Don’t Forget About Dad This Father’s Day

It’s officially June and that means beautiful weather, fun in the sun and plenty of summer recreation. With all of the excitement that summer brings, it can be easy to forget that the June 19^th is Father’s Day.  This is an important day to celebrate all that dads do for us.  Often times, shopping for the perfect Father’s Day gift can be a challenge. If you’re seeing Father’s Day ads for the usual mugs, ties, and fishing gear and feeling stumped, Pacific Vein Care can help!

                

Does your dad suffer from varicose veins and spider veins?  Give the gift of good health with a gift card towards Pacific Vein Care or Blue Sky MedSpa!  While many people think of varicose and spider veins as being a problem for only women, the condition is just as common in men.  Varicose veins, also known as varicosities, are twisted, enlarged veins near the surface of the skin that overfill with blood.  Symptoms come in many forms but the most common include swelling, itchiness, numbness, throbbing, and pain near the veins. 

Varicose veins can affect men of all ages but the risk increases with age.  While this condition is typically inherited, it can also be caused by obesity, prolonged standing or trauma.  Many men who experience varicose veins try to avoid the issue but treatment options are fast, easy and effectively work for both men and women.  At Pacific Vein Care, we offer a number of vascular treatment services including ambulatory phlebectomy, compression therapy, endovenus ablation, and sclerotherapy.

Like many conditions, varicose veins will progress without treatment.  If the man in your life is suffering from vascular issues, stop into Pacific Vein Care and pick up a gift card he will actually use!  We offer the latest in revolutionary treatment techniques that provide real results for varicose veins, leg swelling and pain related to vein reflux disease.  Father’s Day is right around the corner – hurry in and pick up the gift of good health at Pacific Vein Care!

Mother’s Day Gifts from Blue Sky Med Spa!

Mother’s Day is just about here! Have you gotten the special lady in your life a gift yet? Mother’s Day is the third biggest holiday for sending cards, behind Christmas and Valentine’s Day. Moms often receive flowers on this day as well, but if you want to get her something more useful than a bouquet of blooms, then consider gifting her spa services or products from Blue Sky Med Spa!

Pamper Mom this Mother’s Day with any of the spa services expertly provided by Blue Sky Med Spa. Choose from massage therapy, lasering, facial treatments, and more. Every service from Blue Sky Med Spa will help Mom look good and feel good! You can also get her a Blue Sky Med Spa gift card that she can use toward any of the services of her choosing. Or, if she’d rather, she can use it to purchase any of the wonderful products we offer:

●       Neocutis - We carry the Neocutis line of skin care products, which were originally designed for wound healing. These products contain PSP (Process Skin cell Proteins) and MPC (Micro Protein Complex) to deliver super-potent anti-aging benefits to your skin.

●       Visao MD - Visao MD is a plant-based medical grade professional and home care line of products. These products are called “skin care cocktails” and focus on anti-aging, acne, rosacea, and sensitive skin care.

●       Obagi - Obagi products are designed to help minimize the appearance of premature skin aging, skin damage, hyperpigmentation, acne, and sun damage and are primarily available through dermatologists, plastic surgeons, medical spas, and other skin care professionals.

●       Latisse - Latisse is an FDA-approved treatment to grow eyelashes for people with inadequate or not enough lashes. Latisse grows your eyelashes thicker, fuller, and darker.

●       Dermaka - Dermaka is an all-natural plant based cream to use post procedure for sclerotherapy, chemical, and laser peels.  It has anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antioxidant properties. Clinical testing has shown Dermaka to show rapid resolution of inflammatory changes, swelling, and bruising.

We’re only a few days away from Mother’s Day, so be sure to give her the gift of good health. Stop by Pacific Vein Care/Blue Sky Med Spa yourself to pick up any of these wonderful products for Mom, or get her a gift card so she can choose herself!

The Benefits of Micro-needling

Micro-needling is the latest trend in anti-aging skin care. Even though it’s seeing a surge in popularity, micro-needling has been around for some time. Micro-needling therapy is minimally invasive skin rejuvenation procedure that involves rolling fine needles over the skin. These needles puncture the skin to create a controlled skin injury. It may sound bad, but these small, microscopic injuries trigger the body to fill the wounds by producing new collagen and elastin. Collagen and elastin are both proteins that live in our tissue and give our skin that youthful, wrinkle-free plumpness and elasticity. As we age, these proteins diminish, so many anti-aging remedies and skin rejuvenation treatments aim to raise their levels and restore our skin to a more youthful appearance.

