Varicose Veins vs. Spider Veins: What's the Difference?

Varicose vs. Spider Veins: What’s the Difference?

Varicose veins and spider veins have several factors in common, but they also have significant differences. Dr. Dohner will diagnose and treat your veins to provide aesthetic and/or health benefits. On your legs an ultrasound will tell us the difference between the two different diagnoses and also allow us to formulate a treatment plan. 

What They Look Like

Spider veins are small veins that look like webs or tree branches. They form in small veins close to the skin’s surface, making them visible. (Spider veins on the face, also called telangiectasias, can affect your appearance.) 

Varicose veins often look like thick, twisted, or bulging veins. They are much larger than spider veins and usually appear on the legs. Varicose veins are a response to problems with circulation, causing blood to pool and stretch the vein walls. 

How They Form

Genetics plays a very strong role in varicose and spider veins. Other important factors in both include having babies, hormones, aging, and standing or sitting position at work.

Varicose veins form when blood flow from the legs back to the heart begins to pool in your leg veins. This pooling results from damage to the one-way valves of these veins. This venous insufficiency stretches the vein walls, giving them their bulging, rope-like appearance.