Exposure to UV Rays
Exposure to sunlight, especially when the skin is not protected with an SPF, can cause various long-term effects that contribute to the development of spider veins. The main cause is ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure, which damages the elastic fibers that support your blood vessels. This damage causes them to weaken and become more fragile as they try to accommodate the increased blood flow in response to the body’s natural inflammatory response to UVR. Your body tries to repair this damage by growing new elastic fibers, but it does not do so perfectly. Sometimes these new fibers are too short or misshapen, leading to an irregular pattern of blood vessel branching.
Over time, receiving this kind of damage increases your chances of developing other vascular problems, such as varicose veins, chronic venous insufficiency (CVI), and phlebitis. While spider veins do not cause these conditions, they are linked and can be made worse by visible spider veins.
