What are Spider and Reticular Veins?

Spider veins are tiny blue or red veins on the surface of the skin that look like they could have been drawn on with a fine marker. Some people have slightly larger surface veins called reticular veins which bulge up slightly from the skin. While unsightly, most of the time these veins do not cause pain or other problems. Occasionally, people get bleeding from reticular veins, especially around the feet on ankles.