[Social medicine significance, costs, course, therapy and prognosis of venous diseases].

In particular chronic venous diseases are of considerable sociomedical and socioeconomic significance, and often start early in the age of professional activity. In Germany the number of early retirement is about 2.500 per year. Nevertheless they lack the well-deserved acceptance in the medicopolitical and sociomedical sector, what in addition makes the care for persons suffering from venous diseases at their place of work more difficult, as well as the problematic assessment of chronic venous diseases anyhow and the suitable rehabilitation. Even if there is no occupational disease which manifests itself in the venous system in a particular way, the venous diseases would have essential importance for the occupational medicine. Thus standing pursuit of profession means an essential strain of the peripheral venous system, at least in men it is a risk factor for the appearance of varices, and in women it increasingly leads to pain in the legs. Apart from traumatic lesions in the venous system the "thrombose par effort" may be caused in an almost typical way by hard professional work. The interactions, too, between the therapy of venous diseases and pursuit of profession are manifold, for example a compression treatment at sitting activity. The works medical officer, after all, and if need be, even the expert's opinion has particular chances concerning venous diseases: information and vocational guidance; non-invasive, functional orientated diagnostics; primary and secondary prevention; equipment of working place and process and support of treatment and rehabilitation with simple but effective measures. The therapeutic possibilities in venous diseases are differentiated and practicable.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)