Rosacea, Redness And Spider Viens

Unsightly skin conditions that affect a large segment of the population include spider veins, capillary distention, couperose, redness of rosacea, increased tendency to bruise and dark circles under the eyes -- problems that have not had considerably effective treatment until now. Knowledge of these conditions will give you a greater understanding of why our specialty products work.

What causes spider veins? There are three types of blood vessels in the body -- arteries that carry blood from the heart, veins that return blood to the heart and capillaries that are extremely tiny vessels connecting the arteries and the veins. The function of the capillaries is to take food, oxygen, and other materials to body cells and to remove waste products. Capillary walls are extremely thin, consisting of a single layer of cells, so the nutrients and waste products can easily pass through them. A weakening of the capillary walls causes capillary distention, often referred to as “broken capillaries” or spider veins. The capillaries do not actually break but are distended or enlarged - they fill with blood but do not have the elasticity to contract back to normal and squeeze the blood back out. This ‘blood pooling’ makes the capillaries more noticeable on the skin’s surface. They are commonly seen on the nose and cheeks and are more common in women. One of the causes of capillary distention is a genetic predisposition, particularly in fair skinned people. Other causes include increased pressure on capillary walls due to dehydration, inflammation, congestion or increased blood pressure and sun exposed, aging skin.

What is Rosacea? Rosacea, formerly called acne rosacea, is a chronic, progressive inflammatory disorder affecting 13 million Americans. It is a cutaneous vascular disorder with signs that include facial flushing, redness, swelling, telangiectasia (or spider veins, a result of chronic dilation of the superficial capillaries), and some papules and pustules. In its most advanced stage, rhinophyma can occur which is the appearance of a bulbous, puffy nose. Rosacea most commonly occurs between the ages of 30 to 60, more often in women, menopausal changes, fair-complexioned individuals and those predisposed to flushing and blushing. Sun exposure, stress, alcohol, spicy foods, hot liquids and products that burn, sting or cause facial redness can trigger flushing but have not been found to actually cause rosacea. Treatment of rosacea consists of avoiding the triggers of flushing and is often sufficient to sustain remission. A topical antibiotic, MetroGel, has been prescribed for this skin condition, as well as internal antibiotics.

Bruising Anyone will suffer a bruise with sufficient trauma. However, with sun damage and aging skin, increased bruising occurs, associated with Schamberg’s disease (blood vessels around the ankles) and actinic purpura (visible bruising and spider veins on sun exposed areas).

Dark Under-Eye Circles The eye area is significantly different than the facial skin in that it is much thinner, more delicate and much more prone to puffiness and irritation. Therefore, it is extremely vulnerable to internal and environmental assaults that cause darkened tissue. There are several factors that contribute to dark circles. Skin color is due to melanin, blood and other plasma constituents. Temperature influences skin color. When it’s hot the skin appears red, when it’s cold, blood flow is sluggish causing the skin to have a bluish color. These color differences are exaggerated in the eye area because of the thinness of the skin. Allergy resulting in edema (swelling) contributes to darkening of the eye area. Recurrent swelling around the eyes causes the tissue to become even darker in appearance. Regular exposure to sunlight produces melanin pigmentation or a darkening of skin in the eye area. All of these factors contribute to weakening of the blood vessel network causing leakage of blood and darkening the eye area.

What can help these conditions? The most recent vitamin to stir excitement in the skin care market is Vitamin K. The fat-soluble vitamin, also known as Phytonadione, has been used clinically for many years in the treatment of various disorders of blood coagulation. It promotes blood clotting, controls excessive bleeding and strengthens blood vessel walls. It is administered orally or injected to control excessive bleeding during surgery. Many plastic surgeons administer Vitamin K to their patients because it has shown to speed up the healing process by significantly minimizing the severity and duration of bruising and swelling from cosmetic or laser surgery, liposuction, collagen injections, etc. Studies with topical Vitamin K began several years ago to find treatment for actinic purpura, a manifestation of aging skin, plagued by increased vessel fragility and bruising on sun-exposed areas. Marked improvement resulted in further studies for other blood vessel disorders, such as couperose (small, dilated capillaries). Dilated capillaries or ‘spider veins’ appear as red or pink thread-like lines into which blood passively pools. From numerous studies, topical Vitamin K was shown to be effective in reducing the appearance of couperose, as well as redness from rosacea, spider veins or capillary distention, bruises and Schamburg’s Disease (blood vessels around the ankles) and under-eye dark circles (leakage or blood pooling of blood vessels). The studies also indicated that for optimal effectiveness with these skin conditions, Vitamin K (Phytonadione) needed to be in a 5% concentration for the face and body and a 1% concentration for the eye area. The natural color of this vitamin is yellow and will be seen in products that contain pure Vitamin K in these percentages.

What else can help strengthen capillaries? For capillary fragility vitamin C is recommended. It is needed to make collagen, the “glue” that strengthens blood vessels and capillaries. Citrus Bioflavonoids are recommended by nutrition oriented doctors and are widely used in Europe to treat diseases of the blood vessels, including chronic venous insufficiency that causes varicose veins and easy bruising. Studies have shown bioflavonoids work by strengthening the walls of blood vessels and capillaries. Horse Chestnut, recommended by modern herbalists, contains a compound aescin, which has shown to be effective in double blind research, supporting the traditional use for venous problems such as varicose veins. Positive results come from Horse Chestnut’s ability to strengthen capillaries and promote circulation. The herb also possesses anti-inflammatory properties and has been shown to reduce edema (swelling with fluid) following surgery or injury. Grape Seed, Pine Bark and Japanese Green Tea contains proanthocyanidins, a group of bioflavonoids that have also been shown to improve venous insufficiency and strengthen capillaries in double blind research.

What skin care products are available for these conditions?ONLY YOURx offers Vitamin K Repair Serum, an advanced repairing cream with 5% USP-grade Vitamin K that delivers noticeable results in reducing the appearance of dilated capillaries, spider veins, couperose, redness from Rosacea, bruising, Actinic Purpura and irritation caused by skin peels and cosmetic surgery. A scientific, patented formula targets the source of these skin conditions. Our Vitamin K Eye Kreme with 1% USP-grade Vitamin K, is a powerful treatment that targets and corrects the problems associated with dark circles – leakage of blood vessels, sun exposure, irritation and puffiness.