Facial Thread Veins

Many people suffer from red or purple blood vessels on the nose or cheeks. These are usually called "thread veins" although in reality, the ones on the face are not usually veins. They are usually dilated capillaries.

Although this may not seem important to the person suffering from them, it is very important when considering how to treat them.

Thread veins on the legs can be treated by injections (sclerotherapy) by suitably trained people, because they are veins. However these blood vessels on the face should not be treated by injections. There are a couple of reasons for this

- firstly the veins in the cheek area drain via a vein through the eye socket and then into a large vein in the brain called the cavernous sinus. If an injection to destroy veins is put into a vein in the face, it can destroy the cavernous sinus leading to have a dangerous condition called cavernous sinus thrombosis.

- secondly there are other more effective ways of treating facial thread veins including electrolysis, IPL (intense pulsed light) and laser.

For more information on Facial Thread Veins please see the Facial Thread Veins information site

Vist the Facial Thread Veins website for more information on what Facial Thread Veins are and how Facial Thread Veins are treated

Further Reading on Facial Thread Veins - Medical Pages Information Sites