Varicose veins are a disease that is accompanied by dilation of the subcutaneous veins or arteries under the skin of the human body.
With this disease, the walls of the arteries lose their elasticity, varicose veins expand when they appear, causing blood stasis, most often seen in the legs of women. They are the ones who suffer the most from the disease. The disease can begin at the age of 20, but more often in middle-aged women. Men also get sick, but less often.
Reasons
The cause of varicose veins is sometimes the frequent use of alcohol. Alcohol itself causes vasodilation, but if abused, it can lead to negative consequences.
Young girls who like to sit on their feet for hours are also at risk of developing the disease. In this position of the legs, blood stasis occurs, which disrupts the natural blood supply to the whole body.
The main factors
What are the causes of varicose veins?
- Heredity. If the vascular walls of the parents are weakened, this can recur in children.
- The cause of the disease may be high blood pressure. Sometimes this is due to a violation of the hormonal system.
- Pregnancy is difficult for many women, especially at the end of gestation. At first, the disease does not manifest itself, but after birth, all the symptoms of the disease appear. Stress experienced by women during childbirth strongly affects the location of blood vessels.
- Overloading the body with physical muscle work provides all the conditions for the development of the disease. This is common in athletes who exercise. He must be able to properly regulate the load on the human body.
- People with sedentary jobs, especially office workers, are more likely to develop varicose veins.
- It is better not to stand on your feet - it can also cause illness.
- Women who use multi-hormonal contraceptives are at risk.
- Hip joint or previous trauma can lead to the development of the disease.
- Overweight people suffer from varicose veins the most. There is a constant load on the venous system.
- Tanning, frequent saunas and alcohol consumption lead to the same situation.
Varicose veins are easier to prevent than to cure. You just have to lead a healthy lifestyle, pay attention to good physical fitness and a normal diet. In this case, varicose veins are more likely to be avoided.
How do varicose veins manifest in the legs? The first signs in the photo
As a rule, various symptoms of varicose veins may appear in the early stages, and in this case the disease can still be treated.
As a rule, people rarely think about tired legs, swelling or varicose veins in the evening. If the symptoms are very severe, then we are talking about an indifferent disease.
Early manifestations of varicose veins
Determining the early stage of varicose veins is usually not so easy. This is due to the fact that varicose veins have a large number of symptoms, and few people pay attention to them. People ignore the swelling and fatigue of the feet. This is especially true for pregnant women: varicose veins are often not given special attention, and it is believed that such a complication is quite normal during pregnancy.
Indeed, the cause of varicose veins can be considered a very large body weight, but usually the kilograms disappear after the appearance of the baby, but a woman suffering from varicose veins during pregnancy can not get rid of this disease. the birth of a child. This is due to excess weight, which often causes venous disease.
It is easy to notice the early symptoms of varicose veins: the legs get tired quickly from any physical activity, they become numb if they are in one position for a long time. However, as a rule, rarely everyone pays attention to it, believing that leg pain is normal when traveling long distances. In winter, many attribute the pain to the presence of heavily insulated shoes on their feet, and in summer the cause is heat. But this is just an excuse, and there is no truth in it.
When contacting a specialist, it is worth considering the earliest symptoms of varicose veins that can be seen at the time of diagnosis: fatigue of the legs after little physical exertion or pain after wearing heavy shoes, often women with heels face this condition, pain, burning sensation in the legs, increased fatigue, deterioration of working capacity. If the disease is neglected, the first sign of varicose veins is an ulcer.
Diagnostics
Once you begin to detect a disease such as varicose veins, you need to examine the veins to determine the pain, tension, density, the presence of affected parts of the vein, swelling and inflammation inside. The specialist who performs this examination is called a phlebologist. What to do at the first signs of varicose veins in the legs? First of all, it is necessary to determine the severity of the disease.
During the procedure, the patient should take an upright position so that the veins are filled with blood as much as possible. It is best to diagnose in the evening - this will allow the affected areas to get a thinner contour. With the help of palpation and superficial examination, the specialist can get the first information about the condition of the patient's vessels. After the initial examination, the second stage of diagnosis of varicose veins begins - ultrasound examination.
Tests for varicose veins are an important source of information to help diagnose the disease.
What tests are done if you suspect varicose veins?
