Varicose veins in the legs are not only a cosmetic problem that makes people worry about their attractiveness, but also a dangerous disease that requires proper treatment and compliance with preventive measures.
There are many reasons for varicose veins: a sedentary lifestyle, overloaded body and end up with hormonal destruction, congenital vascular wall weakness, pregnancy. What happens to varicose veins? Varicose veins of the lower extremities lose their normal elasticity and stretch under blood pressure.
The valves in the veins are usually locked, and when blood flows through them, they close and allow blood to flow back. If the valve fails, blood can be pumped down freely, causing blood to pool.
In this regard, the veins cannot cope with the pressure, they will expand, and the valve will no longer be able to block the large lumen. . . All of this triggers the initial episode of varicose veins (see picture).
Why do varicose veins appear and what is it? The main risk factors for disease development are considered to be genetic susceptibility and gender. Due to the love of high heels, hormonal changes during pregnancy and taking contraceptives, women become victims of varicose veins twice as often as men.
Promote the development of diseases by:
Secondary varicose veins have leg injuries, heart defects, liver and spleen dysfunction. In this case, the primary disease must first be treated appropriately.
The main risk factors for disease development are considered to be genetic susceptibility and gender. Due to the love of high heels, hormonal changes during pregnancy and taking contraceptives, women become victims of varicose veins twice as often as men.
Promote the development of diseases by:
Secondary varicose veins have leg injuries, heart defects, liver and spleen dysfunction. In this case, the primary disease must first be treated appropriately.
What can promote varicose veins
The development of varicose veins is based on congenital venous wall weakness, superficial venous valve insufficiency, and the associated increased venous pressure. The special one-way valve can prevent the blood from returning and stop the blood from stagnating in one place. When the blood is destroyed, the movement of blood from the tissues back to the heart will be disturbed. It should be noted that conservative treatment will not affect venous pressure.
During the formation of varicose veins, the development of symptoms is divided into 3 stages.
Varicose veins itself is not considered a very serious disease, but if it has developed, it will never go away on its own, and may even continue to develop, leading to various complications. These complications bring the greatestDanger.
The first signs that varicose veins are beginning to develop:
In later stages, spider veins appear on the skin, prominent veins and various seals, indicating blood vessel congestion.
Diagnosing the early stages of the disease is quite difficult because in the initial stage, there are no spider veins and dilated veins rising from above the skin.
Early symptoms of varicose veins:
Usually, the patient will not feel the other symptoms of the disease until the first spider vein appears or the vein is found in a vein that has not been seen before. Only cosmetic defects on the skin cause inconvenience. Usually, in the early stages, the symptoms of varicose veins at rest disappear completely or are significantly reduced, so they are often not noticed.
One or more varicose veins protruding from the top of the skin indicate disease progression and neglect. Standing for a long time will cause pain, numbness, tingling, "creeping" and bursting in the nodular area. By the end of the day, swelling often occurs and disappears after a night of sleep. You can judge whether it is puffy by the shoes you wear for free in the morning, and the shoes you wear at night begin to oppress.
Thrombophlebitis is one of the most common complications of varicose veins. In addition, the increase in pressure in the venous portion causes red blood cells to penetrate into the tissue through the vessel wall. Therefore, skin pigmentation is observed, its thickening and tissue hypoxia, which contributes to the appearance of trophic ulcers. Even if it causes minor damage to the skin in the nodule area, it can rupture and bleed heavily.
In order to diagnose varicose veins of the lower extremities and prescribe appropriate treatment methods, experts will provide patients with a comprehensive examination, including various methods.
Only highly qualified phlebologists can diagnose deep varicose veins.
The complex course of varicose veins is accompanied by thrombosis and venous inflammation, trophic ulcers and skin diseases. These complications manifest as discoloration, redness, darkening, and bluishness of the skin on the legs.
Constant swelling of the ankle is also common, especially when walking or standing. In the calf area, there is pain when walking, soreness along the tortuous veins, induration on the skin, and ulcers of various sizes on it.
