Skin republic

Dear Dr. Jen,

I have veins on my legs that are visible. Most are behind my knees and I am getting very conscious of them. What treatment do you suggest I get to make them disappear? Is there a cream that I can apply to prevent more from growing?

Vain

Hi Vain!

It sounds like you have varicose veins on your legs. Unfortunately, there is no magic cream that can make it disappear or prevent new ones from growing. There are several factors that cause varicosities, prolonged standing being the most common.

The gold standard treatment for varicose veins is sclerotherapy. This entails injecting a solution into the veins to make the walls of the vein to swell, stick together and eventually get absorbed by your own body. These are veins that you do not need to survive. Hence, getting rid of them will not compromise your health in any way. You will usually need more than one session to get rid of the veins. Something to ask your dermatologist is what sclerosant they are using. It has to be FDA approved and non-allergenic.

The smaller,telangiectatic veins or spider veins that cannot be accessed by a sclerotherapy needle will need laser. And again, you will need more than one session. I hope you will be able to have your varicose veins assessed to see if you are indeed a good candidate for sclerotherapy/laser.

Dear Dr. Jen,

I am a cook at a local hotel. I noticed that the area around my finger nails are always red and swollen. Am I allergic to the food I prepare?

Cook

Dear Cook,

I am happy to inform you that it is probably not an allergy. Due to the nature of your job, having your hands always wet, you may have developed “paronychia”. This is an infection around your nails most commonly caused by fungus or bacteria. In your case, since it has been more chronic, it is probably fungal in origin. There are several measures you have to take to treat it. Firstly, apply an antifungal twice a day for 2 weeks. Secondly, use gloves at work even after the paronychia has healed. The best kind of gloves are the cotton-lined ones because this does not make you sweat inside and the rubber or plastic outer part allows waterproofing. Thirdly, do not remove your cuticles. Our cuticles can be a barrier for fungus, bacteria and virus. I hope implementing these measures will cure your paronychia. (FREEMAN)