Petechiae, if your doctor has not already informed you, are tiny capillaries that can pop at any time and leave reddish to purplish spots anywhere on the body. Usually they are not very bothersome, but some people can experience dozens of these little capillary explosions, and if they are close to the skin's surface, they can be varicose petechiae as well. This might cause a lot of bursting and bleeding through the skin at times when you least expect it. To treat this problem, here is what you will need to do.
Diagnosing the Severity of Your Petechiae Problem
If you have several of these varicose petechiae close to your skin's surface, your family doctor or general physician will want to narrow down the cause. Sometimes, varicose petechiae are the direct result of a medical condition and/or an inherited blood vessel and circulatory system condition. For instance, if you have hypertension, your smaller blood vessels will be greatly affected by the increased pressure and push their way up through the skin, rupturing with the slightest scrape or bump. Reducing your hypertension may eliminate these little varicose capillaries altogether.
When the Problem is Severe but Unrelated to a Health Issue
At this time, some people just develop petechiae unrelated to a health condition. It is more of a cosmetic nuisance than a medical one, in which case the only way to treat it is with cosmetic vein treatments. A cosmetic vein specialist will examine all the little trouble spots he or she sees and then use a fine needle filled with saline to collapse them. (Vein stripping for these little blood vessels is not an option because they are far too small to cut and remove.) Once the petechiae are collapsed, they do not return, and your body absorbs them as dead tissue.
Seeing a Vein Doctor and Paying for Treatments
Unless your general physician deems the treatments necessary to your overall health, vein treatments are cosmetic, and you will have to pay for them out of pocket. You can still get a referral from your doctor to see a cosmetic vein specialist in your area. If your petechiae problem is extensive, you might need more than one visit or treatment to eliminate it. Plan ahead by narrowing it down to which areas on your body, head and face you want most to treat. That way, the vein doctor can give you a better estimate of the total cost for your treatments.
Share20 October 2014