Pregnancy significantly increases the risk of varicose veins in the lower limbs due to the following reasons:
For varicose veins in the legs, unless the symptoms are problematic, treatment may not be medically necessary.
However, some people may be treated for varicose veins for cosmetic reasons because they are not satisfied with the appearance.
Let’s look at the main ways to help get rid of this problem.
Physical activity-brisk walking, gymnastics, swimming and water exercise (not including weight-bearing exercises on the legs-tennis, weightlifting, jumping) play an important role in treatment and prevention.
Conservative treatment of varicose veins is mainly for those who have clear surgical contraindications.
If the patient's veins are slightly dilated (this is a complete cosmetic defect), similar treatment is also needed. The purpose of conservative therapy is also to prevent the further development of this disease. For this reason, patients are advised to wrap the legs affected by varicose veins with elastic bandages. In addition, compression stockings for varicose veins are shown. People who are prone to varicose veins or who already have this disease should raise their feet regularly throughout the day to take a few minutes of rest. There are also special exercises for the calves and feet to activate muscle-venous pumps. This is the periodic extension and bending of the ankle and knee joints.
Patients should be careful not to allow various toilet items to pull the calf and thigh together, as this will seriously hinder 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 blood volume of the great saphenous vein, and promote the body's metabolic process and blood microcirculation.
However, in order to obtain positive results, it is very important to tie the legs correctly. This process must be completed before getting up in the morning. The bandage starts from the toe to the thigh, and the bandage should feel a slight tension. During the bandaging process, be sure to grasp the heel and ankle joints. The bandage should be rotated around the upper limb to cover half of the previous round. Only purchase certified elastic bandages and compression stockings.
The treatment of 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, bear physical stress, and stay in a room with high temperature and humidity for a long time. In the dream, it is recommended to keep your legs in an elevated position.
Patients should limit their body fluids and salt intake, and try to get rid ofexcess weight. In order to treat varicose veins, diuretics need to be taken regularly. These drugs can improve the tone of the veins. In addition, if there are indications, the patient can be prescribed drugs that stimulate the microcirculation in the tissue. The treatment of varicose veins may also include the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
If the patient has a simple form of the disease, they will receive physical therapy. Swimming, other water programs, warm water foot baths (add 5-10% sodium chloride solution) are very useful.
In many cases, local treatment methods are used to treat varicose veins. But this treatment must be combined with other drug methods. Local treatments for varicose veins are produced in the form of gels, ointments, and creams. Most of these medicines containheparinor intravenous active ingredients. The ointment used for varicose veins helps to normalize the tones of the vein walls and can correct lymphatic outflow and microcirculation disorders. In some topical formulations, several different active ingredients are present in the composition.
If there is a secondary infection during varicose veins, it is recommended to use an external preparation withantibioticsorpreservatives.
Since ancient times,hirudotherapyfor varicose veins has been used for treatment. Using water ches to secrete water rud element can make the blood thin, promote the absorption ofblood clots, and get rid of spider veins and varicose veins. In addition, hand-foot therapy for varicose veins can reduce leg pain and overcome edema. However, it is important to apply hand and foot therapy in the early stages of varicose veins. People with this disease should not use this treatmenthemophilia,anemia,hypotension,pregnant women.
However, a fundamental way to treat varicose veins is surgery. Proceed to eliminate venous-venous return. If the patient has concomitant diseases of the lungs, cardiovascular system, kidneys, and liver, this type of surgery is not performed. Such operations should not be performed on pregnant women and those with purulent diseases. Modern technology allows the use of endoscopic technology for this kind of surgery.
If a person has only small branch expansion, sclerotherapy can be performed. This operation involves injecting a hardening solution into the vein to adhere to the vein wall. After that, repeat injections in other parts of the vein while achieving complete occlusion of the vein.
