Varicose veins, or in normal people, varicose veins are mainly irreversible and persistent elongation and dilation of the lower extremities, as well as the formation of certain "knots" as a result of pathology of the venous walls or due to a genetic defect. (valve failure).
Today, varicose veins are a widespread disease. It affects every tenth man and every third woman. The more sedentary a person is, the more susceptible he is to the disease.
The United States, France and the United Kingdom are the leading countries in the spread of varicose veins (more than 30% of the population on average).
Causes of varicose veins
This benefit occurs with an increase in venous pressure. It is believed that varicose veins are only in the lower end, but there are varicose veins in the esophagus, stomach, testicles or small pelvis.
By the way, the latter is one of the causes of a fairly common disease, such as hemorrhoids.
The main reasons for the development of varicose veins are:
- Gender: Varicose veins in women are often caused by various hormonal medications or pregnancy.
- Heredity
- Weight problems, increased venous pressure due to a sedentary lifestyle.
The above causes contribute to both the dilation of blood vessels and the disruption of the normal functioning of the venous valves.
Stages of the disease
The following stages of varicose veins are distinguished:
- Initial- Characterized by aching pain, swelling and heaviness in the legs. It is better to prevent the disease at this stage.
- The first stage- nodular veins visible from the skin, spider veins are also added to the above symptoms. Burning sensation in the legs and calves is often possible.
- The second stage- The number of varicose veins and stars is sharply increased and more visible. The pain becomes unbearable, the legs are very tight.
- The third stage- Here the skin of the feet is directly affected. It is cracked, lifeless and dry. In addition, it is possible to change the pigmentation and structure of the skin of the feet. 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 when sitting for a long time, tension and heaviness in the legs.
A less characteristic feature of varicose veins is the reduction or disappearance of these symptoms after a night's rest or walking.
If you do not start treatment on time, the following symptoms appear - explosive pain in calves, cramps in the calf muscles, a feeling of warmth in the legs.
You can also see the "stars" of the red-blue veins in the legs, the saphenous veins dilate and the intradermal dark blue veins.
With advanced varicose veins, thrombophlebitis (inflammation of the varicose veins with the formation of blood vessels), eczema or trophic ulcers may develop in the affected areas.
To eliminate the risk of varicose veins, it is necessary to get rid of the main causes and external factors: smoking, drinking alcohol, unhealthy diet.
Varicose veins of the lower extremities develop due to the lack of fiber-rich foods in the diet. It is an intestinal cleanser that removes waste, pus, toxins and radionuclides from the body.
Forms of varicose veins
There are the following types (forms) of lower extremity varicose veins:
- Local venous lesion with defective discharge through communicative or pathological vessels.
- Localization of intradermal or subcutaneous vessels without reflux.
- Widespread venous obstruction with defective deep vein blood flow.
- Widespread lesion of blood vessels with impaired blood flow through communicative vessels.
In addition, separately, a form such as the reticular form of varicose veins. One type is common varicose veins, however, there is dilation of thin intracutaneous veins
Diagnostics
When you notice the initial symptoms, you should immediately contact a specialist in venous diseases - a phlebologist.
Success in the treatment of varicose veins of the legs depends largely on when you start treatment. Of course, the sooner you see a doctor, the lower the risk of complications.
After the first examination, the doctor will order an instrumental examination, usually a Doppler ultrasound.
Radiopaque and radionuclide methods are used when necessary.
In these methods, special substances are injected into the blood and then their distribution through the veins is studied.
How to treat varicose veins
Varicose veins can be treated in 3 ways:
- Sclerotherapy.
- Surgery for varicose veins.
- Medication (conservative treatment).
In addition to the above methods, the complex uses medical knitting and physiotherapy exercises.
Below we will look at each of the 3 methods in more detail.
Sclerotherapy
Scleropia is a painless, non-surgical and, most importantly, high-quality and effective treatment for varicose veins. This is a much younger way to treat varicose veins than others.
One of the main advantages of sclerotherapy is that the treatment does not require hospitalization, ie it is carried out in an outpatient setting and does not affect the patient's normal rhythm of life in any way.
The essence of the method is the careful injection of a special sclerosing drug into the "sick" vein, which causes a kind of "sticking" of blood vessels.
A bandage is applied, which must be worn for a week after the procedure. During this time, the vein grows, then 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 help in this situation, but can also lead to a number of complications and even worsening.
For example, there is a classification of varicose veins divided according to the degree of varicose veins, and this method can treat only grade 1 varicose veins.
As for the results of sclerotherapy, it is the protection of small caries in a short time and a slight pigmentation of "sick" vessels.
This method, performed by a professional doctor, provides a lasting result: the dilated arteries "approach" and the blood flow never returns from them.
Operation
Surgical treatment of varicose veins or laser treatment of varicose veins. Currently, this method is one of the main methods. First, there are a number of contraindications:
- It is recommended to wait at least 5 weeks during pregnancy or for newborns, because in many cases, varicose veins formed during pregnancy disappear spontaneously without any intervention.
- Only if you are interested in the aesthetic side of the problem and there are no other symptoms (inflammation of the arteries, pain).
- Surgery for the treatment of varicose veins is indicated only in cases where others do not make sense or do not give results.
Surgical treatment of varicose veins is usually performed in an outpatient setting without hospitalization.
There are 3 methods of surgical treatment of varicose veins - ligation, peeling and microflebectomy.
- Ligation- This is a kind of closure of varicose veins. As a rule, this method is used in conjunction with others, for example, in addition to peeling or phlebectomy.
- Don't undress- A surgical method for the treatment of varicose veins, the "sick" vein is removed with a thin small probe.
- Microflebectomy- The essence is to remove varicose veins with a puncture in the skin.
Drug treatment method
Drug treatment is an equally important component in the treatment of varicose veins. Properly selected drugs will not only eliminate the fairly basic manifestations of varicose veins, but also help reduce the risk of complications.
Many of these drugs are used to relieve swelling and pain syndromes, improve blood flow, and so on.
These medications help:
- Improve lymphatic drainage function.
- Increase overall venous tone.
- Improve the microcirculation of hemorrhoids.
It should be noted that the use of these drugs, as well as others, should be carried out only after a thorough examination and under the guidance of a physician.
Treatment of varicose veins with folk remedies
In addition to traditional medicine, there are recipes for the "folk" first aid kit:
- Take a few cloves of garlic and chop finely. Note that only white peeled garlic is used! Then mix with two tablespoons of butter. The resulting gruel is fastened to the "wounded" veins for the night with a tight bandage on parchment paper and wrapped in a warm scarf at the end. We wear something warm after a shower in the morning.
- Hop infusion is an equally effective folk remedy for varicose veins. Take hop cones (make sure they dry) and pour 1 cup boiling water. Infuse for an hour and then do not hesitate to take the infusion in a glass half an hour before a meal.
Remember that varicose veins are not a sentence, treatment is still possible and necessary, and the sooner you consult a specialist, the easier and more effective the treatment itself.
Bless you!