broken capillaries | Arthritis Information
OK this is probably a stupid thing to blame on RA but does anyone else notice they have more of these since being diagnosed? It's happening all over my face, legs and feet.Wantobe,
Haven't noticed any broken capillaries, but did notice that I bruised easy while on Enbrel and a couple of times had my skin tear after a slight bump against a table, etc. I can't prove that it's related but after starting USANA vitamins about a year ago, I've had a lot less bruising and no tearing (which was scary). The vitamins are expensive, but I'm afraid to quit them!
Sharon
I don't know all the terminology but I've gotten a lot more spidery veins (not varicose) and little red dots in the past few years.
I started getting more with my pregnancies, then they SERIOUSLY exploded in the past year, postpartum. I was worried about having scleroderma, they came on so fast. (I don't)
I have little spidery guys then little red dots all over, especially my arms. I have showed them to a lot of doctors, and I always get, those are cherry angiomas, they are heriditary. But neither of my parents has near this many. Maybe they have 20 bigger ones. I have at least a hundred smaller ones, and I still seem to get some now and then. For a while I would get new ones every week. They are the size of freckles, not moles.
yes Katie G that is what I have too! Some have the dot but some do not. Is there anyway to stop them or get rid of them?I have been told no, they are hereditary cherry angiomas? A lot of them I have on my arms where I have sun exposure, plus face and scalp, so I wonder if sun plays a part. But I also have some on my abdomen, which never sees the light of day! :) Before I was dx with inflammatory arthritis in December, I was to the doctor on and off for months, knowing there was something wrong with me, and not knowing what. I was always trying to point these out, and doctors were always unimpressed (of course they were also just telling me I was depressed and that was all-which I wasn't, not until I got the RA dx! ugh!!)I think you can have them removed, if they get bigI have a lot of these and the little red dots and have had them for over a year before I was diagnosed. I have no clue if they are RA related. I am not taking any RA drugs yet ( I go to the RA Dr on July 16). Started Relafen and Tylenol Arthritis per my GP on June 11.
I have them too! Mostly on my ankles and feet, which is coincidently where my ra mostly is also. I thought they were just because I was getting older.
[QUOTE=wanttobeRAfree]OK this is probably a stupid thing to blame on RA but does anyone else notice they have more of these since being diagnosed? It's happening all over my face, legs and feet.[/QUOTE]
I believe prednisone can cause them. Have you used/are you using prednisone?
Yes I have been on prednisone since November. I think it may be age...but I'd love to blame it on anything else!
Does anyone know if you can get rid of them?
Vitamin K cream can help. I think "Vita K" is one brand.
If you've got money to burn, there are quick laser treatments that will get rid of them.
I've had scleratherapy (I think that's what it's called). It's salt water injected into the spider veins to make them collapse. OUCH! And it didn't last more than a few days. I tried it again, no luck. I've had laser treatment on the spider veins around my nose and they came back too. The derm. said if he hits them again with a stronger pulse they won't come back. That may be true because he hit a cherry angioma hard and it didn't come back. It turned black and blue for a while but the treatment was successful. That stings too. Yikes I don't like needles. Maybe I'll try the vitamin K- it didn't work on my dark circles tho....
Just call me spiderwoman!
So are deciding this is just aging, if anyone wants to tell their age? I have them and I am almost 31.Hi all,
I have had spider veins/broken capillaries on my face and the red dots (arms and chest) since I can remember. Really started to notice them around 10 years old. I had them cauterized by one (lousy) derm ...ouch! AND it didn't work. About 3 years ago, I saw a great derm and he did pulsed laser on my face. They were gone for about 2 years. They have been worse since my RA symptoms started. However, my derm did say I would probably need to get it done again. They don't "come back", it is just that new ones grow closer to the surface. I think inflammation makes them more appearant. Don't know for sure...just my opinion/experience!
