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 compliance with preventive measures.
The causes of varicose veins are manifold: from a sedentary lifestyle to physical overload to hormonal disorders, congenital weakness of the blood vessel walls, pregnancy. What happens with varicose veins? With varicose veins of the lower extremities, they lose their normal elasticity and stretch under blood pressure.
The valves in the veins are usually occlusions, and when blood flows through them, they close and let the blood flow back. If the valves do not work properly, blood can freely shed downward, causing blood stasis.
In this regard, the veins cannot cope with the pressure, they expand, the valves can no longer block the large lumen. . . all this leads to the onset of the initial stage of varicose veins (see photo).
Why do varicose veins appear and what is it? The main risk factors for developing the disease are genetic predisposition and gender. Because of their love of high heels, hormonal changes during pregnancy and the use of contraceptives, women are twice as likely to become victims of varicose veins as men.
The development of the disease is promoted by:
Secondary varicose veins occur in leg injuries, heart defects, liver and spleen disorders. In this case, adequate treatment of the underlying disease is carried out first.
The main risk factors for developing the disease are genetic predisposition and gender. Because of their love of high heels, hormonal changes during pregnancy and the use of contraceptives, women are twice as likely to become victims of varicose veins as men.
The development of the disease is promoted by:
Secondary varicose veins occur in leg injuries, heart defects, liver and spleen disorders. In this case, adequate treatment of the underlying disease is carried out first.
What promotes varicose veins
The development of varicose veins is based on a congenital weakness of the vein wall, inadequacy of the valves of the superficial veins and an associated increase in venous pressure. Special one-way valves prevent blood from flowing back and stagnating in one place. When they are destroyed, the movement of blood from the tissues back to the heart is disrupted. It should be noted that conservative treatment does not affect the pressure in the veins.
There are 3 stages in the progression of symptoms in the development of varicose veins.
Varicose veins are not considered a very serious disease in themselves, but if they have already developed they will never go away on their own, and even more so, it will progress, leading to all sorts of complications that are the greatest danger.
The first signs that varicose veins are starting to develop:
In later stages, spider veins appear on the skin, protruding veins and various seals, which indicate a blockage of the vessels.
It is quite difficult to diagnose the early stages of the disease because in the early stages there are no spider veins and dilated veins rising above the skin.
Early symptoms of varicose veins:
Before the first spider veins appear or veins are found in places where they were not seen before, the patient often does not feel any other symptoms of the disease, and only cosmetic defects on the skin cause discomfort. As a rule, symptoms of varicose veins go away completely in the early stages or decrease significantly with rest, which is why they often go unnoticed.
One or more varicose veins protruding above the skin indicate the progression and neglect of the disease. When standing for a long time, pain in the area of the nodes, numbness, tingling, "creeping crawling", bursting can be felt in the legs. There is often swelling at the end of the day that goes away after a night's sleep. You can judge edema by looking at shoes that are free in the morning and start to pinch 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. Because of this, skin pigmentation, thickening and tissue hypoxia are observed, which contribute to the appearance of trophic ulcers. Even minor skin damage in the area of the lump can cause cracks and profuse bleeding.
To diagnose varicose veins of the lower extremities and prescribe the appropriate treatment, the specialist offers the patient a comprehensive examination, which includes various methods.
Only a highly qualified phlebologist can diagnose deep varicose veins.
The complicated course of varicose veins is accompanied by the formation of thrombosis and inflammation of the veins, trophic ulcers and skin diseases. These complications are manifested as discoloration of the skin on the legs, redness, darkening, blue skin.
Persistent swelling of the ankle is also common, especially when walking or standing. In the calf area, there is pain when walking, pain along the tortuous vein, hardening of the skin and the formation of ulcers of various sizes.
Pregnancy significantly increases the risk of developing varicose veins of the lower extremities. This is made easier for the following reasons:
For varicose veins in the legs, treatment may not be a medical need unless symptoms are problematic.
However, some people may want treatment for varicose veins for cosmetic reasons because they are unhappy with the way they look.
Let's look at the main methods that can be used to fix this problem.
Physical activity - brisk walking, gymnastics, swimming and exercises in the water (with the exception of sports exercises with heavy loads on the legs - tennis, weight lifting, jumping) play an important role in treatment and prevention.
Conservative treatment of varicose veins is mainly prescribed for people who have clear contraindications to surgical intervention.
Similar treatment is also indicated if the patient has a slight dilation of the veins, which is an exclusively cosmetic defect. The aim of conservative therapy is also to prevent further progression of this disease. For this purpose, patients are recommended to use an elastic bandage on the legs affected by varicose veins. Compression stockings for varicose veins are also shown. People who are prone to varicose veins or who already suffer from this disease should regularly keep their feet at a height throughout the day and rest for a few minutes. There are also specific exercises for the lower leg and foot that aim to activate the muscle venous pump. This is a periodic extension and flexion of the ankle and knee joints.
The patient should take care that the shins and thighs are not pulled together by different parts of the toilet, as this can significantly impede venous blood flow.
With the help of elastic compression you 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 the microcirculation of the blood.
However, in order to get positive results, it is important to properly bandage the leg. This process must be done the morning before getting up. The bandage starts from the toe to the thigh and the bandage should be slightly stretched. When connecting, be sure to grab the heel and ankle joints. The bandage should cover half of the previous lap for each turn around the limb. Buy only certified elastic bandages and compression stockings.
