Varicose veins on the legs are not only a cosmetic problem that worries people because of their attractiveness, but also a dangerous disease that requires proper treatment and compliance with preventive measures.
The causes of varicose veins are many: from a sedentary lifestyle, physical overload and ending with hormonal alterations, congenital weakness of the walls of the blood vessels, pregnancy. What happens during varicose veins? With varicose veins of the lower extremities, they lose their normal elasticity and stretch under blood pressure.
Valves in veins are normally blocked, and when blood passes through them, they close and allow blood to flow out. If the valves are not working properly, blood can flow freely downward, leading to blood stasis.
In this sense, the veins cannot withstand the pressure, they expand, the valves can no longer block the large lumen. . . all this causes the beginning of the initial stage of varicose veins (see photo).
Why do varicose veins occur and what is it? The main risk factors for the development of the disease are considered to be genetic predisposition and gender. Due to the love for high heels, hormonal changes during pregnancy and the use of contraceptives, women become victims of varicose veins twice as often as men.
The development of diseases is promoted by:
Secondary varicose veins occur with leg injuries, heart defects, liver and spleen dysfunction. In this case, first of all, proper treatment of the primary disease is carried out.
Genetic predisposition and gender are considered the main risk factors for the development of the disease. Due to the love for high heels, hormonal changes during pregnancy and the use of contraceptives, women become victims of varicose veins twice as often as men.
The development of diseases is promoted by:
Secondary varicose veins occur with leg injuries, heart defects, liver and spleen dysfunction. In this case, first of all, proper treatment of the primary disease is carried out.
What promotes varicose veins
The development of varicose vessels is based on the congenital weakness of the venous wall, the insufficiency of the valves of the superficial veins and an increase in venous pressure related to this. The special one-way valves prevent blood from flowing back and prevent it from pooling in one place, when destroyed, the movement of blood from the tissues back to the heart is interrupted. It should be noted that conservative treatment does not affect the pressure in the veins.
There are 3 stages of symptom progression in the development of varicose veins.
By themselves, varicose veins are not considered a very serious disease, but if they have already developed, they will never go away on their own and, furthermore, they will progress, leading to all kinds of complications that pose the greatest danger.
The first signs that indicate the beginning of the development of varicose veins:
In later stages, spider veins appear on the skin, bulging veins, and various seals, indicating congestion in the vessels.
It is quite difficult to diagnose the early stages of the disease, since in the early stage there are no spider veins or dilated veins that rise above the skin.
Early Symptoms of Varicose Veins:
Often, before the first spider veins appear or veins are found in places where they were not visible before, the patient does not feel other symptoms of the disease and only cosmetic defects on the skin cause discomfort. As a general rule, in the early stages, the symptoms of varicose veins disappear completely or decrease significantly with rest, so they often go unnoticed.
One or more varicose veins that protrude above the skin indicate disease progression and neglect. With prolonged standing, pain in the area of the nodes, numbness, tingling, "chills" and popping in the legs occurs. At the end of the day, swelling often occurs, which disappears after a night's sleep. You can judge about edema by the shoes that are free in the morning, which begin to press at night.
Thrombophlebitis is one of the most common complications of varicose veins. Furthermore, the increased pressure in the venous section leads to the penetration of erythrocytes through the walls of the vessels into the tissue. Therefore, the pigmentation of the skin, its thickening and tissue hypoxia are observed, which contributes to the appearance of trophic ulcers. Even with minor damage to the skin in the ganglion area, it can rupture and bleed badly.
In order to diagnose varicose veins of the lower extremities and prescribe the appropriate treatment, the specialist will offer the patient a comprehensive examination, which includes several methods.
Only a highly qualified phlebologist can diagnose deep vein varicose veins.
The complicated course of varicose veins is accompanied by the formation of thrombosis and inflammation of the veins, trophic ulcers, and skin disorders. These complications manifest themselves in discoloration of the skin of the legs, redness, darkening, bluish skin.
Persistent ankle swelling is also common, especially when walking or standing. In the calf area, pain occurs when walking, pain along the tortuous vein, induration of the skin and the formation of ulcers of various sizes on it.