For varicose veins, combined surgery was also used, in which the larger trunk of the vein was removed and the small branches were treated with sclerotherapy. After the operation, it is recommended that the patient continue to wear an elastic bandage for 8-12 weeks.
Those who seek effective and miraculous treatments for varicose veins will immediately feel frustrated: Even the most modern and expensive drugs cannot completely eliminate varicose veins. They can help relieve pain, swelling and even improve the condition of the vein wall, but they cannot fully recover.
In addition, conservative treatment only produces obvious effects at the initial stage of the disease, and then treatment is performed to prevent the further development of varicose veins. The main role in the treatment of this disease is phytoremediation based on natural plant materials. However, please do not forget that most venotonic medicines cause photosensitivity; when taking them, do not allow the sun to shine on open skin areas.
In addition to medication, relaxation activities and special exercises on the legs, doctors strongly recommend that you wear compression stockings regularly: stockings, knee-high tights and tights. They improve blood microcirculation and prevent the formation of edema. It is very important to choose the right elastic stocking size and degree of compression, which can both prevent and treat.
To improve blood vessel tension, please use varicose vein tablets to treat varicose veins-venous hypertension. These preparations are similar and contain a purified flavonoid fraction composed of 90% potato extract. They take one pill twice a day and choose the course of treatment individually.
Horse chestnut preparations can be used to reduce capillary permeability, reduce blood viscosity and increase venous tone
There are many ways to treat varicose veins inside and outside through folk remedies. The following are the most common:
In addition to folk remedies, many patients with varicose veins also receive special gymnastics-Mikulin exercises to make you feel a significant improvement.
Very often,acute superficial vein thrombophlebitismanifests as a complication of varicose veins. Sometimes the injury can cause varicose veins to rupture and bleeding. When blood is poured from a ruptured lymph node, very serious blood loss can occur.
In addition, due to increased pressure in the venous system, arterial blood flow slows down. Therefore,hypoxiaand subsequenthypoxiamay occur. Due to the development of this state, tissue cells may die, which is a dangerous process for the human body. Due to the apparent stagnation of blood in the veins, toxins accumulate in the tissues.
Complications of this disease also become blood clots, malnutrition of the leg tissues, hyperpigmentation and darkening of the skin.
The subcutaneous fat layer gradually becomes dense, anddermatitisandvenous trophic ulcerappear. In rare cases, such ulcers can degenerate into malignant tumors.
If the disease persists for a long time, the person may subsequently developchronic venous insufficiency.
However, the most dangerous complication of varicose veins ispulmonary embolism. This disease is fatal.
If you are a high-risk group, your relatives have varicose veins or have to spend a lot of time on the nature of your job-you need to pay special attention to the condition of your legs so as not to miss the initial "bell".
Basic preventive measures can help prevent the onset of the disease and slow the progression of existing varicose veins.
Preventive measures:
Although varicose veins are prevalent, they are still difficult to treat. When the first shocking symptoms appear, do not postpone the visit to the vascular surgeon, because the earlier the disease is discovered, the greater the chance of avoiding the operation.
Varicose veins in the legs are a disease that can be treated for several years, and can reappear in 80% of cases even after surgical removal.
The prognosis depends on the stage of starting treatment. A series of early preventive measures (using venotonics twice a year to treat varicose veins and a healthy lifestyle) can stop the further development of the disease. You must follow a strict prevention framework throughout your life.
At a later stage (signs of severe deformities, nodules, edema, and tissue hypoxia), the prognosis determines the presence of concurrent diseases (diabetes, obesity) and whether the patient is willing to be examined as recommended by the doctor (receive examination), Take medicine to lose weight).
Complications of varicose veins (thrombophlebitis, trophic ulcer) with diabetes accounted for 89%.
Varicose veins are considered a non-life-threatening disease, but their complications can greatly deteriorate the quality of life and prognosis. When suffering from deep vein thrombosis, about 50% of patients die of thromboembolism within 3 months.