Varicose veins in the legs are not only a cosmetic problem that worries people about their attractiveness, but also a dangerous disease that requires proper treatment and observance of preventive measures.
The causes of varicose veins are numerous: from a sedentary lifestyle, physical overload and ending with hormonal disturbances, congenital weakness of the walls of blood vessels, pregnancy. What Happens During Varicose Veins? With varicose veins of the lower extremities, they lose their normal elasticity and stretch under high blood pressure.
Valves in veins are normally locks, and when blood passes through them, they close and allow blood to flow. If the valves are malfunctioning, blood can be released freely downwards, resulting in blood stasis.
In this regard, the veins cannot withstand the pressure, they dilate, the valves are no longer able to block the large lumen. . . all this provokes the appearance 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 taking birth control pills, women have varicose veins twice as often as men.
The development of the disease is favored by:
Secondary varicose veins occur with leg injuries, heart defects, liver and spleen dysfunction. In this case, first of all, appropriate 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 taking birth control pills, women have varicose veins twice as often as men.
The development of the disease is favored by:
Secondary varicose veins occur with leg injuries, heart defects, liver and spleen dysfunction. In this case, first of all, appropriate treatment of the primary disease is carried out.
What promotes varicose veins
The development of varicose vessels is based on a congenital weakness of the venous wall, insufficiency of the valves of the superficial veins and an increase in venous pressure in connection with it. Special non-return valves prevent the blood from flowing back and prevent it from stagnating in one place; when they are destroyed, the movement of blood from the tissues to the heart is disrupted. It is worth noting 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 itself, varicose veins are not considered to be a very serious disease, but if they have already developed they will never go away on their own, and more so, they will progress, leading to all kinds of complications thatpresent the greatest danger.
The first signs indicating the beginning of the development of varicose veins:
In later stages, spider veins appear on the skin, protruding veins and various seals, indicating congestion in the vessels.
It is quite difficult to diagnose the early stages of the disease, because at the initial stage there are no spider veins and dilated veins rising above the skin.
Early symptoms of varicose veins:
Often, before the first spider veins appear or veins are found in places where they have not been seen before, the patient does not experience other symptoms of the disease and only cosmetic defectson the skin cause inconvenience. As a rule, in the early stages, the symptoms of varicose veins go away completely or decrease significantly with rest, so they often go unnoticed.
One or more varicose veins protruding above the skin indicate disease progression and neglect. With prolonged standing, painful pains occur in the area of the knots, numbness, tingling, "crawling creeps", a burst in the legs are felt. At the end of the day, swelling often occurs, which goes away after a night's sleep. You can judge the edema by free shoes in the morning, which begin to squeeze in the evening.
Thrombophlebitis is one of the most common complications of varicose veins. In addition, the increased pressure in the venous section leads to the penetration of erythrocytes through the walls of the vessels into the tissue. As a result, there is pigmentation of the skin, its thickening and tissue hypoxia, which contributes to the appearance of trophic ulcers. Even with minor damage to the skin in the knot area, it can rupture and bleed severely.
In order to diagnose varicose veins of the lower extremities and prescribe appropriate treatment, the specialist will offer the patient to undergo a comprehensive examination, which includes various 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 are manifested by discoloration of the skin of the legs, redness, darkening, blue skin.
Persistent ankle swelling is also common, especially when walking or standing. In the calf area, pain occurs when walking, pain along the convoluted vein, induration of the skin, and the formation of ulcers of various sizes.
Pregnancy greatly 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 a medical necessity unless the symptoms are problematic.
However, some people may want to be treated for varicose veins for cosmetic reasons because they are not satisfied with their appearance.
Let's look at the main methods that will help get rid of this problem.
Physical activity - brisk walking, gymnastics, swimming and exercise in water (excluding sports exercises with a strong load on the legs - tennis, weight lifting, jumping) play a roleimportant in treatment and prevention.
Conservative treatment of varicose veins is mainly prescribed for people who have clear contraindications to surgery.
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 the further progression of this disease. For this purpose, patients are advised to use an elastic bandage on the legs affected by varicose veins. In addition, compression stockings are indicated for varicose veins. People who have a tendency to or already have varicose veins should regularly put their feet on a raised platform throughout the day, resting for several minutes. There are also special exercises for the lower leg and the foot, aimed at activating the musculo-venous pump. It 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 be pulled together by different parts of the toilet, as this can seriously hamper the flow of venous blood.
With the help of elastic compression, you can activate the blood flow in deep veins, prevent edema, reduce the amount of blood in saphenous veins, promote body metabolic processes and blood microcirculation.
But in order to achieve positive results, it is important to dress the leg properly. This process should be done in the morning, before getting out of bed. The bandage runs from the toes to the thigh, while a slight tension in the bandage should be felt. When bandaging, be sure to grasp the heel and ankle joint. The bandage on each turn around the limb should cover half of the previous turn. Buy only elastic bandages and certified compression stockings.
