Unwanted blood vessels - smaller ones are called spider veins - have a red or bluish colour and appear on the surface of the body, particularly the legs and occasionally the face or elsewhere.
They may be visible as short, unconnected lines each about the size of a large hair, they may be connected in a scraggly, “sunburst” pattern, or they may resemble a spider web or tree with branches. In some people, they occur in a small area and are not particularly noticeable. In others, they may cover a large area of skin and be quite unsightly.

Larger unwanted blood vessels may be raised above the skin surface and serpentine; they may occur in association with spider veins. These large veins are also called varicose veins, but differ from the more commonly known varicose veins which frequently occur in association with a poorly working valve in a large vein.

A characteristic of unwanted blood vessels in some sufferers is occasional pain, ranging from a dull throbbing pain to a burning sensation.

Though unwanted blood vessels do carry blood, the great majority, especially spider veins, are not necessary to the circulatory system. Thus, if their presence is distressing, they can be treated by injection of a solution that will cause them to disappear or at least become much smaller.

What causes these blood vessels to become visible?
The cause is not known, except that in many cases they seem to run in families. Identical twins may be affected in the same area of the body and to the same extent. The condition can also occur as part of a large number of different diseases, both genetic and non-genetic.

Spider veins occur in both men and women, but more frequently in women. The hormone oestrogen may play a role in their development, because puberty, birth control pills or pregnancy often seem to bring them on. During pregnancy the enlarged uterus may restrict blood flow, contributing to their development. They may also occur after a blow to a certain area of the body or as a result of wearing tight girdles or hosiery held up with tight rubber bands. In addition, spider veins may occur in association with underlying large varicose veins.

When they occur on the face, spider veins may be related to chronic sun exposure or a condition known as rosacea. They tend to occur on either the nose or the cheeks of fair skinned persons.

Treatment

Troublesome dilated facial veins can be very effectively treated and removed in several ways and the dilated leg veins can also, in many instances, be sealed by our expert clinical staff.

Where there are larger dilated broken facial veins which give the face its ‘ruddy’ complexion, these can be carefully and precisely sealed up by means of copper bromide laser treatment.

Widespread and persistent facial flushing associated with tiny dilated facial veins often requires treatment with the pulsed dye laser to seal up the many dilated blood vessels in the skin. Broadband light can also play a useful role in treating this condition.

Larger dilated spider veins or the even larger varicose veins on legs are usually best treated and removed by using a technique known as sclerotherapy, which allows the body to gradually seal up these unwanted veins.