Pregnancy significantly increases the risk of developing varicose veins of the lower extremities, this is facilitated by the following reasons:
For varicose veins in the legs, treatment may not be medically necessary unless symptoms are troublesome.
However, some people may wish to receive treatment for varicose veins for cosmetic reasons because they are not happy with their appearance.
Let's look at the main methods that will help eliminate this problem.
Physical activity: brisk walks, gymnastics, swimming and water exercises (except sports exercises with a heavy load on the legs: tennis, weight lifting, jumping) play an important role in treatment and prevention.
Conservative treatment of varicose veins is prescribed mainly for those people who have clear contraindications for surgical intervention.
A similar treatment is also indicated if the patient has a slight expansion of the veins, which is an exclusively cosmetic defect. The goal of conservative therapy is also to prevent further progression of this disease. To do this, patients are advised to apply an elastic bandage to the legs affected by varicose veins. Also shown are compression stockings for varicose veins. People who have a tendency to varicose veins or who are already sick with this ailment should put their feet on an elevation regularly during the day, thus resting for several minutes. There are also special exercises for the leg and foot, designed to activate the muscle-venous pump. This is a periodic extension and flexion of the ankle and knee joints.
The patient should be careful not to allow the shins and thighs to meet with different elements of the toilet, as this can significantly impede the flow of venous blood.
With the help of elastic compression, it can activate the blood flow in the deep veins, prevent edema, reduce the amount of blood in the saphenous veins, promote the body's metabolic processes and blood microcirculation.
But to achieve positive results, it is important to bandage the leg correctly. This process should be done in the morning, before getting out of bed. The bandage starts from the toes to the thigh, while a slight tension should be felt on the bandage. In the process of bandaging, be sure to grab the heel and ankle joint. The bandage with each turn around the limb should cover half of the previous round. Buy only certified elastic bandages and compression stockings.
The treatment of varicose veins also involves the use of comfortable shoes, which should have a low heel and a hard sole. You should not stand for a long time, allow physical stress, stay in rooms with high temperature and humidity for a long time. In a dream, it is advisable to keep the legs in an elevated position.
Patients should limit fluid and salt intake and try to get rid ofexcess weight. For the treatment of varicose veins, periodically it is necessary to take diuretics, drugs that improve the tone of the veins. In addition, if there are indications, the patient may be prescribed drugs that stimulate microcirculation in tissues. Varicose vein therapy may also include the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
If the patient has an uncomplicated form of the disease, physical therapy is shown. Swimming, other water procedures, warm foot baths, to which a 5-10% sodium chloride solution is added, is very helpful.
Very often local therapeutic methods are used in the treatment of varicose veins. But such treatment should be used in combination with other pharmacological methods. Local remedies for varicose veins are produced in the form of gels, ointments, creams. Most of these drugs containheparinor venoactive components. Ointments for varicose veins help to normalize the tone of the vein walls, can correct lymphatic flow and microcirculation disorders. In some local preparations, several different active ingredients are present in the composition.
If there is a secondary infection during the varicose vein process, then it is advisable to use external agents withantibioticsorantiseptics.
Since ancient times,hirudotherapyhas been used for the treatment of varicose veins. The use of leeches, which secrete hirudin, allows you to thin the blood, promotes the reabsorption ofblood clots, eliminating spider veins and varicose veins. Additionally, hirudotherapy for varicose veins can reduce leg pain and overcome edema. However, it is important to apply hirudotherapy in the early stages of varicose veins. This treatment should not be used by people withhemophilia,anemia,hypotension,pregnant women.
However, a radical method of treating varicose veins is surgery. It is done to eliminate veno-venous reflux. Such an operation is not performed if the patient has concomitant diseases of the lungs, cardiovascular system, kidneys and liver. It is impossible to carry out such an operation in pregnant women, as well as in people suffering from purulent diseases. Modern technologies allow the use of endoscopic techniques for such an operation.
If a person has only small dilated branches, sclerotherapy is allowed. This operation involves the introduction of a sclerosing solution into the vein to adhere the walls of the vein. After that, repeated injections are made into other sections of the vein, while complete obliteration of the vein is achieved.
