Even with the most youthful of faces, our hands are typically a sure giveaway of our actual age. Thankfully, prominent hand veins are typically caused by soft-tissue volume loss. Unsightly hand veins are rarely related to health risks such as can be the case with varicose veins. Still, anything that makes you uncomfortable that can be alleviated is worth looking into further!
Causes of Prominent Hand Veins
Underlying medical causes are not typically the source of prominent veins in the hands. Oftentimes, the causes are simply the result of living life, growing older and losing elasticity in your skin. But they can be exacerbated by excessive sun exposure or heat as the heat causes your veins to have to work harder.
The appearance of prominent hand veins accelerates relatively with more intense workouts. When you exercise, your blood pressure rises and causes your veins to rise closer to the surface of your skin. Typically, after you finish your workout, your blood pressure will go down. Then your veins will become less prominent. However, for some, this doesn’t always happen. Also, if you have family members with more prominent veins in their hands, this may indicate an underlying genetic cause. Additionally, individuals with lower body fat tend to have more prominent veins. With less cushion, the veins in under their skin can be seen prominently.
More rarely, prominent hand veins are a symptom of a medical condition that would require treatment. Sometimes they are a symptom of infection, trauma or an autoimmune disease. Or you may experience superficial thrombophlebitis which is a blood clot condition. We often find this common vein injury after a patient has had a standard IV placed in their hand. Occasionally the presence of prominent hand veins may be a sign you are experiencing deep vein thrombosis because of a blood clot deeper in your arm. Thankfully, these causes are less common. However, if you have a concern, we encourage you to schedule a free consultation with Dr. Gardner.
Treatments for Hand Veins
There are a few treatment options for helping to relieve the appearance of prominent veins. Soft tissue volume loss treatments include the use of man-made fillers or by transferring fat to the tops of the hands. Treatment for thinning or discolored skin involve laser and light to stimulate collagen growth. Collagen helps thicken the skin and improve the appearance of skin pigment changes or sunspots.
At The Vein Institute, we treat bulging hand veins with a variety of methods including:
- sclerotherapy: a minimally invasive treatment where veins are injected so they collapse and are reabsorbed in due time by your body
- microphlebectomy: this treatment is also minimally invasive and removes the targeted veins through a series of 1-2 millimeter micro-incisions which typically do not require any stitches and are virtually invisible after healed
- endovenous laser ablation: another less-invasive treatment involving heating veins from within by a tiny needle stick so they collapse and are eventually reabsorbed by your body.
Free Consultation
We offer free consults and would love to help you journey towards the best version of you that you can be! Learn more about varicose veins and hand veins.