In varicose veins or in common people, varicose veins are irreversible and persistent in the lengthening and expansion of the veins, especially in the lower extremities, as well as the formation of certain "nodules" due to pathology of the venous walls or genetic defect (insufficiency of their valves).
Today, varicose veins are a very common disease. It affects a tenth man and a third woman. The longer a person leads a sedentary and inactive lifestyle, the more susceptible he is to this disease.
USA, France, UK - are the leading countries in the prevalence of varicose veins (more than 30% of the population on average).
The Causes of Varicose Veins
This utility comes with the increase in venous pressure. It is generally accepted that varicose veins are exclusively from the lower extremity, however, there are varicose veins from the esophagus, stomach, testicular veins or small pelvic varicose veins.
By the way, the latter is one of the reasons for a very common disease such as hemorrhoids.
The main reasons for developing varicose veins include:
- Gender: Often in female representatives, varicose veins are caused by ingestion of various hormonal medications or pregnancy.
- Heredity
- Increased venous pressure, including due to weight problems, a sedentary and sedentary lifestyle.
The above reasons contribute both to the expansion of the veins and to the disruption of the normal functioning of the venous valves.
Stages of the disease
The following stages of varicose veins are differentiated:
- initial- is characterized by leg pain, swelling and a feeling of heaviness. After all, disease prevention at this stage is more appropriate.
- First step- Gnarled veins, spider veins, which can be seen through the skin, are also added to the above symptoms. A burning sensation in the area of the feet and calves is often possible.
- second stage- the number of varicose veins and asterisks increases markedly, becoming more visible. The pain becomes unbearable, the legs are draining a lot.
- third stage- here the skin of the legs is directly affected. It becomes cracked, lifeless and dry. In addition, it is possible to change the pigmentation and skin structure of the legs. Venous nodules begin to take on a convex shape.
What happens to varicose veins?
One of the first symptoms of varicose veins is frequent swelling of the legs, distension and heaviness in the calves when sitting for a long time.
Furthermore, no less characteristic of varicose veins is the reduction or disappearance of these symptoms after a night's rest or walk.
If you do not start treatment on time, the following symptoms will appear - pain in the calves, cramps in the calf muscles, feeling hot in the legs.
Also in the legs you can see blue-red vascular "stars", the saphenous veins expand and you can see the dark blue intradermal veins.
With advanced varicose veins, thrombophlebitis (inflammation of the enlarged veins with formation of blood clots), eczema in the affected areas or trophic ulcers may develop.
To eliminate the risk of varicose veins, it is necessary to get rid of the main causes of their occurrence and external factors: smoking, alcohol, unhealthy diet.
Lower extremity varicose veins develop from a lack of high fiber foods in the diet. It is an intestinal cleanser that removes waste, pus, toxins and radionuclides from the body.
Varicose Vein Forms
There are the following types (forms) of lower extremity varicose veins:
- Localized venous lesion with defective secretion by communicative or pathological veins.
- Localized lesion of intradermal or subcutaneous vessels without reflux.
- Generalized venous involvement with defective deep venous blood flow.
- Generalized lesion of the veins with defective blood flow in the communicative veins.
Also, separately isolated, a form like the reticular form of varicose veins. It is a kind of common varicose vein, with it an expansion of the fine intracutaneous veins.
Diagnosis
When you notice the first symptoms, you should immediately contact a specialist in venous diseases - a phlebologist.
Success in treating varicose veins in your legs depends a lot on when you started treatment. Of course, the sooner you see a doctor, the lower your risk of complications.
After the first test, your doctor will prescribe an instrumental test, usually Doppler ultrasound.
It turns out that radiopaque and radionuclide methods are used if necessary.
With these methods, special substances are injected into the bloodstream and then their distribution through blood vessels is studied.
How to Treat Varicose Veins
Varicose veins can be treated with 3 methods:
- Sclerotherapy.
- Performing a surgical operation on varicose veins.
- Medication (conservative treatment).
In addition to the above methods, the complex uses medical mesh and physical therapy exercises.
Next, we will consider each of the 3 methods in more detail.
sclerotherapy
Scleteropia is a painless, non-surgical and, most importantly, high quality and effective method for treating varicose veins. This is a very young way to treat varicose veins compared to others.
One of the main advantages of sclerotherapy is that the treatment does not require hospitalization, that is, it is carried out on an outpatient basis and does not alter the patient's usual pace of life in any way.
The essence of the method lies in the fact that a special sclerosing drug is carefully injected into the "diseased" vein, which causes a kind of "sticking" of the veins.
After the procedure is finished, a bandage is applied, which should be used for a week. During this time, the vein grows too large, after which it disappears and blood flow is restored.
Unfortunately, not all types of varicose veins can be treated with this method. If the patient needs surgery, sclerotherapy will not only not help in this case, but it can also cause a number of complications and possibly even deterioration.
For example, there is a classification of varicose veins according to sealing, where varicose veins are divided into degrees, and this method can only treat 1st degree varicose veins.
As for the consequences that sclerotherapy entails, it is the preservation of small hematomas for a short period and a slight pigmentation of the "sick" veins.
Performed by a professional physician, this method guarantees a lasting result: the dilated veins "close" and the blood flow never returns through them.
Operation
Surgical treatment for varicose veins or laser surgery for varicose veins. Currently, this method is one of the main ones. First, there are several contraindications:
- During pregnancy or postpartum women, it is recommended to wait at least 5 weeks, as in many cases the varicose veins that appear during pregnancy disappear spontaneously without any intervention.
- If you are exclusively concerned with the aesthetic side of the problem and there are no other symptoms (inflammation of the veins, pain).
- A surgical method for treating varicose veins is only indicated if others do not make sense or do not bring results.
Treatment of varicose veins with a surgical method is usually performed on an outpatient basis, without the patient's hospitalization.
There are 3 methods of surgical treatment of varicose veins - ligation, removal and microphlebectomy.
- ligature- This is a type of varicose vein ligation. As a rule, this method is used in combination with others, for example, it serves as a complement to stripping or phlebectomy.
- stripping- a surgical method for treating varicose veins, in which the "diseased" vein is removed using a small thin probe.
- Microphlebectomy- the essence is in the removal of varicose veins through a puncture, which is made in the skin.
Treatment Medication Method
Drug therapy is an equally important component in the treatment of varicose veins. Competently selected medications will help not only to remove the basic manifestations of varicose veins, but also to reduce the risk of complications.
Most of these medications help relieve swelling and pain syndromes, improve blood flow, and so on.
These drugs help in the following:
- Improve lymphatic drainage function.
- Increase overall venous tone.
- Improve microcirculation of hemorrheological disorders.
It is noteworthy that the use of these medications, like any others, should be carried out exclusively after a thorough examination and under the prescription of a physician.
Treatment with folk remedies for varicose veins
In addition to traditional medicine, there are also recipes for the "folk" first aid kit:
- Take some garlic cloves and chop them well. Note that only white-peeled garlic is used! Then stir with two tablespoons of butter. We apply the resulting porridge to the "wounded" veins overnight, on top of parchment paper, fasten it with a tight bandage and then wrap it in a warm handkerchief at the end. In the morning, after showering, we dress in something warm.
- Hop infusion is an equally effective folk remedy against varicose veins. Take the hop cones (be sure to dry) and pour in 1 cup of boiling water. Let it ferment for an hour and then feel free to take the infusion half an hour before meals in a glass.
And remember that varicose veins is not a sentence, it is still possible and necessary to be treated, and the sooner you see a specialist, the easier and more effective the treatment itself will be.
Be healthy!