Spider veins differ from varicose veins and appear as weblike networks of smaller blood vessels on the skin's surface. Research shows that spider veins rarely cause any health complications but can result from hormonal changes, injury, and long periods of standing. Following are some risk factors for spider veins.
Age
With age, the valves in your blood vessels start to weaken, causing the blood to leak and accumulate. As a result, your blood vessels become visible with blue or purple discoloration. In addition, your calf muscles may also weaken, which are said to play an important role in bringing back blood from your leg to your heart.
Genetics
if your family has a history of spider veins, you are at a higher risk of developing spider veins. Research shows that children whose parents suffer from the disease are at a 90% risk of developing it themselves.
Exposure to sunlight
Long periods of sunlight exposure can result in spider veins as the sunlight breaks down the collagen and your blood vessels.
Hormonal changes
Hormones help in the chemical coordination in your body. But a surplus of hormones in your body may lead to complications like spider veins. For example, estrogen is a hormone secreted in the female body. An excessive amount of estrogen can weaken your valves, hence causing spider veins. Because of this, women are more prone to spider veins than men.
Obesity
Obesity leads to many complications, one of which is spider veins. People who are obese have a greater risk of their veins being under higher pressure. This pressure may lead to varicose or spider veins. To avoid this, you should try to maintain a healthy weight.
Blood clots
People having a history of blood clots and other coagulation disorders have a higher risk of developing spider veins.
A sedentary lifestyle
If you have a job requiring long standing or sitting periods, you are more likely to develop spider veins. This is because when you sit or stand for an extended period, your veins have to work harder to bring back blood from your legs to your heart, increasing the chances of vein damage.
Pregnancy
Pregnant women have a much higher risk of developing spider veins. These spider veins happen for three reasons: first, during pregnancy, a woman experiences hormonal changes; these changes dilate her veins and weaken them. Second, the pressure on the legs increases due to the increase in weight. And lastly, during pregnancy, the blood volume also increases, which in turn applies more pressure against the valves and walls of veins.
Medications
Using medications that may cause hormonal imbalance can lead to spider veins. For example, women using birth control are at a higher risk of developing spider veins. Keep in mind that using birth control will not make spider veins go away once your vein is damaged.
There are ways to reduce the appearance of spider veins after a diagnosis from your doctor.
