| SKIN
INVOLVEMENT: MAIN MENU |
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| Telangiectasia |
| This page
was written by Shelley
Ensz, and has not yet been medically edited. Telangiectasia
can occur in perfectly healthy people. Scleroderma (SD) affects
everyone differently. Just because something is listed here
does not mean an individual patient will ever experience it.
See Disclaimer. |
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| What are Telangiectasias? |
 Telangiectasia
are dilated superficial blood vessels. They may occur in
rosacea, in certain systemic diseases (ataxia-telangiectasia, scleroderma),
or in long-term therapy with topical fluorinated corticosteroids;
most cases are idiopathic (of unknown cause). Telangiectasia
may also occur as a component of inherited disorders, including
ataxia-telangiectasia and hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia. The
Merck Manual.
Photo 1: Telangiectasia on hand (circled) from ISN Photo
Repository. |
 Photo 2: The dilation of small vessels and capillaries can cause flat red marks to appear anywhere on the body, but primarily on the neck, nose, cheeks, and chin, and sometimes on the tongue. |
| Mirriam-Webster Online
Dictionary: Telangiectasia(2) |
Mirriam-Webster
Online Dictionary: Telangiectasia
Syllables: tel•an•gi•ec•ta•sia
Pronounced something like this: te-lan-jee-ek-taa-zsha
 Audio
pronunciation for "telangiectasia" from m-w.com
Singular: telangiectasia
Plural: telangiectasias or telangiectases.
Adverb: telangiectatic
Meaning: An abnormal dilatation of capillary vessels and
arterioles that often forms an angioma.
Angioma: A tumor composed chiefly of blood vessels or lymph
vessels.
Common
Misspellings: telanjectasia, telanjectasha, telangectasia,
telangectasha. AboutDermatology.com. |
| Photo of Telangiectasias |
| See Scleroderma
Photos. ISN. |
| Diagnosis |
| Scleroderma can
cause telangiectasia on the face and/or hands, and the presence
of telangiectasia on the face and/or hands counts as one
of the criteria for diagnosing CREST
Syndrome For a diagnosis of CREST, which represents
either Limited or Diffuse systemic
sclerosis, the patient must have two or more of the
following: Calcinosis — Raynaud's — Esophagus
Problems — Sclerodactyly (tight
skin on fingers or toes) — Telangiectasia. |
| Telangiectasia frequently appear on the trunk and extremities
of healthy people and so although you may have them there
also, those telangiectasia do not count towards a CREST diagnosis. |
| Sometimes you can clearly see that these are little spider
veins; in other cases the spider veins are "bunched
up" and appear to be a rash or blemish at first glance.
However, if you pull the skin apart there, you will see that
it is actually a spider vein, or a dilated blood vessel,
and so it is actually a Telangiectasia (rather than a rash
or pimple.) |
| What
are telangiectasia? Telangiectasia are small, unsightly
red, purple or blue blood vessels found along the surface
on the face, upper chest, neck and rarely on other parts
of the body. Similar veins are found on the legs called spider
veins. These blood vessels are abnormal, not necessary for
any essential body function. Removing them gives a more pleasing
cosmetic appearance. Dermatology Center of Western Iowa. |
| Generalized
Essential Telangiectasia. Essential or primary telangiectasia
refers to capillary dilation of unknown origin. No preceding
or coexisting skin or internal disease is present. Generalised
essential telangiectasia (GET) is just one type of primary
telangiectasia and is given this name because of its widespread
distribution pattern over the body. Other primary telangiectases
include angioma
serpiginosum, ataxia
telangiectasia, angiomas and
spider naevi. DermNet NZ. |
| Ataxia
Telangiectasia. Ataxia telangiectasia (A-T) is a rare,
progressive, neurodegenerative childhood disease that affects
the nervous system and other body systems. The first signs
of the disease, which include lack of balance and slurred
speech, usually occur during the first decade of life. Medical
College of Wisconsin. |
| A
clue for telangiectasis in systemic sclerosis: elevated serum
soluble endoglin levels in patients with the limited cutaneous
form of the disease. Patients with elevated sEndoglin
levels had telangiectasia more frequently than those with
normal sEndoglin levels. PubMed. Dermatology. 2006;213(2):88-92.
