Varicose veins of the lower extremities are a chronic disease that expresses itself in the violation of the mechanism for the output of blood through the veins. Because of this, the venous walls are under constant pressure, gradually thinning, and nodular growths form in the veins.
As a result of blood stagnation in the veins of the lower extremities, varicose veins develop. It manifests itself as swelling of the peripheral veins in the legs and their protrusion under the skin. The veins appear sinuous and acquire a bluish tint. There are severe pains in the legs.
Varicose disease progresses without treatment, complicated by thrombophlebitis and trophic ulcers. The treatment of varicose veins must be started at the first symptoms, in order to prevent the development of the disease.
First, for the treatment of varicose veins in the legs, doctors use conservative methods. If they don't bring results, they resort to surgical treatment.
physiotherapeutic treatment
In the treatment of varicose veins in the legs, a significant place is given to physical therapy methods. The main ones are as follows:
- Electrophoresis;
- Lymphatic drainage;
- Hyperbaric oxygenation;
- Galvanization;
- Magnetotherapy;
- Darsonvalization;
- Exposure to ultraviolet light;
- UHF and others.
The most popular procedure is darsonvalization. It is carried out with a special apparatus that generates weak electrical discharges. Moving it along the legs from bottom to top for 15 minutes for each limb. The course of treatment for varicose veins is about 20 sessions (depending on the degree of development of the disease). As a result, vascular tone returns to normal, lymph flow and microcirculation in the legs improve.
Pulse magnetotherapy is performed using a magnetic field generator, which induces stray electrical currents in the tissues of the lower extremities, with a therapeutic effect. As a result of this effect, the muscle fibers in the vascular walls of the legs are stimulated and toned. This improves blood circulation in the extremities, reduces swelling and reduces pain. Depending on the degree of development of varicose veins, the session lasts from 10 to 20 minutes.
Pneumatic compression also helps restore tone to the veins and blood vessels through a kind of massage. A boot-like device is placed on the patient's leg. It is pressurized by the gas supply. However, the method should be discarded in patients with varicose veins and a tendency to thrombosis.
Balneotherapy is an effective method of treating varicose veins in the leg, which consists of bathing with mineral water. The baths themselves are named local or general. Hydrotherapy is a contrasting local bath. These methods are especially effective in the early stages of the disease. Varicose vein manifestations to treat these methods at this stage are quite effective.
oxygenation
In addition to local physiotherapy procedures, other procedures that affect the entire body are also performed. For example, the oxygen in the bubble bath improves blood circulation, alleviating the symptoms of varicose veins in the legs. Hyperbaric oxygenation is helpful. During the session, the patient inhales pure oxygen at a pressure of more than one and a half atmospheres.
Ozone therapy is related to this method. Inhaling ozone activates many processes in the patient's body: microcirculation improves, metabolism normalizes and regeneration is accelerated. In therapeutic doses, ozone also prevents thrombus formation by slightly thinning the blood. The course of treatment of varicose veins with ozone is 5 to 10 procedures with an interval of 2 days between them.
Physical therapy is especially effective in the early and intermediate stages of the disease. Physiotherapeutic procedures must be prescribed by a phlebologist.
drug treatment
Medication to fight varicose veins in the legs is of secondary importance. They are the key to successful treatment and high efficiency of the main method. Medications are prescribed during physical therapy and other conservative treatment methods and after surgery.
There are many medications to treat varicose veins. They can be used in combination or separately. A phlebologist must designate a suitable one. All medications can be divided into several groups:
- Phlebotonics;
- Anticoagulants;
- Decongestants;
- Disaggregators;
- Antioxidants
- Fibrinolytics.
Phlebotonics allow you to increase the tone of the walls of blood vessels and veins and are therefore effective in treating varicose veins in the legs. The walls get stronger and denser. The effect of treatment by other methods is fixed. Blood circulation in the legs improves, lymphatic flow improves. They are prescribed to prepare for surgery and as rehabilitation after surgery to relieve inflammation in the vein with varicose veins.
Anticoagulants are medicines that reduce the blood's ability to clot. This prevents the formation of blood clots, which is of great importance for leg varicose veins. They can be taken as pills or injections. Taking them without consulting a doctor is dangerous because they have a side effect - bleeding, which is difficult to stop.
Decongestants can be taken orally as pills or externally as gels and ointments. In pill form, diuretics are mostly used. These medications significantly reduce leg pain with varicose veins, as well as additional pressure on the walls of the veins. Its use improves blood circulation.
Disintegrators - drugs that also affect blood clotting, however, do not belong to anticoagulants. They stop the clotting process only in the early stages and therefore do not belong to anticoagulants. They do not have a significant effect on indicators of general clotting. When used as additional therapy for varicose veins, they have the same effect as anticoagulants.
Antioxidants act by detoxification. As a result of the restoration of chemical bonds in cells, the tone of the walls of blood vessels and veins is strengthened. As a result, leg varicose veins heal much faster.
