Varicose veins in the legs are not only a cosmetic problem that worries people about their attractiveness, but also a dangerous disease that requires adequate treatment and adherence to preventive measures.
The causes of varicose veins are many: from a sedentary lifestyle, physical overload and ending with hormonal disruptions, congenital weakness of the walls of blood vessels, pregnancy. What happens during varicose veins? With varicose veins of the lower extremities, they lose their normal elasticity, and stretch under blood pressure.
The valves in the veins are normally locks, and when blood passes through them, they close and allow the blood to flow back out. If the valves are malfunctioning, blood can be freely delivered downward, which leads to blood stasis.
In this regard, the veins cannot cope with the pressure, they expand, the valves are no longer able to block the large lumen . . . all this provokes the onset of the initial stage of varicose veins (see photo).
Why does varicose veins occur, and what is it? The main risk factors for the development of the disease are considered to be genetic predisposition and gender. Because of the love for high heels, hormonal changes during pregnancy and taking contraceptives, women become victims of varicose veins twice as often as men.
Disease development is promoted by:
Secondary varicose veins occur with leg injuries, heart defects, liver and spleen dysfunctions. In this case, first of all, appropriate treatment of the primary disease is carried out.
The main risk factors for the development of the disease are considered genetic predisposition and gender. Because of the love for high heels, hormonal changes during pregnancy and taking contraceptives, women become victims of varicose veins twice as often as men.
Disease development is promoted by:
Secondary varicose veins occur with leg injuries, heart defects, liver and spleen dysfunctions. In this case, first of all, appropriate treatment of the primary disease is carried out.
What promotes varicose veins
The development of varicose vessels is based on congenital weakness of the venous wall, insufficiency of the valves of the superficial veins, and an increase in venous pressure in connection with this. Special one-way valves prevent blood from flowing back and prevent it from stagnating in one place, when they are destroyed, the movement of blood from the tissues back to the heart is disrupted. It should be noted that conservative treatment does not affect the pressure in the veins.
There are 3 stages of progression of symptoms in the development of varicose veins.
By itself, varicose veins are not considered a very serious disease, but if it has already developed, it will never go away on its own, and even more, it will progress, leading to all sorts of complications that pose the greatest danger.
The first signs indicating the beginning of the development of varicose veins:
At later stages, spider veins appear on the skin, protruding veins and various seals, indicating congestion in the vessels.
It is rather difficult to diagnose the early stages of the disease, since at the initial stage there are no spider veins and dilated veins rising above the skin.
Early varicose veins symptoms:
Often, before the first spider veins appear or veins are found in places where they were not previously seen, the patient does not feel other symptoms of the disease, and only cosmetic defects on the skin cause inconvenience. As a rule, in the early stages, the symptoms of varicose veins completely disappear or significantly decrease with rest, therefore they often go unnoticed.
One or more varicose nodes protruding above the skin indicate the progression and neglect of the disease. With prolonged standing, aching pain occurs in the area of the nodes, numbness, tingling, "creeping creeps", bursting in the legs are felt. By the end of the day, swelling often occurs, which disappears after a night's sleep. You can judge about edema by shoes that are free in the morning, which begin to press in the evening.
Thrombophlebitis is one of the most common complications of varicose veins. In addition, increased pressure in the venous section leads to the penetration of erythrocytes through the walls of the vessels into the tissue. Because of this, skin pigmentation, its thickening and tissue hypoxia are observed, which contributes to the appearance of trophic ulcers. Even with minor damage to the skin in the area of the node, it can rupture and severe bleeding.
In order to diagnose varicose veins of the lower extremities and prescribe the appropriate treatment, the specialist will offer the patient to undergo a comprehensive examination, which includes various methods.
Only a highly qualified phlebologist can diagnose deep vein varicose veins.
The complicated course of varicose veins is accompanied by the formation of thrombosis and inflammation of the veins, trophic ulcers and skin disorders. These complications are manifested in the discoloration of the skin on the legs, redness, darkening, blue skin.
Persistent swelling of the ankle is also common, especially when walking or standing. In the calf area, pain occurs when walking, soreness along the convoluted vein, induration on the skin and the formation of ulcers of various sizes on it.
