Some women will start to notice blue veins appearing on their breasts at some point in their lives. This condition is not viewed as aesthetically pleasing, and they will make a beeline to their plastic surgeon’s office for a consultation.

The good news is that the appearance of blue breast veins is generally not considered to be a dangerous medical condition. They may not look very good, but they are entirely harmless. However, in rare cases, visible breast veins could indicate cirrhosis of the liver, enlarged abdomen, and fluid accumulation in the abdomen.

Fortunately, it’s possible to get rid of, or at the very least cover up the veins that show through the breasts of some women. We’re going to look at what causes blue breast veins and what can be done to reduce their overall appearance.

What Causes Large Breast Veins and Why Are They So Visible?

There are a wide variety of factors that could cause blue breast veins to appear gradually. The two leading causes of blue breast veins are age and hormonal changes in the body, but there are many others:

Vigorous exercise – Regular and vigorous activity can cause the appearance of veins throughout the body. In women, it shows up prominently in the upper to middle breast area. Exercise increases blood flow throughout the body which in turn can cause veins to bulge outwards. You most often see this in the arms and legs of bodybuilders.

Genetics – If your mom and grandma had visible veins, there’s a good chance you might as well. Genetics can play a huge part in determining how, when, and where blue veins show up. Most often it’s a combination of age and genetics that results in the appearance of blue veins.

Pregnancy – Women who are currently or were recently pregnant often see blue veins appear as their breasts enlarge in preparation for breastfeeding the child. It’s advised that any corrective surgeries be postponed until after the baby has been born.

Large Breast Implants – Some women get breast implants that are extremely large, which stretch the chest cavity and pockets in an unnatural way that can cause the appearance of veins to form.

Why Are Breast Veins Blue?

When looking down at your breasts, arms, legs, or any other part of your body, it’s common to see blue veins running through your skin. But we thought blood was red, so why do our veins appear blue?

No, it’s not that old rumor that blood is actually blue until it comes in contact with oxygen, our blood is always red. Oxygenated blood is typically bright red, while blood that has lost its oxygen will appear a darker red, but our blood never has a blue color to it.

The veins in our body are actually mostly transparent, so they appear as the color of the blood flowing through them. Base on that, you would assume that our veins would appear red, but when looking at them through your skin, they appear blue.

It’s the skin that causes the color change.

The layer of skin and fat that lays overtop of the visible veins helps to absorb the red light being reflected back into our eyes. Blue light cannot penetrate the skin as well as the red light, which is why the veins close to the skin’s surface will appear blue.

Why Does My Breast Skin Appear See Through?

If you’ve noticed that the veins in your breasts, or in other areas of your body, have become more pronounced over the years, it could be because your skin appears more transparent.

Our bodies are slowly changing as we age and one of the things that happens as we age is that our cells begin to break down and don’t act the same way that they once did when we were younger.

You may have always had more pronounced veins in your chest, but your skin may start to lose melanin as you age. Melanin is the substance in your body that produces the pigment in your skin (amongst other areas). If your body lacks melanin, your skin will appear more see through or transparent compared to others that have more melanin.

There are a variety of reason you may lose melanin over time, but the biggest reason is age. As you get older your body loses the ability to produce melanin, which is why older folks tend to have thinner skin, or you can see through their skin a lot easier.

There are things that you can do to help reduce the effects of low melanin, but it’s important to talk with your doctor to ensure that nothing more serious is going on.

When it comes to thin skin around the breasts, and visible blue veins, there are a number of treatments and procedures that can be done to help fix them.  

How to Fix Blue Veiny Breasts

There are many options to choose from when trying to remove or reduce the appearance of veins.

Which option the surgeon decides will depend on the severity of the condition. Other factors could include your personal preference of therapy, availability, previous health history, and budget.

The two main therapies are laser treatments and sclerotherapy. Some doctors have found success using fat to cover up the appearance of the veins, although the degree of success would be based upon how big the veins area.

Lasers – If veins are below a certain size, a plastic surgeon can use lasers to shrink down the vessels. The veins will then fade and be reduced permanently. If the veins are above a certain size, then laser therapy probably won’t help out. It could take several appointments before satisfactory results are achieved.

Sclerotherapy – A needle containing a solution is injected into the vein. After a while, the vein will collapse and be absorbed into the body. Depending on the severity of the veins, one or more sessions may be required. There is no recovery time, and this procedure is considered to be safe, quick, and effective.

Fat & Fillers – Some plastic surgeons will use your body fat in an attempt to mask the veins. They will add fat or a filler around the affected areas to disguise the veins. As the old saying goes, Your Mileage May Vary with this procedure. Ask your surgeon if this is something they would recommend based on your particular case.

Au Natural – There are many websites and women’s magazines that tout “all natural” cures to the problem of blue breast veins. The reality is that none of them work very well. Or, if they do appear to work, it’s often on a case-by-case basis.

