People of all ages can get bulging veins on their hands. It’s rarely anything to worry about, but you might not like the way it looks. If you’re affected by prominent hand veins, board-certified vascular surgeon Michael Kassouf, MD, and his team at VeinMedic can help. At their convenient locations in Brooklyn’s Bay Ridge, Manhattan's Washington Heights, Elmhurst in Queens, and Mount Hope in the Bronx, VeinMedic uses state-of-the-art sclerotherapy and endovenous technology to give you back beautiful hands. Call your nearest New York City office today or book your appointment online.
In most cases, having prominent hand veins shouldn’t give you anything to worry about. Prominent hand veins are common, and more often than not, your veins are working perfectly normally.
However, there’s a chance that bulging hand veins could be a symptom of a health problem that does need investigating.
If there’s a problem with your blood flow because you have a vascular condition such as phlebitis or a deep vein thrombosis (DVT), it could cause your hand veins to bulge, so if this is a new symptom, it’s best to get yourself checked.
There are several reasons why you could have prominent hand veins. Common causes include:
If you don’t have a lot of body fat, your veins can look like they’re standing out.
As you exercise, your blood pressure goes up and your veins become more prominent. The effect wears off when you stop exercising and your blood pressure drops, but regular exercise can make some people’s veins bulge permanently.
Thinning skin and loss of elasticity make veins all over your body stand out more, and this is especially true of your hands. Weakening valves in the blood vessels don’t help because they allow blood to collect in the veins.
Having close family members with prominent hand veins increases the likelihood you’ll develop them, too.
Although varicose veins affect legs more often than arms, weakened valves in the blood vessels of your hand can lead to varicose veins. If you have varicose veins in your hands they could be twisted and possibly painful as well as prominent.
Being too hot also makes your veins work hard and puts pressure on the valves, which can make the veins start bulging.
Treatment for prominent hand veins depends on the cause. Once your doctor rules out any medical problem, there are several options to treat unsightly hand veins:
Your provider at VeinMedic injects a specially prepared chemical solution into the affected veins, closing them off. They can also use sclerotherapy with ultrasound to perform endovenous chemical ablation.
Involves the use of laser or radiofrequency energy to heat and destroy enlarged veins.
Involves removing the affected veins through small incisions.
After your treatment, the prominent veins can’t carry blood anymore, meaning your body has to reroute your blood supply through other, healthy veins. Over time the treated veins get reabsorbed by your body and disappear.
If you’re concerned about the way the veins on your hands look, call VeinMedic today or use the online booking form to make an appointment.