Polidocanol is a

local anaesthetic A local anesthetic (LA) is a medication that causes absence of pain sensation. In the context of surgery, a local anesthetic creates an absence of pain in a specific location of the body without a loss of consciousness, as opposed to a general a ...

and

antipruritic Antipruritics, abirritants, or anti-itch drugs, are medications that inhibit the itching (Latin: ''pruritus'') often associated with sunburns, allergic reactions, eczema, psoriasis, chickenpox, fungal infections, insect bites and stings like those ...

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 classe ...

s and bath additives. It relieves itching caused by

eczema Dermatitis is inflammation of the skin, 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. The area of skin involved can v ...

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. These veins typically develop in the legs, just under the skin. Varicose veins usually cause few symptoms. However, some indiv ...

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 ski ...

s, and

vascular malformation A vascular malformation is a blood vessel or lymph vessel abnormality. Vascular malformations are one of the classifications of vascular anomalies, the other grouping is vascular tumors. They may cause aesthetic problems as they have a growth cyc ...

s. It is formed by the

ethoxylation 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, alcohols and phenols are converted i ...

dodecanol Dodecanol , or lauryl alcohol, is an organic compound produced industrially from palm kernel oil or coconut oil. It is a fatty alcohol. Sulfate esters of lauryl alcohol, especially sodium lauryl sulfate, are very widely used as surfactants. ...

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 medicine is injected into the vessels, wh ...

, an irritant injected to treat

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

fibrosis Fibrosis, also known as fibrotic scarring, is a pathological wound healing in which connective tissue replaces normal parenchymal tissue to the extent that it goes unchecked, leading to considerable tissue remodelling and the formation of permane ...

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 structures of the circulatory system that transport blood throughout the human body. These vessels transport blood cells, nutrients, and oxygen to the tissues of the body. They also take waste and carbon dioxide away fro ...

, 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