For varicose veins, combined surgical therapy is also used, in which large trunks of altered veins are removed and small branches are sclerotherapy. After surgery, patients are advised to continue wearing the elastic bandage for 8-12 weeks.
Those looking for an effective and miraculous cure for varicose veins will have to worry immediately: even the most modern and expensive medications cannot completely remove varicose veins. They help relieve pain, swelling and even improve the condition of the vein wall, but there is no complete recovery.
Furthermore, conservative treatment produces a noticeable effect only in the initial stage of the disease, after it is carried out to prevent further development of varicose veins. The main role in the treatment of this ailment belongs to phytopreparations, which are based on natural plant substances. However, don't forget that most venotonic drugs cause photosensitization; When taking them, you should not allow the sun's rays to hit the open areas of the skin.
In addition to the use of medications, relaxing measures and the performance of special exercises for the legs, doctors strongly recommend the regular use of compression stockings - stockings, knee-highs, stockings. They improve blood microcirculation and prevent the formation of edema. It is very important to choose the appropriate size of elastic stockings and the degree of compression, which can be both prophylactic and therapeutic.
To improve vascular tone, use venotonic tablets for varicose veins - phlebotonic. These preparations are analogous and contain a purified flavonoid fraction consisting of 90% diosmin. They are taken one tablet twice a day, the course of treatment is selected individually.
Horse chestnut preparations can be used to reduce capillary permeability, reduce blood viscosity and increase venous tone
There are a lot of methods to treat varicose veins in the legs with home remedies, both for external and internal use. The most common are shown below:
In addition to folk remedies, many patients with varicose veins supplement therapy with special gymnastics - Mikulin's exercises allow you to feel a significant improvement.
Most oftenacute superficial venous thrombophlebitismanifests as a complication of varicose veins. Sometimes the damage causes the varicose veins to rupture and bleed. When blood is spilled from a node that has burst, very significant blood loss is possible.
Furthermore, arterial blood flow slows down due to increased pressure in the venous system. Because of this,hypoxiaand subsequentlack of oxygencan develop. Due to the development of such a state, tissue cells can die, which is a dangerous process for the body. Due to the pronounced stagnation of blood in the veins, toxins accumulate in the tissues.
Complications of this ailment also become blockages due to blood clots, malnutrition of the tissues of the legs, appearance of pigmentation and darkening of the skin.
The subcutaneous fat layer gradually thickens,dermatitis,venous trophic ulcersappear. In very rare cases, such ulcers degenerate into malignant formations.
If the disease continues for a long period, the person may subsequently developchronic venous insufficiency.
But the most dangerous complication of varicose veins ispulmonary embolism. This disease is fatal.
If you belong to a risk group, your relatives suffered from varicose veins or have to spend a lot of time unemployed due to the nature of your work, you should pay special attention to the condition of your legs so as not to miss the first "bells".
Basic preventive measures help prevent the onset of the disease and also slow down the progress of existing varicose veins.
Prevention measures:
Despite their prevalence, varicose veins are difficult to treat. When the first alarming symptoms appear, do not postpone the visit to the vascular surgeon, because the earlier the disease is detected, the more chances there are to avoid surgery.
Leg varicose veins is a disease that can be treated for years, even after surgical removal, it reappears in 80% of cases.
The prognosis depends on the stage at which treatment is started. A set of preventive measures in the early stages (treatment of varicose veins with venotonics 2 times a year and a healthy lifestyle) allows you to stop the further development of the disease. You will have to adhere to a strict prevention framework throughout your life.
In the later stages (with the appearance of severe deformity, nodules, edema and signs of oxygen deprivation in the tissues), the prognosis determines the presence of concomitant diseases (diabetes mellitus, obesity) and the patient's willingness to continuethe doctor's recommendations (examine yourself, take medication, lose weight).
In diabetes mellitus, complications of varicose veins (thrombophlebitis, trophic ulcers) develop in 89%.
Varicose veins are considered a non-life threatening disease, but their complications can greatly worsen quality of life and prognosis. With deep vein thrombosis, approximately 50% of patients die from thromboembolism within 3 months.