What Are Broken Capillaries?

Often appearing as a cluster of tiny, spidery red lines, broken capillaries are dilated or broken red blood vessels that are no longer functional, and have risen closer to the surface of the skin to the point of being visible.

The medical term for broken capillaries is telangiectasia. They are also known as spider veins, prominent veins, or broken blood vessels.

People with fair skin are more prone to the condition, and it tends to appear most commonly on the nose, around the nostrils, and across the cheeks.

Broken capillaries can also often appear through the fine skin around the mouth and chin, and elsewhere on the body such as the legs.

The emergence of these veins is the result of the capillary walls dilating and the capillary then breaking, causing a cluster of tiny, thin, thread-like veins to rise to the skin’s surface where they can be seen.

What Causes Broken Capillaries on Nose?

The development of broken capillaries is usually a result of sun damage; however, they can also be down to genetics and family history, or trauma caused to the skin.

While sun exposure is certainly the main culprit of broken capillaries, other types of traumas can cause these tiny, sprawling veins to erupt on and around the nose.

Frequent and harsh nose-blowing, strenuous vomiting, heat exposure, fluctuation in hormones, and excessive alcohol intake can all trigger the condition or cause it to worsen.

Think of these things as environmental stressors – you don’t want to upset your delicate capillaries with harsh conditions such as UV rays, extreme heat, or sudden rushing of blood causing the vessels to enlarge.

This is especially crucial in those prone to broken blood vessels, spider veins, redness or rosacea.

Can You Get Rid of Broken Capillaries on Nose?

There is no reason you should have to live with broken capillaries on your nose or any other facial area, when there are highly effective dermal laser treatments available.

With a series of vascular laser sessions, as advised by your treating dermal therapist, broken capillaries can be faded into invisibility or even eradicated, leaving behind clearer, healthier-looking skin.

Unfortunately, there is no use in waiting for these veins to go away – once visible, they are there for good. The only way to treat and remove existing broken capillaries is with vascular laser therapy.

How to Fix Broken Capillaries on Nose

Research has shown that capillary walls can weaken with UV exposure, causing the capillaries to dilate or break, especially on the nose and cheeks.

Being diligent with wearing a decent, broad-spectrum sunscreen on the face every day can potentially prevent the development of new broken capillaries.

1. Use Anti-Inflammatory Skincare Products

Redness and inflammation can be soothed by skincare that’s been formulated to calm redness and aggravation in the skin.

While it does not treat the broken capillaries themselves, it can help to fade and reduce the appearance of its surrounding redness and make the afflicted are look altogether less pronounced.

Topical treatments may help, such as oxymetolazine (Rhofade), which acts as a vasoconstrictor to temporarily reduce the general redness that’s caused by clusters of broken capillaries on the nose and face.

2. Avoid Alcohol

Indulging in booze when you have broken capillaries is like lighting a fire and pouring petrol on it – it’ll make it far worse, and way more enflamed!

Alcohol has the ability to dilate blood vessels, which is bad news for weak capillary walls. It leads to the eruption of the capillary and the inevitable appearance of broken capillaries or spider veins.

Basically, anything that causes hot flushing in the skin, such as alcoholic drinks or even hot and spicy foods, can encourage further outbreaks of broken capillaries.

3. Get Laser Treatment for Broken Capillaries on Nose

How does laser treatment actually work to get rid of broken capillaries and spider veins?

The lasers used for vascular treatments pass energy down through the skin, where it targets and destroys the visible capillaries.

Your body will then naturally break down the treated capillaries and disperse them without affecting the surrounding tissues.

Those treated and broken-down vessels are then eliminated by your body’s lymphatic system, in a natural process that generally takes a couple of weeks.

Is Laser for Broken Capillaries Safe?

Vascular laser for broken capillaries is an entirely safe and very commonly performed treatment, and is approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) for use in Australia.

As long as you have no contraindications noted by your Skin & Laser Therapist, the treatment is completely safe and effective for the removal of broken capillaries and prominent veins.

Do Broken Capillaries Come Back After Laser Treatment?

Once a broken capillary is treated by vascular laser, that vein is broken down and does not come back.

However, this doesn’t protect you from new broken capillaries forming.

Now that you know you’re susceptible to broken capillaries, you will need to be diligent with preventing their further development, by minimising stress, damage or weakening of the blood vessels.

This means being strict with applying sunscreen daily, wearing a hat to protect your face – especially your nose – and avoiding sun exposure where possible.

It’s also wise to avoid alcohol as much as possible, and be careful with high temperature. That means no saunas, hot yoga, washing your face with hot water, or anything that may cause a flush of heat to the face.

In following these preventative guidelines, you can help to keep new broken capillaries at bay and therefore maintain the results of your laser treatment.

Preventing Broken Capillaries

While there’s no way to fix broken capillaries on the nose without some form of laser or light therapy, you can halt their development.

The hard and fast way to keep broken capillaries at bay is to keep your face out of the sun.

If you must be outdoors and in UV rays, then religious application of sunscreen is essential. Remember, the sun is what got you into this trouble in the first place, so further exposure will only exacerbate the problem.

You should also limit the use of saunas, hot baths, and other extreme heat environments that cause the blood vessels to dilate.

Hot water on the skin will speed up blood flow to that area and cause the capillaries to enlarge, very possibly leading to breakage.

When you wash your face, use cool or lukewarm water, not hot, and try to keep your face away from direct hot water when you shower.

Treat Broken Capillaries on Your Nose with Contour Clinics

Ok, so we’ve established what broken capillaries are, why you don’t want them, and how to keep them from worsening. But what about making them disappear?

This is what you really want to know: how to fix broken capillaries on the nose and remove them altogether!

The answer is to undergo a course of vascular laser treatments, provided by an experienced dermal therapist, who will expertly utilise the correct type of laser technology specifically for the treatment of broken capillaries and spider veins.

Here at Contour Clinics, our team of highly knowledgeable Skin & Laser Therapists use the gold standard in laser therapies to effectively treat the appearance of broken capillaries on the nose.

We are intensely experienced in successfully treating this concern, and are skilled in producing life-changing results for our patients.

We welcome you to book a complimentary consultation with one of our expert clinicians, where your skin concern will be fully assessed and a treatment plan will be designed just for you, including the specific type of laser perfect for achieving your goal.

Read more: Broken Capillaries & Prominent Veins See all Skin & Laser treatments