

These are the veins that become enlarged, dilated, and overfilled with blood. They look swollen and raised, with a bluish or red color. They’re often painful. The condition is common—especially in women.

Varicose veins can appear anywhere on the body. But I’ll address those that show up on the lower legs, where they are most likely to develop.

Veins have one-way valves that prevent blood from flowing backward. When veins aren’t functioning properly, when these valves fail, blood collects in the veins rather than going toward your heart. The veins enlarge. Primarily this affects the leg veins—they are farthest from your heart, making it harder for the blood to flow upward.

For cosmetic purposes, varicose veins are treated with sclerotherapy. A highly concentrated solution of saline is injected directly into the vein. It is irritating enough to cause an obliteration of the blood vessel and connecting branches, resulting in a permanent closure of dilated capillaries. Afterward, varicose veins seem to vanish because they cannot carry blood.

Are we forgetting that the network of capillaries and veins are in the business of delivering oxygen and nutrients to the cells? Sclerosis of the blood vessels will affect circulation in the legs. As less blood flows to the lower extremities, the oxygen-deprived tissues become painful. The body will shift the work of closed veins to neighboring vessels. And it is only a matter of time before more veins will bulge because of this additional overload. It is a vicious cycle that cannot end well.

In my late thirties, I noticed one or two of these veins. When I had hip replacement surgery in 1999, I remember seeing these bulging veins. Then I forgot about them completely—they were gone. I can only attribute their disappearance to my raw foods lifestyle and to my daily yoga. So, varicose veins haven’t been an issue for me in all these years.
     

Recently I started dance classes. Maybe because of new strenuous activity, maybe because of approaching 65, but I notice some veins became more visible than before.

I like to wear dresses to my classes, so I had to find some answers fast. And I did. Here are some home remedies that you might find helpful. Keep in mind: You’ll want to use these in addition to a high raw diet and daily yoga or other exercise.

2. Six Natural Solutions for Varicose and Spider Veins

The Ice Bucket Leg Bath.

Put your legs up to your knees in a bucket of ice water. Keep them in for about three minutes or until your discomfort with the cold lessens considerably. The ice reduces vein visibility. I believe this method is very effective for diminishing or eliminating the appearance of veins. But you must do it daily—even better, twice a day. 
      

Sodium Bicarbonate Body Wraps.

Usually vein visibility comes with some swelling. If this is the case for you, try this method—quite effective thanks to the alkaline-rich environment created on the legs and the soles of your feet. Keep the wrap on for a couple of hours or even overnight.

How to Make a Leg Wrap.

Place a teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate in a glass of boiling water and stir. The sodium bicarb starts to break down into three compounds, forming sodium carbonate (Na2CO3), water (H2O), and carbon dioxide (CO2). Let the mixture cool. Take socks or some strips of fabric and soak them in this solution. Place these over your legs, wrapped in a plastic bag, and wear some dry clothes on top. Ideally the body wrap should be left on for an entire night. When you take off the wrap, wash the skin off.

I haven’t tried this method personally. But those who did, claim that right after the first treatment, your legs will look less swollen, more sculpted and defined.

Cupping Massage

Cupping massage can be great for preventing and reducing the appearance of smaller varicose and spider veins. Again, you must do this cupping massage regularly.

Cupping massages help with a wide range of illnesses and health issues. A useful article to read: The Medical Perspective of Cupping Therapy: Effects and Mechanisms of Action. You’ll find it on the ScienceDirect website.
 

Vibro-gymnastics.

Try this simple exercise. While standing, repeat these two steps:

Slightly rise on the toes for an inch or a bit more, then drop down onto your heels. Your landing on your heels should be energetic, but not too sharp.

Go at a fairly slow pace: no more than one drop per second. Do about 30 of these vibrational drops. Rest a few seconds, then repeat each set of 30 two more times.

We know that bulging veins develop when blood stays in your veins, instead of going up to the heart. This technique doesn’t allow the blood to stagnate and to gather in the veins. As a result, the capillaries get toned up, their valves get vitalized, and the blood gets an additional impulse to rush vigorously to the heart.
 

Microneedling

The RejuvaRoll stimulates surface blood flow using a series of small pins in a rolling action. You roll it against your legs in any direction that seems comfortable. Blood rushes to your skin's surface, repairing and rejuvenating your skin. 

An article on Semantic Scholar website called  “A Microneedling Device for the Treatment of Spider Vein: A Case Report” states: “Therefore, this study reports the successful treatment of a spider vein case using a microneedling procedure.” Again you need to use the RejuvaRoll on your legs for 5 minutes every day. 
 

Topical Natural Solutions.

One that immediately comes to mind: horse chestnut. Horse chestnut has anti-inflammatory, vasoconstrictor, and vasoprotective properties. Translation: It provides tightening and tonic effect on your blood vessels.

According to research published in Global Advances in Health and Medicine, this is due to a substance known as aescin, known for constricting blood vessels. Taken orally or applied topically, horse chestnut helps to tighten tiny blood vessels, research suggests.

According to a review by Cochrane Library, horse chestnut prevents vein walls from becoming slack or swollen and turning into varicose veins, as well as reducing the pain and swelling of existing varicose veins.

Veinice Cream for Legs with Horse Chestnut

In our new cream Veinice one key ingredient is horse chestnut oil. 

We’ve included another remarkable ingredient…blue yarrow oil. Varicose veins have long been treated with yarrow oil. Current research seems supports claims made for the oil’s value in slowing the occurrence and speeding the healing of leg ulcers.

We also chose calendula oil for this product because of its wide use in treating varicose veins, spidery veins, thread veins, and other skin disorders. Herbalists use calendula for its power in healing skin. A 2022 scientific review in the Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research supports the traditional use of calendula oil for wound-healing by promoting blood circulation. More information here.
 

If you've read my books, you know I've dreamed, since childhood, of dancing. I was not able to run around with other kids, playing. But, I wanted to dance. ⁠
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Sixty years of dreaming, eight hip surgeries, two artificial hips, twenty-plus years of raw foods, daily yoga, and endless hours of physical therapy have brought me, at last, this summer, to a dance studio. I'm now taking ballroom dance classes several times a week. ⁠And I love it!⁠

I can say my raw food insights and beauty products truly work: Now, at 64, I can focus on my dancing and enjoy it fully, with no worry about extra weight, excessive wrinkles, or thinning hair.