Pregnancy significantly increases the risk of developing varicose veins of the lower extremities, this is facilitated by the following reasons:
For varicose veins in the legs, treatment may not be a medical necessity unless the symptoms are problematic.
However, some people may want to be treated for varicose veins for cosmetic reasons because they are unhappy with their appearance.
Let's analyze the basic methods that will help get rid of this problem.
Physical activity - brisk walking, gymnastics, swimming and exercise in water (excluding sports exercises with a heavy load on the legs - tennis, weightlifting, jumping) play an important role in the treatment and prevention.
Conservative treatment of varicose veins is mainly prescribed for those people who have clear contraindications for surgical intervention.
Similar treatment is also indicated if the patient has a slight expansion of the veins, which is an exclusively cosmetic defect. The goal of conservative therapy is also to prevent further progression of this disease. For this purpose, patients are advised to use an elastic bandage for the legs affected by varicose veins. In addition, compression hosiery is shown for varicose veins. People who have a tendency to varicose veins or are already sick with this ailment should regularly put their feet on an elevation throughout the day, thus resting for several minutes. There are also special exercises for the lower leg and foot, aimed at activating the muscle-venous pump. This is periodic extension and flexion of the ankle and knee joints.
The patient should take care not to allow the shins and thighs to be pulled together by different items of the toilet, as this can significantly impede the flow of venous blood.
With the help of elastic compression, you can activate the blood flow in the deep veins, prevent edema, reduce the amount of blood in the saphenous veins, promote metabolic processes of the body and blood microcirculation.
But in order to achieve positive results, it is important to bandage the leg correctly. This process must be done in the morning, before getting out of bed. The bandage starts from the toes to the thigh, and there should be a slight tension in the bandage. In the process of bandaging, be sure to grab the heel and ankle joint. The bandage with each turn around the limb should cover half of the previous round. Buy only certified elastic bandage and compression hosiery.
Treatment of varicose veins also means wearing comfortable shoes, which should have a low heel and a hard sole. You should not stand for a long time, allow physical stress, stay in rooms with high temperature and humidity for a long time. In a dream, it is advisable to keep the legs in an elevated position.
Patients should limit their fluid and salt intake and try to get rid ofexcess weight. For the treatment of varicose veins, it is periodically necessary to take diuretics, drugs that improve the tone of the veins. In addition, if there are indications, the patient may be prescribed medications that stimulate microcirculation in tissues. Therapy for varicose veins may also include the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
If the patient has an uncomplicated form of the disease, physical therapy is shown to him. Swimming, other water procedures, foot baths with warm water, to which 5-10% sodium chloride solution is added, are very useful.
Very often local methods of therapy are used in the treatment of varicose veins. But such treatment must be used in combination with other drug methods. Local remedies for varicose veins are produced in the form of gels, ointments, creams. Most of these drugs containheparinor venoactive components. Ointments for varicose veins help to normalize the tone of the walls of the veins, they can correct disorders of lymph outflow and microcirculation. In some local preparations, several different active ingredients are present in the composition.
If during the process of varicose veins there is a secondary infection, then it is advisable to use external agents withantibioticsorantiseptics.
Since ancient times,hirudotherapyfor varicose veins has been used for treatment. The use of leeches, secreting hirudin, allows you to thin the blood, promotes the resorption ofblood clots, getting rid of spider veins and varicose veins. In addition, hirudotherapy for varicose veins can reduce pain in the legs, overcome edema. However, it is important to apply hirudotherapy at the very early stages of varicose veins. This treatment should not be used by people withhemophilia,anemia,hypotension,pregnant women.
However, a radical method of treating varicose veins is surgery. It is performed to eliminate veno-venous reflux. Such an operation is not performed if the patient has concomitant diseases of the lungs, cardiovascular system, kidneys, and liver. You cannot carry out such an operation on pregnant women, as well as people suffering from purulent diseases. Modern technologies allow the use of endoscopic techniques for such an operation.
If a person has only small branches dilated, sclerotherapy is allowed. This operation involves the introduction of a sclerosing solution into the vein to adhere the vein walls. After that, in other sections of the vein, repeated injections are performed, while achieving complete obliteration of the vein.
