Also referred to as telangiectasia, spider veins appear as web-shaped damaged veins that appear just beneath the skin. These are a result from the dilation of blood vessels for several reasons but no singular specific cause for their occurrence.
The skin beneath your eyes is more translucent and thinner than the skin on other parts of the body, mild pressure around your eyes increases the visibility of blood vessels beneath the skin. Telangiectasia is prevalent in the senior population because the skin becomes thinner as people age.
Causes of Spider Veins
Genetics
Despite scientists still investigating the precise link between spider veins and genetics, statistics reveal a close relation between telangiectasia and family trees. Following reliable research, more than 80% of people who get spider veins have a family history of the condition. One of the potential causes is the mutation of the FOX C2 gene, which causes weak veins. Accumulated evidence reveals that spider veins closely related to varicose veins because their occurrence results from the same class’s mutation.
Aging
Skin changes are common conditions that occur as we age. Some factors such as environmental elements may determine how our skin changes but some alterations naturally occur. Our skin becomes thinner when we age due to loss of fat below the epidermis layer. The metabolic rate decreases with age; therefore, our bodies produce less collagen, the less collagen we produce, the weaker our skin becomes. Aging comes with weaker blood vessels and a more translucent outer skin. A translucent skin coupled with easily damaged blood vessels most certainly contribute to spider veins around the eyes.
Hormonal Changes
Hormonal fluctuations are common phenomena in the human body. Multiple factors such as depression, stress, anxiety and medical conditions can affect our hormonal levels. Women are more likely to get spider veins due to changes in their bodies during puberty, pregnancy and menopause. During these stages, the level of progesterone keeps fluctuating, thereby leading to hormonal imbalance. What happens is while the progesterone level rises and drops, blood vessels easily weaken due to constant relaxation and expansion. Weakened blood vessels cannot handle the increase in blood pressure as required, thus leading to the development of spider veins.
Excessive Alcohol consumption
Alcohol contains chemicals that increase the production of adrenaline. As you consume, the level of adrenaline constantly rises and drops. The fluctuation of the adrenaline hormone is a potential cause of blood vessel damage due to the increase and decrease of blood pressure. Heavy drinking then causes vasoconstriction of blood vessels while elevating blood pressure, making the small blood vessels around your eyes become dilated and inflamed.
Sun Exposure
Spending too much time in the sun causes your blood vessels to dilate. This makes the small blood vessels around your eyes more visible, especially for people with fair skin complexion.
Drastic Weather Changes
Hot weather causes dilation of blood vessels and decline in blood pressure. During cold weather, the blood vessels constrict and blood pressure increases.
Eye Rubbing
Excessive eye rubbing impacts a lot of pressure on the blood vessels around the eyes, which leads to inflammation.
Treatment of Spider Veins
Usually, spider veins are benign medical conditions and are not harmful but can be unsightly. Holistic management of spider veins include:
Vitamin C
Vitamin C contains antioxidant properties that keep the skin healthy by eliminating toxic substances. It also plays a significant role in the formation of collagen. Research shows that vitamin C lowers blood pressure, thereby preventing damage to blood vessels.
Herbal Teas
Most herbal teas such as green tea and ginger tea have ingredients with anti-inflammatory properties.
Cold Compress
Cold compress constricts blood vessels and minimises blood flow to the affected area.
You can positively change your diet by increasing the amount of fruit, dark leafy vegetables, herbs, whole grains, nuts, and seeds in your diet. Not only that, but you may also be benefited by increasing the amount of water that you drink.
Facial Spider Vein Medical Treatment
Facial veins (spider veins) be treated with the use of different modalities including laser but one of the most effective treatments is Veinwave.
Veinwave Treatment
Veinwave is an advanced, revolutionary procedure that we recommend for the treatment of thread or spider veins anywhere on the body. Veinwave is beneficial in the treatment of facial thread veins and for redness, such as rosacea, on the face and chest. Veinwave quickly treats the tiniest veins that cannot otherwise be treated using laser treatments or other techniques. The Veinwave procedure is quick, and it provides immediate results with relatively little discomfort.
Veinwave is a minimally invasive technique that produces thermocoagulation, which heats and closes the vessels immediately using an electrical device. The procedure includes the use of an ultra-fine insulated needle that is inserted into the top layer of the skin without piercing the blood vessel itself. The thread or spider vein is destroyed and immediately disappears. The needle is very fine, and the process is speedy. Patients tend to describe the procedure as pain-free.
Facial Petechiae
Similar to spider veins, petechiae also result from damaged blood vessels beneath the skin. They are painless, red or purple spots on the face. The condition commonly results from prolonged vomiting, sneezing, and aggressive coughing. Unlike spider veins, petechiae may indicate the presence of other medical conditions.
Other Causes of Petechiae:
Leukaemia
People with leukaemia lack enough platelets, which means there is interference with the process of sealing broken blood vessels. This causes blood to collect beneath the skin in the tiny blood vessels known as capillaries, leading to flat purple or red spots.
Bacterial, Fungal and Viral Infections
Multiple bacterial, fungal, and viral infections cause inflammation in blood vessels. The braking of blood vessels which leads to blood leakage into the skin. The common infections associated with petechiae include meningococcemia, mononucleosis, scarlet fever, sepsis, and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome.
Facial Injuries
Damaged skin predisposes your blood vessels to harmful elements such as ultraviolet radiation and other environmental toxins. The more your blood capillaries are exposed to the environment, the higher the chances of blood vessel breakage.
Symptoms of Petechiae
The common symptoms of petechiae are random nosebleeds, blood clot beneath the skin, and easy bruising.
An underlying medical condition causes symptoms that require medical assistance.
Severe Symptoms of Petechiae
- Shortness of breath
- Difficulty breathing
- Confusion
- Heavy prolonged bleeding during menstruation
- High fever
- Rapid heart rate
Treatment
Treatment for severe cases of petechiae depends on the existing medical condition. A physician carries out a diagnosis to eliminate the possibilities of infections and treatment will be based on medical examination and diagnosis.
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