Telangiectasia or red veins on eyelids are a condition of dilated or broken blood vessels visible prominently under the skin surface. The eyelids are regarded as the window of the eye. Along with containing the lashes, they house the blood, vessels, blood and capillaries responsible for blood circulation and tear film lubrication in the eye. External or internal stimulation at times leads to breaking or dilatation of these blood vessels. This forms the impression of reddish spidery veins. Though harmless in themselves, chemical and environment triggers lead to further aggravate them and pose a scary appearance to the onlookers.
What are red veins on eyelids?
The pathophysiology of red veins is still under research. But it is supposed that there are more than one factors leading to the formation of red veins on the eyelids. Venous insufficiency of the main factors behind red veins on the lids. The skin of the eyelids contains both arteries and veins supplying lids and other ocular regions. Venous insufficiency occurs when these veins are stretched and damaged because of blood flowing backwards resulting in an enlarged bulged out effect. Other than this, thinning of the eyelids due to allergic or age related conditions creates a condition of semi-transparent lid membrane from under which the veins stand out prominently.
Are red veins harmful?
Discussing whether or not a telangiectasia of lid is harmful is comparing one of the moles on the back to that a cancerous origin. Highly unlikely but not completely out of question. Red veins on lids are a result of passed on genetic traits, allergic changes, age, overexposure to the sun or prolonged poor sleeping patterns. Rarely when accompanied with pearly white lesions on the lower lid, they are diagnostic of basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas. But it’s only the lower lid that is involved. The survival rate in these cases is 100% with early detection and treatment.
You may also like to read: Why does Your Eyes Hurt When You Blink? How Bad is it?
Quick and Effective Remedies for Red Veins on Eyelids
Concealers
Concealers may not treat telangiectasias. But they provide an effective solution of hiding them if they make you feel conscious and affect your self esteem. Concealing them through makeup especially when you are attending public events or in a social gathering can take the attention off them temporarily. But you need to ensure that the ingredients of the concealer are skin friendly and gentle so you don’t end up further aggravating the thing.
Home remedies
Inflammation is the base of spider veins formation. And the best cure for inflammation is normalising the localized body temperature of that region to enable the heat to dissipate. Ice packs and cold compresses are some of the best ways of reducing the inflammation and to some extent the bulging of the veins. Apart from icepacks, cucumber and aloevera packs are some other effective home remedies for dealing with spider veins. It is said that the hydrating effect of cucumbers can also help in reducing dark circles and puffiness of lids.
Wearing sunglasses
Wearing sunglasses can help in more than one ways in dealing with spider veins of the lid. It can hide the eyes and the lids and take away the attention from them in the first place. In the second place it can protect the eyes from external allergens that are a major reason for lid thinning. Research has proved that allergic reasons are one of the major reasons for lid thinning through continuous itching. Covering the eyes with large sized sunglasses can act as a treatment and prevention option at the same time.
Getting adequate sleep
Lack of sleep affects a number of mechanisms of functioning and development of the human body. Prolonged awakening results in dryness of eyes and puffy lids, a major reason for spider veins. Additionally sleep deprivation can increase the blood pressure in turn affecting the veins of the lid. Adequate sleep can enable you get rid of the dryness and itching in an effective in manner . It can also enable a healthy blood circulation with controlling other parameters for a healthy brain and heart.
Retinoids
Retinoids or Vitamin A derivatives help in regulating cell apoptosis and also help in cell regulation and proliferation. They encourage cells to divide rapidly and through that help building up the epidermis of the skin. Using retinoids on the upper lid can effectively solve the problem of thin lids. This in turn can enable better camouflaging of the broken vessels. They help in restoring sun-damaged skin,
The above mentioned methods are quick and effective methods. But the need for a permanent solution makes people resort to more potent medications and surgical interventions for dealing with the problem. Some of the mildly invasive methods of coping with red veins on lids are
Sclerotherapy
Sclerotherapy involves the injection of a solution ( usually salt solution) directly into the vein. Post injection, the solution reacts with the lining of the blood vessel and causes it to collapse and stick together resulting in a clot. Over time the blood clot is absorbed and the vessel is turned into scar tissue that is too light to be noticeable. Depending on the severity of your red veins, the number of required sclerotherapy sessions required are decided by your surgeon.
Endovenous Laser Ablation
Endovenous Laser Ablation was originally developed for treatment of varicose veins after which it’s use extended to red veins on the lid. In this method, the broken or prominent veins are ablated using laser technology. The ablation results in rerouting of the blood through other healthier veins and eventual fading of lasered veins. Apart from endovenous Laser, Yag laser is also used for obtaining satisfactory results.
Intense Pulse light Therapy
Intense Pulse light Therapy ( IPL) involves the use of laser light that is absorbed into the pigmented or colored targeted cells in the skin. This light energy is converted into heat energy destroying the targeted capillaries and blood vessels. Because of the selective laser pulse application, no damage is caused to the surrounding areas.
That said about the surgical intervention, the saying ‘Prevention is better than cure’ appears to red veins as well. Here are a few ways on how to prevent telangiectasias from occurring
Lifestyle
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle reduces the risk of hypertension and in turn blood vessels induced disorder. Less intake of salt and avoiding alcohol are some of the ways in which you can control or prevent red veins from occurring through your lifestyle.
Sun exposure
Overexposure to sun breaks down the collagen and weakens the blood vessels. This makes the skin tissues weaker making the veins more prominent. Avoid the mid day sun or wear protective head gear or eyewear when outside during that time period as a preventive measure.
Stress reduction
Stress results in blood pressure remaining permanently elevated. This weakens the blood vessels and inhibits blood circulation resulting in blood pooling in veins and protruding spider veins. Avoid stress as much as possible and try stress reduction therapies to stay healthy and prevent red veins.
