Blue veins, red veins, thin veins or telangiectasias are other names for spider veins and found most often on the face or legs. They may be unsightly and may also cause symptoms like itching, aching or burning. They are more common in women over 50 years but men can also have them.
If you have varicose veins in your family, chances are you might have them too. Being pregnant, taking the contraceptive pill or hormone replacement therapy (HRT) also increases the risk of spider veins and varicose veins. Along with being overweight, not exercising regularly and working in a job that involves mostly sitting or standing, this may mean you are prone to varicose veins and spider veins.
Obvious veins on the face may be because of sun exposure and therefore damage. So it’s important to always wear a high quality SPF 50+ sunblock to help protect the skin against damaging UV rays. Facial veins are often bright red and may be in a star pattern or a line.
Laser treatment for spider veins
Skin laser treatment is effective in treating most veins on the face or legs so they reduce and eventually fade. A typical treatment regime, usually recommended by a professional skin laser clinic, depends on how many spider veins there are. Treatment could be between two and six sessions. After skin laser treatment the treated area will be red for a while but this will subside until the next appointment, if needed, in 6-8 weeks’ time.
When an ultrasound scan is needed
We may also recommend an ultrasound scan if there are large clusters of these veins.
This will tell us if there are varicose veins below them. Sometimes you can’t see varicose veins but most often they are obvious ropey veins that bulge. Varicose veins cause increased pressure within the small skin veins, which may mean they grow over time.
Spider veins may also appear more obvious after varicose vein treatment as the varicose veins begin to fade.
When sclerotherapy is recommended
Bigger spider veins and clusters of them may need sclerotherapy.
A vascular or vein specialist is an expert at treating these veins with sclerotherapy. They use ultrasound to guide them. Sclerotherapy involves a small amount of irritant injected into the veins causing them to block off. After sclerotherapy the patient will need to wear compression stockings for 5-10 days.
Talk to us if you have concerns about your spider veins.