What are Thread Veins?

Thread veins (also known as spider veins) are very small veins under the skin which appear like thin bluish red lines and can sometimes appear bumpy. As we age, our skin becomes thinner and the blood vessels under the skin become more noticeable. Thread veins usually appear on the legs, although they can also appear on other parts of the body.

Thread veins are extremely common and although they do not cause any health problems, they can appear unsightly and people can be very conscious of them.

So what causes Thread Veins?

They can be inherited, so if your parents have thread veins you can blame them!  Hormonal changes may contribute. Thread veins often appear during pregnancy and women who have given birth several times are more likely to present thread veins that those who have never been pregnant.   They can also be associated with varicose veins although do not always go hand in hand.  Lots of other factors can contribute such as exposure to sunlight (usually on the face), injuries and cuts, exposure to radiation (such as radiotherapy treatment for cancer), being overweight and smoking also seem to increase the likelihood of developing thread veins.

What can be done about them?

As they are not dangerous you need to consider how they are affecting you. If they appear only in a small area, a camoflauge cream such as Lycogel Breathable Camouflage Foundation or Lycogel Concealer can work wonders to cover them. Lycogel is suitable for even the most sensitive skin types and promotes healing as it covers so is ideal for covering thread veins.

Here are The Cosmetic Practice we also have a range of products to help reduce redness and improve the skin thickness, therefore diminishing the appearance of blood vessels below the skin.  Medik8 Red Alert Calming Serum and Red Alert Body Lotion are extremely popular.  Red Alert Body helps to fade and clear thread veins, skin redness and bruises, by  promoting anti-oxidation, vein-wall strengthening and enhanced  coagulation (blood clotting at site of capillary damage).

Medik8 Red Alert visibly reduces the appearance of thread veins and  has a brightening effect on the skin. It also slows down the process of  skin ageing, by protecting the skin from free-radical damage and  effectively alleviates the negative environmental impact on the skin.  This strong anti-thread vein product contains specially selected  pharmaceutically graded ingredients, such as vitamin K, Liquorice and  Bearberry, which have a strengthening and sealing effect on open vessels  and thread veins. It enhances the blood circulation, reduces swelling  and redness, reduces fragility of blood vessels and dramatically limits the creation of further damages.

If you are really unhappy with their appearance and want treatment the first step is to ascertain if there are any varicose veins present then it may help to treat these first. Once these have been treated then the thread veins can be treated with microscleratherapy or lasers.

Microsclerotherapy requires injections using a very fine needle into the thread veins themselves. This causes the lining of the veins to swell so that no blood can flow through them. It is actually the blood in the veins that is visible in the skin rather than the veins themselves so that if blood is prevented from flowing through the veins they disappear.

Laser therapy is not thought to be as effectice as microscleratherapy and has the disadvantage that you must avoid sun exposure before and after treatment and it occasionally produces permanent areas of          whiteness in the skin.

Whatever method is used, treatment takes some time to achieve the maximum effect and for everything to settle down. It is not realistic to decide to get your thread veins treated a week before your summer holiday.  It takes time for the treatment to build up and will not get rid of ecevry single thread vein or cure you.

My advice would be to try the creams first before treatment. If you would like any further advice or information on thread veins or any other skin condition, contact us here at The Cosmetic Practice.