Do you have spider veins on your face?

If you do you’re not alone.  The good news is that they are easily treated.  However, I do get asked a few questions quite often during the free consultation.  I thought that it was worth writing a short article about some of the topics that come up around vocabulary, risk, and causes:

You said “telangiectasia” what does that mean?

Quite simply it’s the medical term for broken capillaries and spider veins. These most often appear around the nose or eyes and sometimes resemble little stars. They aren’t always uniform in color ranging from red to various degrees of blue or purple.

Can spider veins hurt me?

While the answer is usually “no” it’s a great question to ask during a consultation as each case is unique.  This question generally comes up as people research “varicose veins” and see their association with deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) and the link to blood clots.  But even spider veins generally aren’t harmful I have had many patients over the years that just don’t like seeing them in the mirror when they wake up in the morning. Cosmetic or not, it’s reason enough to be treated. My experience has been mirrored by a study done by the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery which found that 50 to 55 percent of women complain about spider veins.

What causes spider veins?

Spider veins develop from a venous deficiency. In plain language it just means that there’s a back-flow of blood in the veins. That back-flow causes pressure which damages vessel wall. When looking environmental and lifestyle contributing factors you increase your risk if the area is inflamed, you have high blood pressure, or are overweight. Similar to varicose veins, there are genetic predispositions to spider veins.

Age can be a contributing factor as generally there is a weakening of the veins and skin.  The aging process in the skin will also make the damaged veins and broken capillaries more visible, thus appearing more pronounced.

Rosacea, another skin disease that we treat at the San Diego Vein Institute, can cause spider veins.  Rosacea, eczema, and other inflammatory conditions can cause spider veins as that inflammation increases pressure on veins and fragile capillaries.

Smoking and sun damage can also contribute to visible spider veins and broken capillaries.  Smoking not only damages arteries and veins but the prematurely aging results contribute to the increasing visibility of spider veins and capillaries noted about.  Sun damage of the skin can also cause the increased visibility of these conditions, most noticeable around the eyes.

What can I do?

As I said at the start, the good news is that you’re not alone and the great news is that spider veins are easily treated.  Methods will vary based on your particular situation which is also why we insist on the consultation before looking at treatment options.  However, most of the time those treatments are either sclerotherapy or laser treatments.  In many cases I will use both types of treatment on a single patient.  You should be weary of any physician with a “one treatment for all veins” solution as it’s likely sub-optimal.  Courses with either treatment option (or a combination of the two) take approximately 30-60 minutes, are pain-free, and are done in-office with zero downtime.  You can eliminate those unwanted spider veins over a lunch break if you wanted.