The first test is a blood sample for hormones, biochemistry and hemoglobin. A general blood test is also taken, and the group and rhesus, the infectious group is determined.
After that, the patient must give urine for analysis to determine hemoglobin, sugar, ketone bodies, and this analysis will also determine the acetone and ammonia in the patient's urine.
Ultrasound procedure
With the help of ultrasound or ultrasound examination of the vessels, you can examine the venous system from the inside and find the foci of the disease. This procedure does not take more than half an hour when the patient is in a horizontal position.
Treatment
This disease is very dangerous and spread all over the world, different treatments are used depending on the stage of the disease.
To treat the first signs of varicose veins in the legs, you should consult a phlebologist, who will make a correct diagnosis after the examination, you can not treat this disease yourself. If not treated in time, patients can die.
Methods of treating the first symptoms of varicose veins in the legs:
- sclerotherapy;
- treatment;
- medicinal plants;
- compressed underwear;
- surgical intervention.
Traditional methods
Used only in complex treatment with drugs, you need to take nettle, acacia tinctures. These tinctures are drunk three times a day before meals, it is useful to make cool foot baths made from burdock, nettle and maple leaves.
All herbal remedies are taken only with a doctor's permission, it is not recommended to drink decoctions and tinctures on your own.
Medication treatment
Used drugs that have a tonic effect on blood vessels and are sold in pharmacies in the form of ointments and gels.
It is also recommended to wear compression underwear to make the use of ointments effective.
Compressor underwear
In this range, tights, socks, at different stages of varicose veins, different compression of the canvas is determined. You can buy such medicated tights in specialty stores.
This underwear helps to normalize venous blood flow, the necessary compressive force restores the normal functioning of blood vessels.
Taking medication does not completely cure varicose veins, on the contrary, it eliminates some symptoms and eases the course of the disease. In addition, the use of various drugs reduces the risk of developing a disease such as thrombophlebitis. The disease occurs as a result of lack of treatment for varicose veins, is treated only in the hospital and often requires surgery.
I also often use lymphatic drainage massage for treatment, its use in the course of general therapy improves lymph flow in the patient's legs, reduces edema, eliminates fatigue and heaviness in the legs. The only downside is the effect of the massage. It will only last two months, but then the massage course can be extended.
Sclerotherapy
This type of treatment is used if surgery is needed, but this procedure is different from surgery. A special drug is injected into the vein where the thrombus is found.
This drug works in such a way that the top layer of the affected vessel is destroyed, and then sticks. Then, after 1, 5 years, this vessel melts in the human body, and other vessels begin to perform their function.
The drug is prescribed by a phlebologist, individual treatment is applied for each patient. The course of sclerotherapy includes 3-6 procedures, after 2-8 weeks the doctor will be able to determine how this treatment works.
This procedure can only be performed by experienced professionals, because if the procedure is performed incorrectly, vascular sclerosis will restore blood flow through the vein and there will be no therapeutic effect.
In addition to the application of the drug, when using this procedure, the microfoam is injected into a vein. For the accuracy of this procedure, an ultrasound scanner is needed, so that the doctor can see on the screen the movement of the needle and the process of distribution of the drug next to it.
In more severe cases, surgery is prescribed to such patients when massage, compression underwear, medications do not help and the disease progresses to a more acute stage.
Consequences of varicose veins
The outcome of the disease is not good, it is a cosmetic problem and is associated with other health problems caused by varicose veins. The most affected women are those who want their legs to look beautiful and slim. This is not possible with the onset of the disease, but the cosmetic problem is not the main one. Varicose veins cause more serious health problems.
Often there is pain in the legs, accompanied by unpleasant itching. Pain is caused by insufficient oxygen and other trace elements that cannot reach the affected area. The cause of pain is damage to large blood vessels. But even small boats give an unpleasant feeling.
Of course, the cosmetic problem is also important for women, but the most unpleasant consequences are swelling of the ankle. The pain disappears in the upper and lower legs. Even if you rest well, the person will feel constant pain.
Dermatitis is the result of varicose veins
The worst result is dermatitis. The disease develops in varicose veins. With such a disease, a person suffers from constant itching, sores and various rashes. The onset of dermatitis can lead to thrombophlebitis. When a blood clot appears, you should seek professional help immediately. When this is not done, the consequences for a person can be very serious. Therefore, it should not be delayed under any circumstances.