What Are Telangiectasias And How Are They Treated?
Telangiectasias occur when tiny blood vessels throughout the body expand and cause red dots, lines, and patterns to appear on the skin. They are sometimes referred to as spider veins. They can occasionally be painful, but most often, they make the person with them uncomfortable because of their visibility.
Where Do Telangiectasias Form?
Most commonly, you will find telangiectasias forming on areas like the cheeks, lips, and nose, but they can also appear on the fingers and hands. They develop slowly and may continue to get worse over time. They can be irritated through the use of abrasive soaps.
Signs Of Disease
For most people, telangiectasias are benign and cause nothing more than a cosmetic irritation. For a rare group, however, they can be life threatening. In people who have HHT (hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia), the telangiectasias appear on vital organs like the liver. They can burst and cause massive hemorrhaging.
Signs And Causes Of Telangiectasia
Signs of telangiectasia include a pattern of red marks on the skin – often appearing like a spider web, itching, and pain. There is no known explanation for why people develop telangiectasias, but it may be related to exposure to sun. Other exacerbating factors may include alcohol consumption, aging, pregnancy, scleroderma, and lupus. For people with HHT, however, it is a genetic condition.
Treating Telangiectasia On The Face
Because sclerotherapy is not appropriate for treating small telangiectasias on the face and lips, our preferred treatment for this area is VeinGogh. VeinGogh works on tiny spider veins up to 0.3mm using a small stylus that resembles a pen. The stylus delivers a microburst of controlled heat energy that damages the vein walls and the vein seals shut. Results are immediately visible and permanent, and this non-invasive procedure is painless – you don’t even need an anesthetic. There is no downtime.
If you have telangiectasias that require treatment, get in touch. Northern Michigan Vein Specialists proudly provides patients with hand and face vein treatments in Traverse City, Cadillac, Manistee, Big Rapids, Houghton Lake, Salut Ste. Marie and Grayling, MI. Contact us at (231) 936-2068 or fill out a Contact Form here.