At Blue Sky Med Spa, we use the Power Rejuvenator (PR) Pen, an automated micro-needling pen that visibly tightens the skin of the face, neck, décolleté and hands for a more youthful appearance. The PR Pen is safe and more effective than the readily available micro-needle rollers you can buy online. The PR Pen moves the needles in a vertical direction for better precision when treating the skin, whereas needle rollers do not create a precise vertical action, which can irritate the skin and generate inconsistent effects.

So how does the PR Pen work?

When you arrive at the Blue Sky Med Spa office on the day of your treatment, you will be comfortably positioned on a cart. A topical anesthetic will be applied to your face, or other target area, to minimize any possible discomfort. A sterile cartridge containing the micro-needles is then attached to the PR Pen. Next, in a single motion, the pen will be gently pressed against the skin while simultaneously gliding until the entire treatment area has been covered. The feeling associated with the PR Pen is akin to sandpaper lightly being moved across the skin. Most procedures last less than an hour, and you may begin to see results before you even leave the office! With progressive healing, final results are typically achieved within six weeks. Some patients will see optimal results with one treatment. Yearly follow-ups help keep the skin vibrant and refreshed. Others, especially older patients, may want to receive 2-3 treatments each year to stimulate collagen and elastin production.

To learn more about micro-needling or our other spa services, visit the Blue Sky Med Spa website or give us a call today at 815-759-2368!

Spring Renewal at Pacific Vein Care!

Spring Renewal at Pacific Vein Care! Spring is here… Are your legs warm weather ready, or are your spider veins going to keep them covered? Get rejuvenated at Pacific Vein Care and Blue Sky Med Spa just in time for shorts season!

Although the physical appearance aspect is one of the top concerns for most people when it comes to varicose veins, this disease comes with a host of other complications, including pain, swelling, phlebitis, and sometimes even hemorrhage. Also known as venous insufficiency, varicose veins are a widely recognized diseased and most insurances will cover the treatment.

At Pacific Vein Care, we have specialized training in venous disease treatments and use sclerotherapy techniques to treat venous insufficiency. A concern of many patients is that they’re worried their varicose veins will return. This is not true of sclerotherapy is done correctly and with the most effective sclerosant. Pacific Vein Care uses a sclerosant called Polidocanol, which is highly effective and painless. We also use Radiofrequency Ablation Treatment, which uses a catheter with a heated tip to shrink varicose veins. Blood than naturally gets diverted to your healthy veins instead! Recurrence following this treatment is only two to three percent!

So get your varicose veins taken care of at Pacific Vein Care, and you can stop hiding your legs when warm weather rolls around! No spider veins in sight but in need of a spa rejuvenation? Right now, Blue Sky Med Spa is running some springtime spa specials. Waxing services are 25% off any one area, and we are also running specials on VI facial peels and Juvederm injectable fillers now through the end of April. Look and feel your best with help from Blue Sky Med Spa!

Spring Renewal at Pacific Vein Care! Feel confident again just in time for spring. Schedule an appointment from on our site or call Pacific Vein Care at 815-759-2368 to schedule your consultation, and be on your way to healthy legs for life!

Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day is known as the holiday of love. It is punctuated by flowers, chocolates, poetic greeting cards and paper hearts. About 150 million cards are exchanged for Valentine’s Day each year, making it the second most popular card-sending holiday next to Christmas. But do you know the history behind why we celebrate February 14th and how it came to be the holiday it is today? Read on to find out!

The history of Valentine’s Day and the holiday’s namesake, Saint Valentine, is not entirely known. The holiday is thought to have began as a Christian celebration of the martyr Saint Valentine of Rome. It is believed that Valentine’s Day was created many centuries ago to be celebrated at the same time the three-day Roman pagan fertility festival, Lupercalia, was observed. Thus, Valentine’s Day fell on February 14th, right smack in the middle of Lupercalia.

