Spider veins are small blood vessels in which the vessels walls have thinned and become weak. They are essentially a type of varicose veins and most often appear on the legs but are not uncommon on the nose or face of both men and women.

There appear to be a number of factors involved in the formation of spider veins including sun exposure, excessive use of alcohol, smoking tobacco and genetics. Liver disease also contributes to the formation of these veins. The appearance of the veins is usually blue or red in color and with a star-burst or spider shape. There are a number of effective treatments for nose spider veins.

While nose spider veins can present a cosmetic problem for men and women, there is no evidence that the veins themselves present any health risk. There does appear to be a genetic component and there may be a relationship between spider veins and certain hormones, especially in women. Pregnant and menopausal women are highly subject to spider veins, especially on the legs but also on the face.

The two recognized medical treatments for nose spider veins are laser treatments and sclerotherapy. Surgery is not recommended for nose spider veins because it is likely to leave scars. Laser treatments penetrate the outer layers of skin and target the spider veins causing them to scar and to cease carrying blood. This causes the veins to disappear.

Sclerotherapy is another non surgical treatment which involves injecting the veins with a solution which causes them to collapse so they no longer carry blood. As with the laser therapy, this treatment causes the veins to disappear.

Horse chestnut seed extract has been widely used in Europe for treatment of varicose and spider veins. There is some clinical evidence to support this treatment, although more testing needs to be done. Both varicose veins and spider veins represent vein insufficiency and there is some support for this treatment. Horse chestnut seed extract is available in topical spider vein creams and in dietary supplements.

Rutin, which is a plant derived flavonoid is also showing promise in tests in Europe for the treatment of varicose veins.

It is believed that vitamin K2 will be an effective treatment for varicose veins and nose spider veins but more clinical study is required before conventional medicine will accept this as fact.

There are a number of spider vein creams available on the market today. Most contain vitamin K which can be absorbed through the skin. Some may contain horse chestnut seed extract although this is most common in European spider vein creams. If you are using a topical spider vein cream or a dietary supplement, you should advise your doctor as vitamin K and certain herbal ingredients can interfere with medications like wayfarin. Pregnant women should always consult their doctor before using any dietary supplement or spider vein cream treatment.

As with many remedies, consumers report varying degrees of success with all of the treatments offered for nose spider veins. Spider vein creams are usually less expensive than the alternative treatments and should probably be tried first, before resorting to more radical intervention.