Thread veins on the LEG are commonly called Spider veins, Broken Veins, Surface veins or Venous Flares. It doesn't really matter what you call them as long as you don't get them confused with Varicose veins.

If you have thread veins, you really should have a venous duplex ultrasound before having any treatment to make sure that you don't have leg pump failure underlying the thread veins (www.veins.co.uk).
 

Which sort of vein?	Thread Veins	Varicose Veins
Where are they?	very near the surface	Deeper under the skin
What colour are they?	Look red, blue or purple	Look skin coloured or bluish/green
What size are they?	Usually less than 1-2mm	Usually larger than 2mm
Medical Importance?	Cosmetic only rarely they can ache locally BUT - May be a sign of underlying leg pump failure	Sign of underlying leg pump failure Skin damage occurring due to venous reflux (see www.veins.co.uk)
What do they look like?