• Pregnancy and breastfeeding - sclerotherapy is best avoided when pregnant or breastfeeding. This is advised even though there is no current documented evidence to suggest that sclerotherapy is unsafe during pregnancy or breastfeeding. Vein treatments during pregnancy are not as effective often-producing poor results. It is recommended that sclerotherapy should be avoided if pregnancy is contemplated within the treatment course. Veins that appear during pregnancy should be treated before the next pregnancy to avoid deterioration with subsequent pregnancies.
• Oral contraception and hormone replacement therapy-both oestrogen and progestogen have been implicated in increasing the risk of thrombosis whether you have a vein treatment of not. Taking the low dose contraceptive pill or HRT increases the risk of deep vein thrombosis 3 fold as compared to those not taking these products. Total correction of this increased risk requires ceasing hormone treatment for a minimum of 4 weeks. The increased risk seems to lessen the longer you have been on the medication. There is no current evidence that during sclerotherapy or EVLT™ treatment the taking of low dose contraceptive pill or HRT actually increases the risk of thrombosis above the already existing risk before treatment. The relative merits of ceasing or continuing hormone therapy prior to sclerotherapy and EVLT™ treatment will be discussed.

There are no reported long-term side effects from the use of sclerosants.