Varicose veins in the legs during pregnancy: causes, symptoms, treatment

Varicose veins are a disease that is rapidly becoming chronic. The disease causes changes in the length and diameter of blood vessels, the appearance of nodules, thinning of the venous walls. Often, varicose veins manifest themselves during pregnancy, when there is a significant load on the background of hormonal changes in a woman's body.

Appearance reasons

Causes of varicose veins during pregnancy

Given the causes of varicose veins during pregnancy, there are several main reasons:

  • Weight change.During pregnancy, weight gain of ten or more kilograms causes varicose veins in the legs, which leads to an increase in pressure and load on the arteries;
  • Hormonal changes in the body.During the formation of the fetus, a woman's hormonal background is repeatedly rebuilt, which damages the blood vessels - loses elasticity, becomes brittle, prone to the formation of varicose veins;

During pregnancy, blood vessels form in the legs due to an increase of ten or more kilograms.

  • During pregnancy, as the volume of blood circulation increases, the function of the caps of blood vessels changes. We must not forget that varicose veins do not disappear anywhere after treatment;
  • Hereditary factors. If one of the parents of a pregnant woman has varicose veins, the likelihood of the same disease is high;
  • Choosing the wrong clothes and shoes. Sometimes expectant mothers wonder where varicose veins come from without thinking that tight clothes and high-heeled shoes can cause it;
  • Decreased physical activity. If a pregnant woman moves a little in the veins of the legs during pregnancy and does not do special exercises, blood stasis can begin.

Some of the causes of varicose veins during pregnancy are easy to eliminate - just change your habits.

signs and symptoms

Varicose veins are difficult to detect during early pregnancy because there are no obvious symptoms.

Why varicose veins appear during pregnancy

But if you have the following symptoms, it's worth contacting your doctor:

  • feeling of heaviness and pain in the legs;
  • edema, especially in the evening, if you sit for a long time;
  • convulsions, especially at night;
  • redness or darkening of the skin;
  • view of vascular networks;
  • seals on the skin, the appearance of trophic ulcers;
  • Inflamed veins are easily felt during pregnancy.

Types of varicose veins during pregnancy

There are several types of varicose veins during pregnancy. The most common disease:

    in the groin
  • ;
  • legs;
  • vagina
  • ;
  • in childhood.

Varicose veins in the small pelvis have symptoms similar to some gynecological diseases, so it is the most difficult to diagnose. The risk of labial varicose veins also increases with each pregnancy (symptoms are most often felt after physical exertion or sexual intercourse).

Diagnostics

Varicose veins and pregnancy have a great impact on the female body and cause additional stress on many organs, so it is important to diagnose the disease at an early stage.

Today, duplex sonography is used to identify varicose veins in pregnant women. This modern type of diagnosis has replaced previous ultrasound angioscan and Doppler mapping. Duplex sonography is performed for twenty minutes and provides detailed information on the condition of both deep and superficial vessels.

In some cases, to make an additional diagnosis, do the following:

  • Segmental Doppler.A simple but reliable test that shows the condition of the arteries and determines their openness and narrowing.
  • How to treat varicose veins in the legs during pregnancy
  • BMR (magnetic resonance venography).If varicose veins are diagnosed during pregnancy, this test allows you to assess the condition of the veins without the use of contrast, without harming the body.
  • Computed tomography phlebography.Conducted using contrast, it allows you to assess the condition of ships at great depth. If there are vague symptoms of varicose veins, this type of examination is prescribed.

Diseases treatment methods

Not all methods that can be used to treat varicose veins after pregnancy can be used during pregnancy. For example, injections of some medications cannot be used during pregnancy; operation is not always possible. These restrictions also apply to women with varicose veins in the legs, but planning to become pregnant in the next two years.

Surgical treatment

As mentioned earlier, varicose veins during pregnancy are dangerous due to restrictions on treatment options. However, there are cases when drug treatment is not enough and then surgery is performed. For example, if severe thrombophlebitis is expressed or if there are incurable trophic ulcers.

In most cases, surgeries are performed at a gestational age of no more than six months and sclerotherapy or interruption of frequency is used, and subsequent surgeries are performed after pregnancy. In the postoperative period, special underwear and therapeutic exercises are prescribed - these recommendations apply to the postpartum period.

Today, if acute varicose veins are found during pregnancy, lasers are used instead of scalpels. Modern techniques allow you to beat varicose veins quickly and safely.

Medication

Doctors are well aware of the dangers of varicose veins, so they recommend contacting specialists at the first signs of the disease. In this case, venotonic drugs and a means to normalize blood pressure are prescribed. For external use, there is a wide selection of special ointments and gels, including Gingko biloba. Any medication that affects vascular tone is serious, so it should only be taken according to the regimen recommended by your doctor.

Alternative Treatment

People have long been faced with the tandem of "pregnancy and varicose veins", so then and today folk remedies such as lotions, tinctures, ointments, baths are widely used in treatment. Of course, if the disease is neglected, these methods are accepted only as an adjunctive therapy, but in the early stages, alternative treatment is quite effective.

Squeeze the tinctures:

folk remedies for the treatment of varicose veins during pregnancy
  • Hops tincture helps well in the early stages of varicose veins during pregnancy. You need to take 1 tablespoon cone, pour 200 milliliters of boiling water and leave for 20 minutes. The solution is then emptied and used for compresses. In a similar way, infusions are made from flowers or horse chestnut leaves. Such compresses can be applied at night and kept on the feet until the morning.
  • Veins are treated with a powder of peeled chestnut fruit during pregnancy: 50 grams of this powder is poured with 200 milliliters of vegetable oil and massaged into the legs with the composition formed before going to bed;
  • If varicose veins are found early in pregnancy, boiled cabbage leaves are used for compresses to relieve inflammation, pain and swelling.

During pregnancy, it is recommended to treat varicose veins in the legs with infusions of various herbs, the choice of which is quite wide in each pharmacy. It is recommended that you do this:

  • the temperature of the solution in the bath should not exceed 38 degrees;
  • baths no more than 15 minutes;
  • give a relaxing massage after the procedure;
  • Lift your legs at the end of the bath and lie down for 30-40 minutes.

Varicose veins in pregnant women are also treated with oral herbal solutions:

  • Prepare a source of alfalfa flowers: pour 1 tablespoon chopped flower into a thermos and pour 400 milliliters of boiling water. After two hours, strain the broth and take ½ cup 4 times a day;
  • You can make a collection of sheep's feet, strawberries and lingonberries, five-leaf clover leaves, as well as calendula officinalis and viburnum flowers. Mix the ingredients in equal parts, pour 2 tablespoons of the resulting mixture with 400 milliliters of boiling water and keep in a water bath for 15 minutes. After that, you need to keep the collection in a warm place for 40 minutes. Take ½ cup 4 times a day.

Disease prevention

Like any disease, varicose veins in the legs should not only be treated, but also preventive measures should be taken to prevent or prevent recurrence of the disease:

  • It is not recommended to sit or stand for a long time. It is better to rest with you to relieve stress from the leg veins and small pelvis.
  • Raise your legs while lying down or sitting to reduce the stress on the arteries in your legs.
  • Wear a special compression stocking to ease your leg veins during pregnancy. Such underwear helps distribute blood through the arteries, stimulates blood flow in the arteries of the legs and reduces the likelihood of clotting. It is recommended to wear compression stockings not only during pregnancy, but also for one and a half to two months after pregnancy.

Remember that varicose veins in the legs are less common in people who exercise and lead a healthy lifestyle. Even light exercise helps maintain physical fitness and reduce the risk of developing varicose veins.