According to history.com, the legend of Saint Valentine contends that he was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. Legend claims an imprisoned Valentine actually sent the first “valentine” greeting himself after he fell in love with a young girl who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is said that he wrote her a letter signed “From your Valentine,” an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories all emphasize his appeal as a heroic and romantic figure.

Today, Valentine’s Day is still a holiday of romance, albeit much more commercialized. A trip to most stores during this time will show you aisles upon aisles of red – roses, heart-shaped things, boxes of chocolates, teddy bears and much more! But what about blue? If you’re looking to get your significant other a unique token of love, consider a gift card to Blue Sky Med Spa! Blue Sky Med Spa offers a variety of spa services like massage, facials, as well as cosmetic and medical treatments. Give your significant other a gift he or she will truly cherish – the gift of good health! Stop by our office to pick up your gift card or visit Blue Sky Med Spa for more information on the services offered. 

Have a Happy Valentine’s Day!

Compression Therapy for Varicose Veins

Vein disease plagues about one in three Americans over the age of 45. Varicose veins are an unfortunate family trait, often appearing in the form of oversized, bulging, bluish cords easily visible under the skin. Sometimes they do not bulge, but rather are small, purplish, flooded capillaries called spider veins. Varicose and spider veins can be painful and unsightly, but thankfully there are several avenues of treatment you can take to healthy legs for life. At Pacific Vein Care, we specialize in several different therapies to treat varicose veins. The focus of this blog will be on compression therapy.

Compression therapy is the use of compression stockings over a period of time. These stockings squeeze the leg and allow the valves to be closer together and function properly. This helps the blood flow easier and your legs respond accordingly with less swelling, fatigue, discomfort, pain, heaviness, throbbing, and cramping. Most insurance companies require this as part of their conservative therapy criteria prior to approval for procedures.

One thing to keep in mind about compression therapy is that while it helps relieve symptoms, it is not a true cure for varicose veins. Support stockings are a temporary measure that will not fix a chronic, physical problem like the new, effective, minimally invasive technologies and treatments will. Compression stockings are not a definitive treatment, but they are a good place to start when it comes to vein disease.

Compression stockings can be purchased at Pacific Vein Care, where we will measure and use our suppliers sizing chart to get the right fit for you. Since each patient’s diagnosis and symptoms are different, a consultation with Pacific Vein Care will help us get you into the correct compression gradient and stocking length for your particular situation. We will also take the time to explain how to properly use your stockings for compression therapy, and if the compression therapy isn’t doing the trick for your varicose veins, we’ll talk about the next step for you in treatment. To schedule your consultation with Pacific VeinCare and be on your way to healthy legs for life, give us a call today at 815-759-2368!

Give the Gift of Good Health from Blue Sky Med Spa!

Blue Sky Med Spa is a new branch of our Pacific Vein Care clinic, with an emphasis on spa services like massages, facials, and laser treatment. The holidays can be a stressful time of year for most adults. Treat your spouse, mom, sibling, or best friend to a Blue Sky Med Spa gift card. Here are some great services they’ll be able to use it for:

●       Massage - We offer six different types of massages: express chair massages (for those in a rush - only 15 minutes!), Swedish massages, Clinical massage (Deep Tissue and for misalignments and past lingering injuries), Hot Stone massage, Sports massage, and Reflexology, which applies pressure to specific nerve zones in your feet.

●       Facials - Our standard facial is tailored to treat skin concerns, and includes cleansing, exfoliating and a mask. Our acne facial is a deep cleanse which calms redness and reduces bacteria and breakouts. We also have a facial designed just for men, which cleanses, tones, and eases razor irritation!

●       Lasering - Hair removal, acne, scars ingrown hairs, spider veins, and skin tightening are just some of many issues that can be addressed with laser treatment!

●       Injectables - Remove wrinkles with Botox, or get a plump out with Juvederm lip fillers.

●       Chemical Peels - medical chemical peels blend acids to tackle a variety of skin issues.

●       Micro-needling - use of a micro-needling pen as a minimally invasive procedure to stimulate skin’s collagen and elastin production.

And more! Visit Blue Sky Med Spa website to see a full list of our spa services. You can pick up a gift card during normal business hours at Blue Sky Med Spa, located within the Pacific Vein Care clinic. Give the gift of good health to your loved one this holiday season - because when they look good, they feel good.