Spider Veins: Causes, Treatment and Prevention

A lot of people seem to have spider veins on their body and although they are not harmful, they can affect people’s confidence (concerning their appearance). The thin, twist-and-turning veins get their name from resembling spider legs, so it’s no wonder that people don’t want to have them on their body.

The bad news is that if someone in your family has them, then there is a good chance that you will get them as well, as the most common cause is because of genetics. Having said that though, that does not mean that you will get them, just that there is a higher chance that you might. So how can you help avoid not getting them? Keep on reading to find out how.

Causes

As previously stated, genetics are a common cause for spider veins, however, it isn’t the only reason. When spider veins occur in the legs, this basically means that the valves inside the veins have stopped working properly. The way that veins work is that they carry blood back to the heart. To stop blood from flowing backwards, they contain a one-way valve that closes once the blood passes through.

If this valve is weakened or becomes damaged the blood may struggle to flow in the correct direction. If it cannot flow in the right direction, then this can lead to spider veins. If spider veins occur on the face, then this is due to tiny blood vessels bursting. This is usually due to an increase in pressure or sun damage (which is why wearing sun cream is so important). If you don’t take care of your skin, then you might find that you are more likely to experience issues like spider veins occurring on your face or legs.

Treatment

Although spider veins are pretty much harmless, many people may wish to remove them due to some form of discomfort or for cosmetic reasons. There are loads of different treatments out there, so you just have to find the right one for you. If you would like to improve the blood flow in your legs, then a lot of people will use compression stockings to relieve leg swelling and lower the risk of blood clots.

Some people might prefer to look at doing sclerotherapy. This involves injecting an irritant directly into the affected vein. The walls of the vein then become irritated and stick together, which keeps the blood flowing into the right area. If these two treatments don’t seem of interest to you, then another treatment that you could look at using is laser treatment as it is less invasive. A lot of people opt to get laser treatment to help remove their spider veins, so this might be an option for you.

Prevention

Obviously, it would be better if you were able to prevent spider veins from occurring in the first place. Now spider veins normally affect people as they get older, so it’s very important to make sure that you look after your skin as you age. As previously mentioned, using things like sun cream can help, however, making sure that you have a proper skin care routine will also help prevent spider veins from occurring. Taking care of your skin will really help prevent things like this from happening. Just simple things like making sure you wash your face can make a huge difference.

You should also try and maintain a healthy weight, whilst also doing regular exercise, limiting alcohol and staying mobile. You should also bear in mind that you might have to deal with other skin conditions as well, particularly if you neglect to look after it properly, just because you no longer suffer from acne as you did as a child, does not mean that your skin will be perfect as you get older. If you are worried about your appearance though, then there are a few other things that you can do to help rejuvenate your body. Just check out this article here about five cosmetic treatments that can be used to help.