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 prevention.
The cause of varicose veins is many: from a sedentary lifestyle, physical overload and ending with hormonal disorders, congenital weakness of the blood vessel wall, pregnancy. What happens during varicose veins? With varicose veins in the lower extremities, they lose their normal elasticity and prolong under blood pressure.
The valves in the veins are usually closed, and when blood passes through them, they close and allow the blood to return. If the valves malfunction, the blood can be transported down freely, leading to blood stagnation.
In this regard, the veins are unable to cope with the pressure, they dilate, the valves are no longer able to close the large lumen. . . all this provokes the beginning of the initial stage of varicose veins (see photo).
Why does varicose veins occur and what is it? The main risk factors for developing the disease are considered to be genetic predisposition and gender. Because of the love for high heels, hormonal changes during pregnancy, and taking birth control pills, women become twice as likely to develop varicose veins as men.
Promotes the development of the disease:
Secondary varicose veins are associated with foot injuries, heart defects, liver and spleen function. In this case, the primary disease is first treated appropriately.
Genetic predisposition and gender are the main risk factors for developing the disease. Because of the love for high heels, hormonal changes during pregnancy, and taking birth control pills, women become twice as likely to develop varicose veins as men.
Promotes the development of the disease:
Secondary varicose veins are associated with foot injuries, heart defects, liver and spleen function. In this case, the primary disease is first treated appropriately.
What promotes varicose veins
Varicose vein formation is based on the innate weakness of the venous wall, the failure of the valves of the surface veins, and the associated increase in venous pressure. Special one-way valves prevent 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 interrupted. It should be noted that conservative treatment does not affect venous pressure.
There are 3 stages of progression of varicose veins.
Varicose veins alone are not considered a very serious disease, but once they have developed, they will never go away on their own and, in fact, will continue to develop and lead to all sorts of complications that pose the greatest danger.
First signs of onset of varicose veins:
In later stages, spider veins appear on the skin, protruding veins and various seals indicate congestion of the blood vessels.
Diagnosing the early stages of the disease is quite difficult because there are no spider veins and dilated veins above the skin in the initial stage.
Symptoms of early varicose veins:
Often, before the first spider veins appear or come across veins where they have not been seen before, the patient does not feel any other symptoms of the disease and only cosmetic defects on the skin cause discomfort. As a general rule, at an early stage, varicose veins disappear completely or are significantly reduced with rest, so they often go unnoticed.
One or more varicose veins protruding above the skin indicate disease progression and neglect. In a prolonged standing position there is painful pain in the area of the nodes, numbness, tingling, "creeping creep", cracking in the legs. By the end of the day, swelling often occurs, which disappears after a night’s sleep. Edema can be judged by free shoes in the morning, which starts to push in the evening.
Thrombophlebitis is one of the most common complications of varicose veins. In addition, in the venous stage, the increased pressure leads to the penetration of the vessel walls through the walls of the vessels into the tissue. Because of this, skin pigmentation, thickening, and tissue hypoxia are observed, which contributes to the appearance of trophic ulcers. It can also rupture and cause severe bleeding if there is minor damage to the skin in the area of the node.
In order to diagnose lower limb varicose veins and prescribe appropriate treatment, the practitioner will offer the patient a comprehensive examination involving a variety of methods.
Only a highly trained phlebologist can diagnose deep vein varicose veins.
The complicated course of the varicose vein is associated with the development of thrombosis and inflammation of the veins, trophic ulcers and skin diseases. These complications include discoloration of the skin of the legs, redness, darkening, and blue skin.
Prolonged swelling of the ankle is also common, especially when walking or standing. In the area of the calf, there is pain when walking, pain along the winding vein, hardening of the skin and the formation of ulcers of various sizes on it.
Pregnancy significantly increases the risk of lower limb varicose veins for the following reasons:
Treatment for leg varicose veins may only be a medical necessity unless symptoms are problematic.
However, there are those who, for cosmetic reasons, want to have varicose veins because they are not happy with their appearance.
Let's look at the main methods to help get rid of this problem.
Physical activity - fast walking, gymnastics, swimming and exercise in the water (except for high-foot sports - tennis, weightlifting, jumping) - plays an important role in treatment and prevention.
Conservative treatment of varicose veins is prescribed primarily to those who have a clear contraindication to surgery.
A similar treatment is recommended if the patient has a mild dilation of the veins, which is a cosmetic defect only. Conservative therapy also aims to prevent further progression of the disease. For this purpose, patients should use an elastic bandage on the legs affected by the varicose veins. In addition, they show compression stockings for varicose veins. People who are prone to varicose veins or are already sick with this disease should regularly put their feet high during the day so they can rest for a few minutes. There are also special exercises for the lower leg and foot to activate the muscle-venous pump. It is a periodic extension and bending of the ankle and knee joints.
The patient should be careful that the legs and thighs are not constricted by different elements of the toilet, as this can significantly impede the flow of venous blood.
With flexible compression, you can activate 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 in order to achieve positive results, it is important to connect the foot correctly. This process should be done in the morning before getting out of bed. The bandage starts from the toes to the thighs and there should be a slight tension in the bandage. Be sure to grab the heel and ankle joints during bandaging. The bandage should cover half of the previous circle with each turn around the limb. Only buy certified elastic bandages and compression stockings.
Treating varicose veins also means wearing comfortable shoes with low heels and hard soles. Do not stand for a long time, relieve physical stress, stay in rooms with high temperature and humidity for a long time. In a dream, it is advisable to keep your legs in a high position.
