Why veins are green

In the case of humans, the skin serves as a filter for the colour red, and the colour is therefore perceived as green. The exact colour spectra is determined by the relative levels of oxygenated iron HbO and carbon dioxide in the blood. High levels of oxygen reflect red, and high levels of carbon dioxide reflect blue, which, when mixed with the yellowish colour of fat and or the skin, end up looking green.

Spotlight Blockchain a game changer for seed funding? The blood in your veins appears blue because you are looking at your veins through layers of skin and fat according to Alwin Kienle in his paper " Why do veins appear blue? A new look at an old question " published in the Journal of Applied Optics.

Skin scatters a lot of the red portion of white light before it can reflect off the blood, leaving the blue light to reflect off the blood and back to our eyes. The reason for this has nothing to do with the health of the blood, but rather how light works and particular oxygen-carrying pigment in your blood called haemoglobin. When light shines on blood, all the colours are absorbed by this pigment except red. This is why a cut or scrape is a different colour to your varicose veins, as well as the veins in your arms that you might see when giving blood.

However, when a filter is placed between the blood and our eyes, it can change the way the colour is perceived. However, when the blood is returning to the heart, it has a higher concentration of carbon dioxide and very little to no oxygen or iron, giving it a blue colour instead. These are an indicator of impaired blood flow in the legs and venous insufficiency and can be a warning flag for more serious underlying issues.

This leads to inflammation in your skin which can rear its ugly head as:. Ulcers are also a potential side effect of venous insufficiency, which can turn into something quite nasty if not properly treated.

See below for a list of common vein disease symptoms and the visual illustration of the impact different vein diseases have on your body, including spider veins, venous leg ulcers, hyperpigmentation, and more. This ensures that any problems are nipped in the bud at the first sign of problems. And luckily, it is typically something that can be treated with a minimally-invasive outpatient procedure at a vein clinic near you.

Have a Vein Clinics of America network physician examine your legs and recommend a treatment program customized to your specific condition. Why Are Veins Blue? Reviewed by: Dr.