Online vein screening

Not sure whether you need a vein consultation? Answer a few questions about your legs, symptoms, history and medical scheme, and add up to four photographs. Our clinical team reviews every submission and calls you within one working day. It is free and is not a diagnosis.

Let's have a look at your legs

Eight short pages. Our clinical team reviews every submission, and we use your answers to book you with the right person the first time.

Not for emergenciesIf one leg is suddenly swollen, hot or painful, a vein is bleeding, or you are short of breath or have chest pain, do not use this form. Call your doctor, or 10177 or 112 in an emergency.

What you can see

There are three different kinds of vein, they are treated differently, and they are easy to mix up. The pictures show what each one looks like.

Spider veins
Spider veinsVery fine red or purple threads, thinner than a hair, often in little fans or webs. Flat against the skin — you cannot feel them.
Reticular veins
Reticular veinsFlat blue or blue-green veins, a little thicker than spider veins — about the width of a matchstick. Visible under the skin but not raised above it.
Varicose veins
Varicose veinsThick, bulging, rope-like veins that stand up above the skin and twist as they run. You can feel them with your fingers, and they usually stand out more when you have been on your feet.

Your skin, and your ankles

Changes in the skin above the ankle are the clearest sign that the veins are doing damage rather than just looking unwelcome.

Ankle swelling
Ankle swellingThe ankle loses its shape and the sock leaves a mark. Usually worse by evening and better after a night's sleep.
Red marks on the legs
Red marksReddened, sometimes itchy or flaky patches, most often low down on the inner ankle.
Brown staining in the lower leg
Brown stainingA brown or rusty discolouration that does not wash off, usually just above the inner ankle. It builds slowly over years.
An ulcer on the lower leg — even if healed now
Leg ulcerAn open sore below the knee that will not heal, often on the inner ankle. A healed one leaves a pale, shiny patch of scar.
Phlebitis — tender, hard, lumpy veins at the surface

How the leg feels

Leg pain has many causes, and veins get blamed for a lot of it. These next questions are how we tell them apart.

In your legs, do you ever have

Choose everything that applies.

What makes it better or worse?

This is the most useful question on the form. Choose everything that applies.

Are the symptoms generally worse towards the end of the day?
When you walk, do you ever have to stop because of

Your history

Past clots and past treatment change what we do next, so please include them even if they were a long time ago.

Have you ever had any of the following?
Smoking
Have you been diagnosed with any of these?
Family history — a blood relative who had

Your medical scheme

Cover for vein treatment differs a great deal between schemes and between options on the same scheme. Telling us now means we can be straight with you about money before you take time off work.

Do you have gap cover?

Separate insurance that pays the shortfall your scheme does not. It usually covers the co-payment on vein treatment.

Have you been on this scheme and this option for more than 12 months?

Photograph your legs

Up to four photographs. One is enough, but four tells us far more — and they become the baseline we compare against after any treatment.

mid-thigh ankle about 1 metre phone upright daylight stand up
Stand up, with daylight coming from in front of you. Hold the phone upright at about knee height, roughly a metre away, and frame from mid-thigh down to the ankle.
1 · FrontFacing the camera
2 · BackTurned away, calves showing
3 · Inner sideThe ankle and inner calf
4 · Close-upWhatever worries you most
1
Stand up — veins fill and show more clearly when you are standing.
2
Frame from mid-thigh to ankle, about a metre away.
3
Use natural light and avoid shadows falling across the leg.
4
Please don't include your face, underwear or intimate areas in the photographs.

You can continue without a photo, but it helps us a great deal.

Before we send this

Your answers and photographs are stored securely and used to plan your care. How we handle them, how long we keep them and your rights are set out in our privacy notice. Please confirm the following.

Screening received

Thank you

What you told us

    What happens next

    This is a preliminary screening for possible vein or venous disease of the legs. It cannot replace a full consultation and examination with a specialist surgeon, and it is a guide only, not a diagnosis. A duplex ultrasound scan is what gives a definitive answer. Cover information is a guide and not a quotation, a pre-authorisation, or a guarantee of payment — only your scheme can confirm what it will fund.

    What the screening is

    This short questionnaire asks about your legs, your symptoms, your medical history, any previous vein treatment and your medical scheme, and lets you add up to four photographs of your legs. It takes a few minutes and is free. Our clinical team reviews every submission and calls you within one working day to tell you whether your answers suggest an underlying venous problem worth investigating, and what the sensible next step would be.

    What it can and cannot tell you

    The screening is a guide to whether you should be assessed. It is not a diagnosis, and it cannot replace a consultation.

    Venous disease is not reliably judged from appearance or symptoms alone. Patients with small veins sometimes have significant reflux, while patients with large, obvious veins sometimes have none. The only way to establish what is happening in your veins is a duplex ultrasound scan performed by a vein specialist, which is why every new patient at our centres has one before any treatment is planned.

    What happens next

    If your answers suggest assessment would be worthwhile, we will invite you to book a consultation at whichever of our centres suits you — Umhlanga, Fourways or Somerset West. At that visit you have a duplex scan, a discussion of the findings, and a treatment plan with a written estimate. Completing the screening places you under no obligation.

    Please note: this screening is for general guidance only and does not constitute medical advice, a diagnosis, or a doctor and patient relationship. If you have symptoms that concern you — particularly swelling of one leg, a hot, hard, tender vein, bleeding from a vein, or an open sore on the leg — do not wait for a screening response. Contact your doctor, or in an emergency your nearest emergency service. Information you submit is handled in accordance with our privacy notice.

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