Polidocanol is a

local anaesthetic A local anesthetic (LA) is a medication that causes absence of all sense, sensation (including pain) in a specific body part without loss of consciousness, providing local anesthesia, as opposed to a general anesthetic, which eliminates all sen ...

and

antipruritic Antipruritics, abirritants, or anti-itch drugs, are medications that inhibit itching (Latin: ''pruritus''). Itching is often associated with sunburns, allergic reactions, eczema, psoriasis, chickenpox, Fungal infection in animals, fungal infections ...

component of

ointment A topical medication is a medication that is applied to a particular place on or in the body. Most often topical medication means application to body surfaces such as the skin or mucous membranes to treat ailments via a large range of classes ...

s and bath additives. It relieves itching caused by

eczema Dermatitis is a term used for different types of skin inflammation, typically characterized by itchiness, redness and a rash. In cases of short duration, there may be small blisters, while in long-term cases the skin may become thickened ...

and dry skin. It has also been used to treat

varicose veins Varicose veins, also known as varicoses, are a medical condition in which superficial veins become enlarged and twisted. Although usually just a cosmetic ailment, in some cases they cause fatigue, pain, itch, itching, and cramp, nighttime leg cram ...

hemangioma A hemangioma or haemangioma is a usually benign vascular tumor derived from blood vessel cell types. The most common form, seen in infants, is an infantile hemangioma, known colloquially as a "strawberry mark", most commonly presenting on the sk ...

s, and vascular malformations. It is formed by the

ethoxylation In organic chemistry, ethoxylation is a chemical reaction in which ethylene oxide () adds to a substrate. It is the most widely practiced alkoxylation, which involves the addition of epoxides to substrates. In the usual application, alcoh ...

of dodecanol.

Sclerotherapy

Polidocanol is also used as a

sclerosant Sclerotherapy (the word reflects the Greek ''skleros'', meaning ''hard'') is a procedure used to treat blood vessel malformations (vascular malformations) and also malformations of the lymphatic system. A medication is injected into the vessels, ...

, an irritant injected to treat

, under the trade names Asclera, Aethoxysklerol and Varithena. Polidocanol causes

fibrosis Fibrosis, also known as fibrotic scarring, is the development of fibrous connective tissue in response to an injury. Fibrosis can be a normal connective tissue deposition or excessive tissue deposition caused by a disease. Repeated injuries, ch ...

inside varicose veins, occluding the lumen of the vessel, and reducing the appearance of the varicosity. The FDA has approved polidocanol injections for the treatment of small varicose (less than 1 mm in diameter) and reticular veins (1 to 3 mm in diameter). Polidocanol works by damaging the cell lining of

blood vessels Blood vessels are the tubular structures of a circulatory system that transport blood throughout many animals’ bodies. Blood vessels transport blood cells, nutrients, and oxygen to most of the tissues of a body. They also take waste an ...

, causing them to close and eventually be replaced by other types of tissue. Polidocanol in the form of Varithena injected in the greater saphenous vein can cause the eruption of varicose and spider veins throughout the lower leg. This procedure should be done with caution and with the knowledge that the appearance of the leg may be forever compromised. Thesit substance

References

Fatty alcohols Polyethers Polymers Antipruritics Vascular surgery Non-ionic surfactants {{dermatologic-drug-stub