For the treatment of varicose veins, comfortable shoes with a low heel and a hard sole must be worn. You should not stand for long, allow physical exertion and 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 fluid and salt intake and try to get rid ofexcess weight. To treat varicose veins, it is necessary to regularly take diuretics, drugs that improve the tone of the veins. In addition, if there are indications, then the patient can be prescribed drugs that stimulate microcirculation in tissues. Therapy for varicose veins may also include the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
If the patient has an uncomplicated form of the disease, they will be shown physical therapy. Swimming, other water procedures, foot baths with warm water to which a 5-10% sodium chloride solution is added are very useful.
Very often local therapeutic methods are used in the treatment of varicose veins. However, such treatment must be used in combination with other drug methods. Local remedies for varicose veins are made in the form of gels, ointments and creams. Most of these drugs containheparinor venoactive components. Ointments for varicose veins help normalize the tone of the vein walls, they can correct disorders of lymphatic drainage and microcirculation. In some local preparations, several different active ingredients are included in the composition.
If there is a secondary infection in varicose veins, it is advisable to use external agents withantibioticsorantiseptics.
Hirudotherapyhas been used to treat varicose veins since ancient times. The use of leeches, which secrete hirudin, allows you to thin the blood, promotes the absorption ofblood clotsand clears out spider veins and varicose veins. In addition, hirudotherapy can relieve pain in the legs and overcome edema for varicose veins. However, it is important to use hirudotherapy at a very early stage of the 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 venous reflux. Such an operation is not performed if the patient has diseases of the lungs, cardiovascular system, kidneys and liver at the same time. Such an operation should not be performed on pregnant women, as well as on people with purulent diseases. Modern technologies allow the use of endoscopic techniques for such an operation.
If only small branches are expanded in a person, sclerotherapy is allowed. During this operation, a sclerosing solution is injected into the vein to seal the vein walls together. After that, repeated injections are given in other sections of the vein while complete obliteration of the vein is achieved.
Combined surgical therapy is also used for varicose veins, 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.
Anyone looking for an effective and miraculous cure for varicose veins must be upset immediately: Even the most modern and expensive drugs cannot completely eliminate varicose veins. They relieve pain, swelling, and even improve the condition of the vein wall, but there is no such thing as full recovery.
In addition, conservative treatment only has a noticeable effect in the early stages of the disease. After that, it is done to prevent varicose veins from developing further. The leading role in the treatment of this disease is played by phytopreparations based on natural herbal substances. However, do not forget that most venotonic drugs cause photosensitization. When ingesting them, you shouldn't let the rays of the sun hit open areas of your skin.
In addition to using drugs, relaxing activities and special exercises for the legs, doctors strongly recommend wearing compression stockings on a regular basis: stockings, knee socks, tights. They improve the microcirculation in the blood 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, which consists of 90% diosmin. They are taken with one tablet twice a day, the course of treatment is selected individually.
Horse chestnut supplements can be used to decrease capillary permeability, decrease blood viscosity, and increase venous tone
There are a variety of methods of treating varicose veins on the legs with folk remedies, both for external and internal use. The most common are listed 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.
Very oftenacute superficial venous thrombophlebitismanifests itself as a complication of varicose veins. Sometimes damage leads to varicose vein rupture and bleeding. When blood is shed from a ruptured lump, very significant blood loss is possible.
In addition, the arterial blood flow slows down due to increased pressure in the venous system. For this reason,hypoxiaand a subsequentoxygen deficiencycan 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 the blood in the veins, toxins accumulate in the tissue.
Complications of this disease also include blockages from blood clots, malnutrition of the leg tissues, appearance of pigmentation and darkening of the skin.
The layer of subcutaneous fat gradually becomes thicker,Dermatitis,Venous trophic ulcersappear. In very rare cases, such ulcers degenerate into malignant formations.
If the disease persists over a long period of time, the person may subsequently developchronic venous insufficiencydevelop.
The most dangerous complication of varicose veins ispulmonary embolism. This disease is fatal.
If you belong to a risk group, your relatives have suffered from varicose veins or have to spend a lot of time adhering to the nature of their work - you have to pay special attention to the condition of your legs to hear the first "bells"not to be missed.
Basic preventive measures will help prevent the onset of the disease and slow down 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, as the earlier the disease is detected, the greater the chances of avoiding surgery.
Varicose veins in the legs are a disease that can be treated for years, even after surgical removal, they recur in 80% of cases.
The prognosis depends on the stage at which treatment is started. A number of early prevention measures (treating varicose veins with venotonics twice a year and living a healthy lifestyle) will allow you to stop the further development of the disease. You have to adhere to a strict prevention framework throughout your life.
In later stages (with the appearance of severe deformities, lumps, edema and signs of oxygen deficiency in the tissues), the prognosis determines the presence of concomitant diseases (diabetes mellitus, obesity) and the willingness of the patient to follow the doctor's recommendations (to be examined, Take medication, lose weight).
In diabetes mellitus, complications of the varicose veins (thrombophlebitis, trophic ulcers) occur in 89%.
Varicose veins are considered a non-life-threatening disease, but their complications can significantly affect the quality of life and prognosis. With deep vein thrombosis, about 50% of patients die from thromboembolism within 3 months.