(Also see: Pulmonary
Hypertension, Limited
Scleroderma, and Causes
of Scleroderma: Molecular Defect) |
| Treatment |
| Telangiectasias
can be covered with makeup or a dermatologist can remove
it with sclerotherapy, laser, or PhotoDerm. |
| However, "Second Generation" Telangiectasia
(ones that return after the first treatment) are often
resistant to treatments, so we highly recommend that
you (and your dermatologist) read about that situation
before starting any course of treatment for telangiectasia. |
| How are Telangiectasia treated? An intense light
device called the Photoderm provides one of the best
treatments for telangiectasia. This intense light
is either pulsed on the skin or a beam of yellow-green
light is focused on individual vessels. Because telangiectasia
are either red, pink or purple, they will absorb
more of the laser light than the surrounding normal
skin. When the laser light is absorbed, the vessels
will shrivel up without damaging the normal skin. Remington
Laser Dermatology Center. |
| Laser Genesis Skin Therapy. Marina Plastic Surgery Associates. |
| Cosmetic Warnings |
| Is
mineral-based make-up safer? It is a good idea to avoid
inhaling mineral-based cosmetics--be careful to not create
dust, as particles can quickly absorb deep into the lungs--and
avoid using them on damaged skin where the likelihood of
absorption is dramatically increased. Enviroblog. |
| Cosmetics
Popular with Teenagers Linked to Breast Cancer, Other Serious
Health Problems. Several cosmetics and personal care
products popular with teenagers contain ingredients linked
to breast cancer and other serious health problems, according
to a new analysis of cosmetics products. Breast Cancer
Fund. |
| Corrective Cosmetics |
| Telangiectasias
can be covered with makeup or a dermatologist can remove
it with sclerotherapy, laser, or PhotoDerm. |
| Dermablend® Corrective Cosmetics is
a makeup which very nicely covers Telangiectasia and
other skin imperfections. Some of our scleroderma and
psoriasis site visitors have also reported a more natural
look (than Dermablend, which is a thicker foundation)
with good coverage plus anti-inflammatory effects from
the Jane Iredale line of mineral-based makeup. Some
of the other brands of mineral makeups may also be
worth trying, especially non-allergenic product lines. |
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| Patient Stories: Telangiectasia |
| Barbara H: Generalized Essential Telangiectasia About five years ago some specialists at St, Vincents Hospital had a symposium and I was one of the subjects but they did not have anything to assist me. Laser could help but was very expensive... |
| Carol
C: CREST Syndrome Scleroderma and Raynaud's have not
robbed me of a fulfilling career... |
| Chloe
S: Telangiectasia It is kind of like little red broken-up
birthmarks all over my body... |
| Craig
R: CREST Scleroderma I had my first scleroderma symptoms
at age twenty-two, which included severe Raynaud's with some
ulceration and tissue loss... |
| Debby:
CREST Scleroderma It was then everything added up— that
I did not have several different conditions, but rather they
were all part of the CREST... |
| Dienne:
Morphea plus possible CREST I finally saw a rheumatologist
about 6 years ago, who told me I had Raynaud's and Telangiectasia
(spider veins)... |
| D.M.
Hoffe: Progressive Systemic Sclerosis (Scleroderma CREST) After
an endoscopy it was discovered I had a Watermelon Stomach... |
| Erica
R: Raynaud's Syndrome & Telangiectasia I noticed
that in the middle of class my hands would go numb. I had
to run out to my truck to turn on the heat... |
| Helen
P: CREST Scleroderma I was diagnosed ten years ago
when the symptoms kicked in with a vengeance following a
very traumatic personal tragedy... |
| Iceback:
CREST or Limited Scleroderma Never having heard of
scleroderma, I never really asked any questions when he told
me and went home to look it up on the Internet... |
| Jacquie:
Diffuse Scleroderma I am fifty-six years old and I
was diagnosed with systemic scleroderma in November of 2003,
right when menopause hit... |
| Joy
W: CREST Scleroderma Two months after my fortieth
birthday, I was diagnosed with CREST scleroderma with Raynaud's... |
| Kathi:
Scleroderma/Lupus I am 43 years old and have not been
feeling well for 10 years... |
| Lois:
Fibromyalgia with Possible CREST When I read Carla's
story it almost sounded like mine! When I was in tenth grade,
Raynaud's started and a horrible kind of rash... |
| Marthie
D: CREST Scleroderma I live in a small town, which
developed around a chemical and petrochemical industry in
this area in South Africa... |
| Melissa:
CREST Plus I would love to hear from anyone who knows
about CREST... |
| Melissa
H: Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (HHT) I have
big red marks on me which I get teased about, but not as
much as I used to... |
| Merrie:
Mother of Daughter with Raynaud's and Fibromyalgia? They
said it might mean something or not and referred her to a
rheumatologist, but he just blew it off as nothing... |
| Olga:
Difficult Diagnosis Recently I came across www.sclero.org
while researching my illness that has not been recognized
neither in my native country nor in Italy, where I moved
twelve years ago to escape from cold winters which have
destroyed my skin... |
| Rosie:
Limited Systemic Sclerosis (Australia) Some of my
symptoms may not be due to limited scleroderma, however most
of these symptoms have appeared since my diagnosis... |
| Sam
H: Telangiectasia I have had telangiectasias since
I was two years old. I am now fourteen... |
| Sharon:
CREST with Limited Scleroderma, Sjögren's and Pulmonary
Hypertension (Australia) Day by day I discover another
food I cannot eat... |
| Sheila:
CREST with Limited Scleroderma I
felt really scared, confused, and dehumanized in the process
of my diagnosis... |
| Yvonne
Frasure: CREST and Fibromyalgia I no longer go to
the doctor because I simply cannot afford it. I cannot get
insurance so everything is out of pocket... |
| References |
| (1) Dermatologic Disorders: Diagnosis
of Skin Diseases - Telangiectasia. The Merck Manual. |
| (2) Telangiectasia definition:
Derived from Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.
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