What Does It Mean When Your Veins Are Really Blue

Possible causes of visible veins include:

Exercise

During exercise, your blood pressure increases. This can widen your veins, making them look more obvious.

Also, when your muscles contract during exercise, they place pressure on surrounding veins. This is especially common during lifting.

Tight clothing

Tight clothing can restrict blood flow. In turn, the blood pressure in your veins can increase, making them more visible. This often happens in the waist, thighs, and legs.

Weather

Hot weather also increases blood flow in the veins, enhancing their definition.

Sun exposure

Collagen is a protein that gives structure to your skin. Excess sun exposure can break down collagen beneath the skin, making your veins more noticeable.

Sitting or standing for a long time

When you sit or stand for a long time, gravity causes blood to pool in your legs. As a result, blood pressure increases in the leg veins and increases their definition.

Skin color

If you have a fair complexion, the color of your veins might be more visible.

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Your weight

Being overweight or having obesity places pressure on your veins. The excess pressure can enhance vein definition, especially in the legs.

Genetics

Sometimes, visible veins run in families. If you have a family history of visible veins or conditions that affect the wall of your veins, you might be more likely to have it, too.

Hormonal changes

Hormonal changes can also alter the appearance of your veins. This includes:

  • puberty
  • menstruation
  • pregnancy
  • birth control pills
  • menopausal hormone therapy

Specifically, during pregnancy, a fetus places pressure on the veins in the pelvis area. This can increase pressure in the veins of your thighs, buttocks, and legs.

Also, blood flow increases to support the fetus during pregnancy, making veins swell.

Age

As you get older, your skin makes less collagen, resulting in thin skin. Your body also loses fatty tissue. These changes can make your veins easier to see.

Drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes

Drinking alcohol can make visible veins even more noticeable. Alcohol raises your heart rate, placing extra pressure on your veins.

Cigarette smoking injures the walls of your veins, making them bulge and be more visible.

Underlying medical condition that causes swollen veins

Certain medical conditions can cause swollen veins.

  • Varicose veins. Varicose veins happen when groups of purple veins become chronically swollen. It can be worsened by many things on this list, like drinking alcohol and prolonged standing.
  • Chronic venous insufficiency. Chronic venous insufficiency is when the valves in your veins don’t allow for proper blood flow. This causes blood to collect in your legs.
  • Superficial thrombophlebitis. This condition occurs when a vein near the skin is inflamed and swollen. It can be caused by a superficial blood clot, trauma, cancer and some cancer treatments, or prolonged sitting.
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Chronic constipation

Chronic constipation places pressure in the abdominal area, which increases pressure on nearby veins.

Blood clot

A blood clot in a vein can cause a condition called deep vein thrombosis, which often affects the leg. The blood clot can block blood flow in the vein, increasing blood pressure. The vein may look more noticeable.

Blood clots are a medical emergency

If the blood clot breaks loose, it can travel to your lungs and cause a blockage known as pulmonary embolism. Call 911 if you have:

  • hard, swollen veins
  • pain or swelling in one leg
  • warm skin on the painful leg
  • darkened or red skin on the affected leg

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