Hope it helps
[QUOTE=reegie]So are deciding this is just aging, if anyone wants to tell their age? I have them and I am almost 31.[/QUOTE]
My oldest son (age 9) has some very fine spider veins on his left cheek. You have to look really closely to see them, but he's had them since the day he was born (and probably before, but I couldn't see his little face). I remember holding him as a baby, and just looking at his little face, memorizing every last detail. The curve of the earlobe, the flare of the nostril, the long curled lashes, the tiny spider veins on his cheek.I have a few faint ones by the corner of my right eye. It's the eye I always rub when I'm tired; I imagine that's how I got them. I don't have any on my hands or feet, where my RA rears its ugly head.
I have them as well...on the tops of my feet, on my ankles, and up my legs. Didn't get them until after RA. Not sure if it's RA, pred, inflammation, weight, age (41), etc...very strange.
I got the spider veins on my ankles/feet when I was pregnant--from swollen ankles. So that probably is what's going on there....
KatieG2008-07-01 07:28:52I think we have enough people affected to start a Spiderwoman Club!I have them but I am only 28, maybe I am getting OLD! lol
[QUOTE=wanttobeRAfree]I think we have enough people affected to start a Spiderwoman Club![/QUOTE]
Is this a girls only club? I have a few spider veins on my legs. 42 years old. I also had 1000's of red dots about a year before I started RA symptoms. Primary said they were infected hairs. I don't see him anymore!!! I still get 2-3 noticable ones a few times a year.
Jay
OK, someone needs to take a picture of them and post them. I have little red dots all over my legs, but thought it was just being fair-skinned. I want to know if it's the same thing. Drives me CRAZY. I also have one on the side of my nose, just down from the bridge, that I got when I was in college. My kids always try to touch it, and it gets brighter when I have had sun exposure and NO amount of makeup will cover it up.
I've been on pred several times in my life, but only for this long since last October. Dx. w/RA at that time. I'm 41.
Lisa
RAJay- we can call it the Spiderman/Spiderwoman Club- no problem! Welcome!What I want to know is how come so many Lisa's have RA? I'm one and I see so many others!I've got 'em on my legs mostly but my hands and my face are affected too. The little red dots that some of you get are called petichiae (spelling), kinda like a small collection of blood underthe skin. They can be caused my umpteen different things from vomiting or coughing too hard to Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever to meningitis. I'm sure there's a rheumatological explaination for it.
Petechiae: What causes it?
What causes petechiae?
- No name given / Illinois
Answer
CLICK TO ENLARGE
Petechiae are pinpoint-sized red dots under the surface of the skin. The dots are red because they contain blood that has leaked from tiny blood vessels (capillaries) into the skin. Petechiae may be an indication of a serious underlying problem that requires medical evaluation.
A common cause of petechiae is a low platelet count (thrombocytopenia). Platelets are blood cells that play an important role in blood clotting. Causes of a low platelet count include:
- Autoimmune disorders, such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis
- Viral infections, such as mononucleosis and measles (rubella)
- Side effect of certain medications, such as chemotherapy drugs
- Bone marrow disorders, such as leukemia
- Infection of your bloodstream (septicemia, or "blood poisoning")
Treatment of petechiae depends on the underlying cause. If you develop petechiae, see your doctor promptly.
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I have wondered about petichiae vs. cherry angioma. If you do a google image search, there is a picture of a petichiae, or however you spell it, that is right next to a dime--that is what mine look like. But you will see pictures of cherry angiomas that look like that too. Lord knows... Forgot to add: mine don't go away, that I can tell. So that may mean something. And there are places where I have 5-6 in a square inch of skin, but not hundreds on my arm or anything.
And, its in my siggy, but I'm 30...
I have gotten a lot more spider veins in the past couple of years. But I think they started increasing with my pregnancies. Of particular note is the one on the back of my knee that forms the number 57. No joke. It is a bit creepy and I can't help but wonder what it might mean... I discovered it when I was pregnant with my first son and was trying on maternity clothes. I turned around in the dressing room and noticed what I thought was a price sticker on the back of my knee. Imagine my surprise when I realized it was my veins.
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