For varicose veins, combined surgical therapy is also used, in which large trunks of altered veins are removed and small branches are sclerotherapy. After surgery, patients are advised to continue wearing an elastic bandage for 8-12 weeks.
Those who are looking for an effective and miraculous cure for varicose veins will immediately have to upset: even the most modern and expensive drugs are not able to completely eliminate varicose veins. They help relieve pain, swelling and even improve the condition of the venous wall, but there is no complete recovery.
In addition, conservative treatment brings a noticeable effect only at the initial stage of the disease, after it is carried out to prevent the further development of varicose veins. The leading role in the treatment of this ailment belongs to phytopreparations, which are based on natural plant substances. However, do not forget that most of the venotonic drugs cause photosensitization; when taking them, you should not allow the sun's rays to hit open skin areas.
In addition to the use of drugs, relaxing activities and performing special exercises for the legs, doctors strongly recommend regularly wearing compression hosiery: stockings, knee-highs, tights. They improve blood microcirculation and prevent the formation of edema. It is very important to choose the right size of elastic stockings and the degree of compression, which can be both prophylactic and therapeutic.
To improve vascular tone, use venotonic tablets for varicose veins - phlebotonics. These preparations are analogous and contain a purified flavonoid fraction consisting of 90% diosmin. They are taken one tablet twice a day, the course of treatment is selected individually.
Horse chestnut preparations can be used to reduce capillary permeability, reduce blood viscosity and increase venous tone
There are a huge number of methods for treating varicose veins on the legs with folk remedies, both for external and internal use. Below are the most common:
In addition to folk remedies, many patients with varicose veins supplement therapy with special gymnastics - Mikulin's exercises allow you to feel a significant improvement.
Very often,acute superficial vein thrombophlebitismanifests itself as a complication of varicose veins. Sometimes, damage causes varicose veins to rupture and bleeding. When blood is poured from a node that has burst, a very significant blood loss is possible.
In addition, arterial blood flow slows down due to increased pressure in the vein system. Because of this,hypoxiaand subsequentoxygen starvationmay develop. Due to the development of such a state, tissue cells can die, which is a dangerous process for the body. Due to the pronounced stagnation of blood in the veins, toxins accumulate in the tissues.
Complications of this ailment also become blockages by blood clots, malnutrition of the tissues of the legs, the appearance of pigmentation and darkening of the skin.
Gradually, the layer of subcutaneous fat becomes denser,dermatitis,venous trophic ulcersappear. In very rare cases, such ulcers degenerate into malignant formations.
If the disease continues for a long period, then the person may subsequently developchronic venous insufficiency.
But the most dangerous complication of varicose veins ispulmonary embolism. This disease is fatal.
If you belong to a risk group, your relatives suffered from varicose veins or have to spend a lot of time standing by the nature of their work - you need to pay special attention to the condition of your legs so as not to miss the first "bells".
Basic prevention measures help prevent the onset of the disease, and also slow down the progress of existing varicose veins.
Prevention measures:
Despite its prevalence, varicose veins are difficult to treat. When the first alarming symptoms appear, do not postpone a visit to the vascular surgeon, because the sooner the disease is detected, the more chances of avoiding surgery are.
Varicose veins in the legs is a disease that can be treated for years, even after surgical removal, it reappears in 80% of cases.
The prognosis depends on the stage at which treatment is started. A set of preventive measures in the early stages (treatment of varicose veins with venotonics 2 times a year and a healthy lifestyle) allows you to stop the further development of the disease. You will have to adhere to a strict prevention framework throughout your life.
In the later stages (with the appearance of severe deformity, nodes, edema and signs of oxygen starvation of tissues), the prognosis determines the presence of concomitant diseases (diabetes mellitus, obesity) and the patient's readiness to follow the doctor's recommendations (be examined, take medications, lose weight).
With diabetes mellitus complications of varicose veins (thrombophlebitis, trophic ulcers) develop in 89%.
Varicose veins are considered a non-life-threatening disease, but its complications can greatly worsen the quality of life and prognosis. With deep vein thrombosis, about 50% of patients die from thromboembolism within 3 months.