There are countless other “remedies” such as applying a fake tan to the breasts or adding Vitamin K moisturizer daily. While these can work in a limited scope, it’s going to be an ongoing maintenance battle to keep the veins hidden from view.

In some cases, a well-supported bra can help lessen the appearance of blue veins. Breasts that aren’t supported have increased blood flow due to gravitational pull. If the breasts are supported via a bra, blood flow will be regulated, and some unsightly breast veins could disappear on their own.

Only a qualified plastic surgeon can diagnose and offer a viable solution that will help remove or at the very least dramatically reduce the appearance of blue breast veins.

Blue Breast Vein Reduction in Dallas

If you have unsightly blue breast veins and would like to learn more about the various options available, give us a call at (214) 965-9885 or contact us via our website. Dr. Adams is a world-renowned plastic surgeon and can help you lessen the appearance of breast veins and give you the confidence to once again show off your beautiful cleavage.

Finding a comfortable position to sleep in can be a challenge in itself, but combine that with large breasts (real or implants) and it can make what should be a simple process, even harder.

We’ve discussed the best ways to sleep after you’ve had breast augmentation in the past, but there are a lot of people out there that have concerns about stomach sleeping in general.

Is sleeping on your stomach bad for you, as a woman? Can sleeping on your stomach cause other health issues like cancer? Does it cause uneven breast sizes?

Even though some questions related to sleep and breast may seem silly, these are genuine concerns of a lot of women.

With the rise of breast cancer around the world, and the focus on health and exercise, many women are doing everything they can to ensure they are keeping their bodies in good shape. Both mental and physical health are extremely important when it comes to helping the body heal and helping us to enjoy life in a desirable way.

The way you sleep could be having negative effects on your breasts, but not all doctors are convinced.

Sleeping and Breast Health

Does Stomach Sleeping Cause Breasts to Sag?

In a previous article we covered various habits that you may not realize are causing your breasts to sag and side-sleeping and stomach sleeping were one of these habits.

While Dr Adams himself does not believe that sleeping on your side or your stomach is causing enough damage to be the sole cause of sagging breasts, the idea stems from the lack of support and lack of blood flow that can come from these two sleeping positions.

While sleeping on your side the ligaments in your breasts can stretch as there isn’t as much support. Over time as these ligaments continue to be stretched overnight, they can lose their elasticity which is what is believed to cause the breasts to start sagging.

Sleeping on your stomach can compress the breasts, which can slow down the blood flow to the area. This may also change the shape of your breasts overtime, but the full extent of the damage is probably negligible, if at all.

Does Stomach Sleeping Cause Breast Cancer?

As we mentioned above, sleeping on your stomach can cause more pressure to be put on your breasts, which in turn can cause lower blood flow to the areas, but can this cause breast cancer?

No.

Sleeping on your stomach, putting pressure on your breasts, or even falling and injuring your breasts, do not increase your likelihood of developing breast cancer.

Falling, pinching, or pressing hard against your breast will most likely just cause a bruise that will heal itself in a few days, but it will not cause breast cancer to start forming.

In some cases, injury to the breast can also cause a lump or cyst to form, however these lumps are known as fat necrosis and are not cancerous. Fat necrosis is scar tissue from where the breast healed itself after an injury.

Your sleeping position is not going to increase or decrease your risk of breast cancer.

Does Stomach Sleeping Cause Uneven Breasts?

Uneven breasts are a concern of a lot of women. It can make you feel self-conscious and it can make it hard to wear certain types of clothing.

The same idea applies here as it did above with sagging breasts and stomach sleeping. By sleeping on your stomach, you are reducing the amount of blood flow to the breasts, while also stretching out the ligaments that help keep them in position.

If those ligaments stretch too much for long periods of time, they begin to lose elasticity and once they lose their ability to retain their original shape, this can lead to shape issues.

Sleeping on your stomach for extended periods of time, night after night, for years, may lead to the development of slightly uneven breasts. If you’re looking to maintain your breasts and are concerned about the possibility of them becoming slightly uneven or sagging (which is unfortunately bound to happen as you age due to the way the body works and gravity), then sleeping on your back would be the best option for you.

Should I Change the Way I Sleep to Help My Breasts?

Dr. Adams believes that getting enough good sleep at night is more important than worrying about what position you’re sleeping in. Allowing your body to rest and properly repair itself will allow you to look and feel your best each day.

The minor benefits you may see from sleeping on your back as opposed to on your stomach or your side are not worth it if you’re going to be uncomfortable or unable to get a good night sleep. And, once you’re asleep we tend to move around subconsciously. So while you may start off sleeping on your back, you’re very likely to end up spending most of your time on your side or your stomach as the night progresses.

It’s not worth losing sleep over.