Q: I have spider veins in my right thigh. These are very prominent under my thighs. I have come to know of surgery options for cosmetic purposes. Please let me know what is the cure? What is the cause of such spider veins and will it affect my health in any way?

A:The spider veins are very fine skin veins, which have become tortuous and are visible under the skin. These occur most often in the legs but could occur anywhere in the body. These may be isolated or in conjunction with the varicose veins. In themselves these are not dangerous or harmful. They have only cosmetic consequences. When these are associated with varicose veins then Doppler test needs to be done. The main forms of treatment are sclerotherapy, laser ablation or photoderm (light treatment). 80 - 90% of the patients respond to the sclerotherapy. There are no specific preventive measures other than keeping weight down and also having regular exercise and avoiding sitting or standing in one position for a long time.