Treating varicose veins also means wearing 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 their intake of fluids and salt, and try to shedexcess weight. For the treatment of varicose veins, it is periodically 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 the tissues. Treatment for varicose veins may also include the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
If the patient has an uncomplicated form of the disease, he is shown physical therapy. Very useful is swimming, other aquatic procedures, foot baths with hot water, to which a 5-10% solution of sodium chloride is added.
Very often local treatment methods are used in the treatment of varicose veins. But such treatment should be used in combination with other drug methods. Local remedies for varicose veins are produced in the form of gels, ointments, creams. Most of these medicines containheparinor veinoactive components. Ointments for varicose veins help normalize the tone of the walls of the veins, can correct disorders of lymphatic outflow and microcirculation. In some local preparations, several different active ingredients are present in the composition.
If in the process of varicose veins there is a secondary infection, it is advisable to use external agents withantibioticsorantiseptics.
Since ancient times,hirudotherapyfor varicose veins has been used for treatment. The use of leeches, secreting hirudin, allows you to thin the blood, promotes resorption ofblood clots, getting rid of varicose veins and varicose veins. In addition, hirudotherapy for varicose veins can reduce pain in the legs, overcome edema. However, it is important to apply hirudotherapy in the very early stages of varicose veins. This treatment should not be used by peoplehemophilia,anemia,hypotension,pregnant women.
However, a drastic method of treating varicose veins is surgery. It is performed to eliminate venous reflux. Such an operation is not carried out if the patient has concomitant diseases of the lungs, cardiovascular system, kidneys and liver. It is impossible to perform such an operation on pregnant women, as well as on people with 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 venous walls. After that, in other sections of the vein, repeated injections are performed, while achieving complete obliteration of the vein.
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 an elastic bandage for 8 to 12 weeks.
Those who are looking for an effective and miraculous cure for varicose veins should immediately get excited: even the most modern and expensive drugs are not able to completely eliminate varicose veins. They help relieve pain, swelling, and even improve the condition of the venous wall, but there is no complete recovery.
In addition, conservative treatment brings a tangible effect only at the initial stage of the disease, after which it is carried out to prevent the further development of varicose veins. The main role in the treatment of this disease belongs to phytopreparations, which are based on natural plant substances. However, remember that most venotonic drugs cause photosensitization; when taking them, you should not let the sun's rays hit the open skin areas.
In addition to the use of medication, relaxing activities and special exercises for the legs, doctors strongly recommend that you regularly wear compression stockings: stockings, knee-highs, tights. They improve blood microcirculation and prevent the formation of edema. It is very important to choose the right 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 - phlebotonics. 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 chosen individually.
Horse chestnut preparations can be used to reduce capillary permeability, reduce blood viscosity and increase venous tone
There are a large number of methods of treating varicose veins on the legs with folk remedies, both for external and internal use. Here are the most common:
In addition to folk remedies, many patients with varicose veins supplement therapy with special gymnastics - Mikulin exercises allow you to feel a significant improvement.
Very often,acute superficial venous thrombophlebitismanifests as a complication of varicose veins. Sometimes the damage causes varicose veins to rupture and bleed. When blood is shed from a knot that has burst, very significant blood loss is possible.
In addition, arterial blood flow slows down due to the increased pressure in the venous system. For this reason,hypoxiaandlack of oxygenmay develop. Due to the development of such a condition, 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 condition also become blockages with blood clots, malnutrition of leg tissue, appearance of pigmentation and darkening of the skin.
Gradually, the subcutaneous fat layer becomes denser,dermatitis,trophic venous ulcersappear. In very rare cases, these ulcers degenerate into malignant formations.
If the disease persists for a long time, then the person may 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 loved ones suffer from varicose veins or have to spend a lot of time standing by the nature of their work - you should pay special attention to the condition of your legs so as not tonot miss the first "bells".
Basic prevention measures help prevent the onset of the disease and slow the progression of existing varicose veins.
Preventive measures:
Despite its prevalence, varicose veins are difficult to treat. When the first alarming symptoms appear, do not postpone a visit to the vascular surgeon, because the earlier the disease is detected, the more likely it is to avoid surgery.
Varicose veins of the legs are a disease that can be treated for years, even after surgical removal it recurs 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 need to adhere to a strict prevention framework throughout your life.
In later stages (with the appearance of severe deformities, lymph nodes, edema and signs of oxygen deficiency in the tissues), the prognosis determines the presence of concomitant diseases (diabetes mellitus, obesity) andwillingness of the patient to follow the doctor's recommendations (being examined, taking medication, losing weight).
With diabetes mellitus, complications of varicose veins (thrombophlebitis, trophic ulcers) develop in 89% of cases.
Varicose veins are considered a non-life threatening condition, but their complications can greatly worsen quality of life and prognosis. With deep vein thrombosis, about 50% of patients die from thromboembolism within 3 months.