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Step 1
Identify your risk level by evaluating your family history. Spider veins are hereditary, so if your mother or grandmother had them, your chances of getting them are nearly four times higher than the average person's are. It's important to note, though, that spider veins have been known to skip a generation.
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Step 2
Take your gender into consideration. Women are five times more likely to get spider veins than men are. Women who have been pregnant or are approaching menopause and have a family history of the problem have an almost 75 percent risk of developing spider veins. The spider veins can appear anytime during or immediately after pregnancy or menopause.
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Step 3
Examine your lifestyle. A sedentary lifestyle is one of the most common "outside" risk factors for spider veins. Lack of exercise, obesity and a high-fat diet can also increase your risk of developing spider veins. A lack of fiber in the diet can also have an effect, as does consuming too little water or sitting for long periods of time.
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Step 4
Pay special attention to the issue as you get older. While most people who are prone to spider veins will have them from early on, they are likely to become more prominent after the age of 40 (or after menopause). Any big hormonal change after 40, such as menopause or late pregnancy in women, increases the risks even further.
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Step 5
Identify less-common causes of spider veins, such as frequent constipation, careers that require a lot of standing and the use of birth control pills. These types of risk factors are often ignored, even though they drastically increase your chances of developing spider veins, especially if you are genetically prone to them.
