Facial veins and Broken capillaries

It is estimated that 30% men and 70% women will develop visible red facial veins or broken capillaries in their lifetime. These red blood vessels are called telangiectasias however, they often called broken veins or broken capillaries. Correction, they are NOT broken as they are not made from teracotta pipe! But, they do make you look old and tired.

Nobody knows why you have “broken” capillaries but you can think of them like having varicose veins or spider veins seen on your legs. They may be due to various underlying medical conditions e.g. lupus or rosacea. Other causes may be from trauma to the skin e.g sport injuries, radiation therapy, or poorly done skin cancer surgery.

Prevention of red facial veins.

There are no known proven or effective preventive measures for non medical causes of telangiectasias. The best thing you can do is not to thin your skin out with excessive sunlight or flush up your skin with anything that can make you flush e.g. excessive alcohol, eating Carolina Reapers, and certain medications,etc…

Treatment Options

If you have diffuse and puny red veins ( or general facial flushing ) you can try topical medicine e.g. Brimonidine. for temporary effect

In general, small red facial veins are best treated with laser and not by diathermy. This means that only the targeted red veins will be touched and the surrounding skin and tissue remain largely unaffected .
For larger facial veins we have sclerosant microsclerotherapy. Dr Tran is the king of perinasal vein injection and large facial injection. He will knock out your veins without leaving numerous moon craters on your skin.
Laser will often need a few treatments for complete removal of facial veins.

Cost of treatment.

Generally if your broken capillaries are visible at 3-4 meters away then it becomes a medical problem and medicare will be give you a rebate for treatment .