Fibrinolytics prevent blood clots from forming. This is due to the destruction of fibrin, which is part of the blood clot. Using a drug from this group allows plasminogen (an inactive protein) in the blood to take the form of plasmin, which causes the destruction of a blood clot. However, taking this medicine no longer prevents thrombosis with varicose veins.
The pharmaceutical company has developed a whole range of drugs that combine the properties of the various groups described. These medications must be prescribed by a physician and taken strictly under their supervision. This is because they have some side effects.
The use of medication for varicose veins in the legs cannot be the only measure. They are prescribed in conjunction with other treatments.
laser therapy
This is an effective way to treat varicose veins in the legs. The working principle of laser in this disease lies in its effect on hemoglobin. Hemoglobin absorbs laser light and heat is generated in the blood. As a result, the damaged vessel is "sealed". The laser also indirectly affects the tone of the walls of blood vessels and veins, as it causes these walls to spasm. The advantage of such an impact is its accuracy. It only affects certain tissues, without affecting the surrounding ones in any way.
After exposure to the laser, the movement of blood in the treated area will be stopped. The blood supply to this part of the limb will be produced by deeper veins. In the "non-functional" part of the vessel, connective tissue is formed, which dissolves over time.
The advantage of this method of getting rid of varicose veins is its minimal trauma. Patients do not experience discomfort or pain after the intervention. In addition, there are other advantages:
- The method does not require skin incisions, unlike surgery. So, no scar remains after it. There are also no bruises after the procedure;
- The procedure is short and performed under local anesthesia. Therefore, it is as safe as possible for health, as opposed to surgical intervention, which is performed under general anesthesia;
- From a financial standpoint, laser treatment of varicose veins is similar to surgery. Although it seems more expensive, however, it should be borne in mind that after that the patient no longer needs to go through a period of rehabilitation and spend a lot of time on sick leave, nor spend money on recovery.
Many illnesses can be cured with laser. It has become a good alternative for many types of procedures. Minimal trauma, painless and effective - all of which make laser treatment preferable in many situations.
sclerotherapy
Sclerotherapy is a popular method of treating varicose veins in the legs, sometimes called physical therapy. Essentially, special drugs are injected into the veins. The method is non-traumatic and effective and is therefore popular. This method is sometimes comparable in its effectiveness to a laser and even surgical intervention. After this procedure, the vessel walls are glued and reinforced, with which it is possible to defeat varicose veins in the legs. And the drug is absorbed by the body.
The main advantage of the disease elimination method is the absence of scars and bruises after the procedure. It is also important that it is not too painful and that it can be performed under local anesthesia. After the procedure, the integrity of the circulatory system is not violated, as the veins are not removed. Such intervention can be an ideal option both when it is dangerous to use surgical methods - with thrombophlebitis, periphlebitis, or in the treatment of disease recurrence, when the veins are fragile and twisted.
The method has several contraindications. Firstly, it is about pregnancy and lactation. Serious diseases of the cardiovascular system, diabetes mellitus, chronic diseases of the liver and kidneys, allergies - all these will also become a contraindication to the use of sclerotherapy, it is better to think about how to cure varicose veins in the legs in another way.
If the doctor prescribes sclerotherapy, he should be notified of possible contraindications. When the patient has chronic diseases of any kind, the possibility of using sclerotherapy remains questionable.
Surgery
Surgery is a traumatic and painful way to effectively treat severe varicose veins in the legs. However, only its efficiency reaches 100%. Also, sometimes it takes a lot less time than any other. Among the disadvantages, one can mention large scars and scars, a long period of rehabilitation. There are several types of surgical intervention:
- Removal involves removing a section of a vein with a fine probe. It is injected at the beginning of the vein and withdrawn at the end. In this case, the area attached to the probe is inside out, so to speak, and is easy to remove;
- Phlebectomy is a traditional surgical method for treating varicose veins, which involves cutting the tissue with a scalpel. It is performed both when minimally invasive intervention is impossible, for example, when significant areas are affected or there is severe inflammation, and for other indications;
- Microphlebectomy is considered a minimally invasive procedure. It helps to effectively treat varicose veins. Due to the type of execution, it is similar to the previous method, only the skin incisions are made very small. So it's less traumatic. It can be performed when the injury is not so severe and it is not necessary to remove a large section of the vein.
This method has several indications and contraindications. Therefore, you cannot interfere with pregnant and postpartum women. After giving birth, you must wait at least a month and a half. In the early stages of varicose veins, you should also not use this method.
Surgical intervention does not guarantee the absence of recurrence of varicose veins in the leg. You must be careful about your health.
Many methods of curing varicose veins in the legs allow the doctor to choose the best one for each specific case. However, the more the disease starts, the more radical the method must be. Therefore, you should not delay contacting a doctor if you notice the first symptoms of varicose veins in your leg.