
Thread Veins

Thread Veins or Telangiectasia is a condition of dilated or broken capillaries that causes threadlike lines or patterns on the skin. Also known as 'spider veins' because of their weblike appearance, they form gradually and often in clusters. Normally positioned in the deeper, dermal areas of the skin, small blood vessels expand, becoming visible. Exposure to harsh elements, and other contributing factors, can lead them to dilate and rupture into the surface skin layers. The blood cannot flow away from these ruptured capillaries but becomes trapped and stagnant giving the appearance of a network of tiny red threads. They appear as wavy red lines (thread veins), red spots, or as red spots with thin red lines radiating from them (spider naevi).
Only seen on fair, sensitive skin, they start to develop on men and women in their late 20s or early 30s, growing progressively larger and more obvious with age. Red veins are very common around corners of the nose, base of the nostrils and extending across the cheeks to the edge of the face. They can occur on the chin and outer eye area and can also be found on neck, chest and legs.
What Causes Red Veins?
Heredity, pregnancy, smoking, alcohol, sun damage, allergies, hay fever, poor health, diet (hot spicy foods,
tea and coffee), climate (extremes of hot and cold), high blood pressure, physical trauma, prescribed drugs
(steroids).
How can they be treated?
Thread veins can be removed from the face and body by cauterisation, using Diathermy Electrolysis. It is a minor cosmetic surgical procedure which can be performed by an electrologist specialising in removal of skin blemishes. A fine, sterile needle, placed just along the red vein, delivers a small electrical current which cauterises the vein. The skin is blanched and the red colour disappears, the blood being reabsorbed by the body. The area may feel a little hot a few minutes later.
Post Treatment
The treatment area will be red and possibly a little raised. This is due to tissue fluid collecting in the area. It will subside within 24 hours. For the next few days, depending on how well your skin heals, there may be some tiny scabbing like little red dots, but this is only temporary. Soon redness will subside as the skin responds to treatment. Minute, honey-coloured crusts may form on the skin surface. These are often invisible, except on very close inspection. They fall off between day 4 and 14 (face) and sometimes leave a pink patch of skin which fades.
