Facial spider veins are when veins become broken and visible under the skin of the face. If you want to avoid the self-consciousness of facial spider veins, here are the risk factors and the steps you can take to protect yourself from them.
Sun Exposure
Excessive sun exposure causes spider veins by enlarging the blood vessels and bringing them closer to the surface of the skin, eventually becoming visible as spider veins. This is easily prevented by consistently taking a few simple steps:
- Always cover up with a hat and long-sleeved clothes.
- Use a broad-spectrum sunscreen of SPF 30 or more, applied at least twenty minutes before sun exposure.
- Make sure to put sunscreen on whether you will be outdoors or indoors, as UVA light can still enter through window glass.
Your Lifestyle
As with so many other aspects of health, over-indulging can lead to spider veins. Avoid the overuse of strong spices and stimulants such as chilli, caffeine and alcohol. Regular overstimulation will cause high blood pressure, and the internal pressure from the blood will dilate the veins. Over time, the veins weaken in this position and the dilation becomes permanent. Dilated veins are more visible through the skin, and though this occurs throughout the body, it’s most visible in the face.
Chronic use of oral or topical corticosteroids can also lead to the formation of spider veins. Some illegal drugs, such as cocaine, can cause specific patterns of facial spider veins, such as broken veins on the nose.
Temperature Extremes
Another known risk is climate, that is, outdoor work or hobbies that expose your skin to temperature extremes. Protect your face from the worst of the exposure. Both being too hot and too cold will flush the skin and damage the fragile capillaries in the face, causing facial spider veins.
Pressure Changes
Do you frequently travel by air? Keep your skin well-hydrated and avoid flying too frequently, where possible. Though the cabin is pressurised, your skin still experiences a pressure change during the flight, which can cause capillaries to dilate rapidly, become vulnerable and break.
Pregnancy
Pregnancy is a risk factor for developing spider veins, for the simple reason that being pregnant means holding much more blood volume in your body. This increases the chances of breaking capillaries and developing facial spider veins. Consult your doctor if you notice spider veins forming during pregnancy, as they can lead to blood clots and further complications.
Symptoms of Disease
Though relatively uncommon, spider veins are sometimes symptoms of diseases of the liver or connective tissues, such as scleroderma or systemic lupus erythematosus. Consult with your doctor if you are experiencing other symptoms or are prone to risk factors of these diseases.
Genetic Predisposition
It is possible to be genetically predisposed to developing spider veins. If you have family members with spider veins, you may be more at risk yourself. Caucasians are more likely to have facial spider veins than other ethnic groupings. One type of spider veins, rosacea, is entirely hereditary and caused by your genetic inheritance.
Spider Vein Treatments
If you’re worried about your facial spider veins, book a visit with Vein Care for your spider vein treatments in Melbourne.
