Thread Veins on Feet

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Your feet suffer a lot of abuse, bearing your weight as you walk and run about day after day for the entirety of your life.  It’s no wonder then that they might be susceptible to cosmetic conditions like spider veins!

Why are there thread veins on my feet?

Thread or spider veins form as a result of a number of different factors contributing to the expansion and damage to your blood vessels, and consequentially forming a network of web like vessels visible on your skin.

Thread veins are generally a cosmetic concern more than anything else, and can be lumped alongside corns, blisters, and other irksome and yet ultimately harmless bits and pieces that plague your feet in a lifetime of use. Thread veins occur as a consequence of aging, veins and capillaries lose their elasticity and expand just as collagen content drops in your skin, the two factors working together resulting in the condition.

Some conditions which tax the vasculature of your lower limbs can result in the formation of thread veins, these include diabetes and varicose veins. In both these instances medical advice is needed, and upon dealing with or managing them you might find your thread veins sorted!

Other elements of your lifestyle like alcohol consumption and occupation (jobs that involve lots of standing up and walking around) are also contributory factors, but so are genetic factors which are out of your control. While the latter can’t be helped, read on for some advice for keeping your feet vein free.

How can I prevent thread veins from appearing on my feet?

There are a number of quick and easy adjustments to daily behaviours that can reduce the risk of developing thread veins on your feet, these largely revolve around stopping blood from pooling or collecting in your feet by removing the constant pressure of having your body weight upon them. Elevate your feet when you can, raise them above the level of your heart and allow gravity to lend a helping hand.  Similarly try not to cross your legs when sitting down as this cuts off blood flow to your feet.

Can you get rid of thread veins?

Fortunately the business of clearing up thread veins is made easy, effective, and convenient by technologies that all for treatment within a few sessions placed a few weeks apart:

• Veinwave:  This relatively new option uses a fine needle to deliver microwaves into thread veins, damaging the vessel to allow for its absorption by the body, and hence healthy clean skin. This is safe option that can achieve almost instantaneous results, and you can have your skin clear with as little as two sessions at 6-8 week intervals.
• Intense Pulsed Light (IPL): Uses rapid pulses of light to heat up and hence damage offending vessels to clear up thread veins. Applying light energy in rapid bursts of varying wavelengths reduces the risk of scarring inherent in traditional laser therapies.
• Laser: Laser treatment isn’t anywhere near as scary as it sounds. A laser is simply a focussed beam of light energy applied to a target, not unlike IPL, with the one significant difference being that this option doesn’t apply the treatment in pulsed waves, but rather as a single burst of energy. There are often reports of skin reddening associated with laser treatment, but these tend to clear up within days of treatment.
• Sclerotherapy: Involves the injection of a drug called a sclerosant into your veins, this drug has an irritant effect, damaging the lining of veins and capillaries causing the condition and again stimulating absorption of the newly damaged vessels.
• Electrolysis: A very fine needle is used to apply an electric current which cauterises thread veins. Cauterisation may conjure some unpleasant images of burning, but the truth is far removed as the scale of the procedure is so small that only very fine vessels are affected. The only visible effect can be small crusts or flakes that quickly fall from the skin.

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