The lowdown on facial veins

Few of us appreciate just how nice our skin is when we are young, and it is only when facial blemishes start to pop up that we regret our earlier casual acceptance of the baby fine, pore-free skin of our early teens! Of course, acne can be a plague to the older teen and young adult, but skin issues do not end with adulthood, sadly! Instead, ageing creeps in, and along with it can come fine red veins on the skin: spider veins – and they usually appear in visible places such as the face.

What causes them?

There is a good reason that spider veins often manifest on the face: it is because it is exposed, over our lifetimes, to an awful lot of weather. Sunshine, wind, rain, air conditioning and central heating all take their toll on our facial skin, causing the fine capillaries just under the skin to break, showing through as unsightly patches of red.

When do they need medical intervention?

The good news about visible facial veins is that they are usually quite harmless, unlike, for example, varicose veins, which can cause serious medical issues. If your spider veins are very noticeable, covering large areas of your face (they tend to cluster on the cheekbones, looking rather like somewhat overdone rouge), your doctor may recommend a course of treatment to reduce the appearance of the veins, but in general they do no harm.

They are unsightly – can I have them removed?

There are a number of treatments for spider veins, including some home treatments, the efficacy of which is unknown. If your veins are badly affecting your self-esteem, leaving you withdrawn and depressed, your doctor may well offer you treatment to reduce the appearance of the veins.

The treatments include using lasers to destroy the small veins, eradicating them and their redness permanently. Your body will simply re-route the blood supply to another nearby, less noticeable vein instead. The same thing occurs when sclerotherapy is used: a solution is injected into the broken veins that causes them to close up completely. Once the blood supply is re-routed, the redness fades away from the skin.

If your spider veins are impacting on your quality of life, call MedSkin Clinic today to discuss the options and treatments available to you. It will not be long before your confidence and joie de vivre is returned.