Patients should limit fluid and salt intake and try to get rid ofoverweight. For the treatment of varicose veins, diuretics should be taken intermittently, medicines 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. Varicose vein therapy may include the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
If the patient has an uncomplicated form of the disease, they will be presented with physiotherapy. Swimming, other water treatments, foot baths with warm water to which 5-10% sodium chloride solution is added are very useful.
Very often, local therapies are used to treat varicose veins. But this treatment should be used in conjunction with other medications. Topical treatments for varicose veins are produced in the form of gels, ointments and creams. Most of these drugs containheparinor venoactive components. Varicose veins help to normalize the tone of the vein wall, they can correct the abnormalities of lymph outflow and microcirculation. Some topical formulations contain several different active ingredients.
If a secondary infection occurs during the varicose vein, it is advisable to use external agents withantibioticsorantiseptics.
From ancient times,hirudotherapy for varicose veinshas been used for treatment. The use of leeches, the selection of hirudin, allows the blood to be diluted, promotes the absorption ofblood clots, getting rid of spider veins and varicose veins. In addition, varicose vein hirudotherapy can reduce leg pain and overcome edema. However, it is important to use hirudotherapy at a very early stage of varicose veins. This treatment should not be usedhemophilia,anemia,hypotension,pregnant women.
However, surgery is a radical way to treat varicose veins. It is used 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 perform such an operation in pregnant women as well as in patients with purulent diseases. Modern technologies allow the use of endoscopic techniques for such an operation.
If a person has only small branches dilated, sclerotherapy is allowed. This operation involves injecting the sclerosing solution into a vein to adhere the walls of the vein. Repeated injections are then given to other sections of the vein while achieving complete destruction of the vein.
In case of varicose veins, combined surgical therapy is also used, in which the large trunk of the altered veins is removed and the small branches are removed for sclerotherapy. After surgery, it is recommended that patients continue to wear the elastic bandage for 8 to 12 weeks.
Those looking for an effective and wonderful cure for varicose veins should be immediately annoyed: even the most modern and expensive drugs cannot completely eliminate varicose veins. They help relieve pain, swelling, and even improve the condition of the venous wall, but there is no complete cure.
In addition, conservative treatment only produces a tangible effect in the early stages of the disease, after it has been done to prevent further development of the varicose veins. Phytopreparations based on natural herbal substances play a leading role in the treatment of this disease. Keep in mind, however, that most venotonic drugs cause photosensitization; when picking them, do not allow the sun's rays to reach open areas of skin.
In addition to drug use, relaxing activities, and special exercises for the legs, doctors strongly recommend wearing compression stockings on a regular basis: stockings, knee-length stockings, stockings. They improve blood microcirculation and prevent the development 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.
Use venotonic tablets against varicose veins to improve vascular tone. These formulations are analogous and contain a purified flavonoid fraction of 90% diosmin. One tablet is taken twice a day, the course of treatment is chosen individually.
Horse chestnut formulations can be used to reduce capillary permeability, reduce blood viscosity and increase venous tone
There are plenty of methods for treating varicose veins on the legs with folk remedies for both external and internal use. Here are the most common:
In addition to folk remedies, many varicose patients supplement their therapy with a special gymnastics - Mikulin’s practices allow him to feel significant improvement.
Very oftenacute superficial venous thrombophlebitisis a complication of varicose veins. Sometimes the damage results in rupture and bleeding. If blood is shed from the ruptured node, very significant blood loss is possible.
In addition, arterial blood flow slows down due to increased pressure in the venous system. This can lead tohypoxiaand subsequentoxygen starvation. The development of such a condition can cause tissue cells to die, which is a dangerous process for the body. Due to the pronounced stagnation of the blood in the veins, toxins accumulate in the tissues.
Complications of this disease also include obstruction due to blood clots, malnutrition of the leg tissues, the appearance of pigmentation, and darkening of the skin.
Gradually, the subcutaneous fat layer becomes denser,dermatitis,venous trophic ulcersappear. In very rare cases, such ulcers degenerate into malignant formations.
If the disease persists for a long time, the person will latermay cause chronic venous insufficiency.
But the most dangerous complication of varicose veins ispulmonary embolism. This disease is fatal.
If you belong to one of the risk groups, your relatives have had varicose veins or have to spend a lot of time standing by the nature of their work - you need to pay special attention to the condition of your legs so as not to miss the first “bells”.
Basic preventative measures help prevent the disease from developing and also slow the progression of existing varicose veins.
Preventive measures:
Despite the prevalence of varicose veins, it is difficult to treat. When the first alarm symptoms appear, do not delay the visit of the vascular surgeon, because the sooner the disease is detected, the greater the chance of avoiding surgery.
Varicose veins are a disease that can be treated in the legs for years, even after surgical removal, reappearing in 80% of cases.
The prognosis depends on the stage of initiation of treatment. In the early stages, a set of preventive measures (treatment of varicose veins with venotonics twice a year and a healthy lifestyle) will make it possible to stop the further development of the disease. You must adhere to strict prevention frameworks throughout your life.
At later stages (severe deformities, nodules, edema, and signs of tissue oxygen starvation), the prognosis determines the presence of concomitant diseases (diabetes, obesity) and the patient's willingness to follow the doctor's recommendations (examine, prescribe medication, medication). .
In diabetes mellitus, complications of varicose veins (thrombophlebitis, trophic ulcers) occur in 89%.
Varicose veins are not a life-threatening disease, but their complications can greatly impair quality of life and prognosis. In deep vein thrombosis, about 50% of patients die of thromboembolism within 3 months.