Varicose veins, or varicose veins, in ordinary people are an irreversible and persistent lengthening and widening of veins, mainly of the lower extremities, as well as the formation of certain "knots" as a result of pathology of the vein walls or due to a genetic defect (inadequacy of their valves).
Varicose veins are a very common disease today. Every tenth man and every third woman are affected. The more a person leads a sedentary, inactive lifestyle, the more susceptible they are to this disease.
USA, France, UK - are the leading countries in the prevalence of varicose veins (on average more than 30% of the population).
The causes of varicose veins
This usefulness manifests itself with an increase in venous pressure. It is generally accepted that varicose veins are exclusively at the lower end, but there are varicose veins of the esophagus, stomach, testicular veins or varicose veins of the pelvis.
By the way, the latter is one of the reasons for a fairly common disease like hemorrhoids.
The main reasons for the development of varicose veins are:
- Gender: Varicose veins are often provoked in female representatives by taking various hormone preparations or pregnancy.
- Inheritance
- Increased venous pressure, also due to weight problems, a sedentary, sedentary lifestyle.
The above reasons contribute to both the dilation of the veins and the disruption of the usual normal function of the venous valves.
Disease stages
The following stages of varicose veins are distinguished:
- Initial- It is characterized by aching pain in the legs, swelling, and a feeling of heaviness. After all, prevention of the disease at this stage is more appropriate.
- First stage- In addition to the symptoms mentioned above, there are also knotty veins, spider veins that are visible through the skin. Burning sensation in the area of the feet and calves is often possible.
- Second floor- the number of varicose veins and asterisks increases sharply and becomes more visible. The pain becomes unbearable, the legs emptied a lot.
- Third section- here the skin of the legs is directly affected. It becomes cracked, lifeless, and dry. It is also possible to change the pigmentation and structure of the skin on the legs. Venous nodes take on a convex shape.
What happens with varicose veins?
One of the first symptoms of varicose veins is frequent swelling of the legs, swelling and heaviness in the calves when sitting for long periods of time.
No less characteristic of varicose veins is the reduction or disappearance of these symptoms after a night's rest or a walk.
If you do not start treatment in time, you will experience the following symptoms - bursting pain in the calves, cramps in the calf muscles, feeling hot in the legs.
Also on the legs you can see red-blue vascular "stars", saphenous veins expand and you can see intradermal dark blue veins.
If the varicose veins are advanced, thrombophlebitis (inflammation of the dilated veins with blood clots forming in them), eczema in the affected areas, or trophic ulcers may develop.
To eliminate the risks of the manifestation of varicose veins, it is necessary to eliminate the main causes of their appearance and external factors: smoking, alcohol, unhealthy diet.
Varicose veins of the lower extremities are caused by a lack of high-fiber foods in the diet. It is a colon cleanser that removes waste, pus, toxins, and radionuclides from the body.
Forms of varicose veins
There are the following types (forms) of varicose veins of the lower end:
- Localized venous lesion with defective drainage through communicative or pathological veins.
- Localized lesion of intradermal or subcutaneous vessels without reflux.
- Widespread venous involvement with impaired blood flow to the deep veins.
- Large lesion of the veins with impaired blood flow to the communicative veins.
In addition, isolated separately, such a shape as the reticular shape of varicose veins. It is a type of varicose vein in which thin intracutaneous veins expand
diagnosis
When observing the first symptoms, you should immediately contact a venous disease specialist - a phlebologist.
Success in treating varicose veins on the legs depends heavily on when you started treatment. Of course, the sooner you see a doctor, the lower the risk of complications.
After the first examination, the doctor will prescribe an instrumental examination, usually Doppler ultrasound.
It happens that if necessary, radiopaque and radionuclidic procedures are used.
With these methods, special substances are injected into the bloodstream and then their distribution through the blood vessels is examined.
How to treat varicose veins
Varicose veins can be treated with 3 methods:
- Sclerotherapy.
- Performing a surgical operation on the varicose veins.
- Medication (conservative treatment).
In addition to the above methods, the complex uses medical knitwear and physical therapy exercises.
Below we will take a closer look at each of the 3 methods.
Sclerotherapy
Skleteropia is a painless, non-surgical, and most importantly, high quality and effective method of treating varicose veins. This is a relatively new type of treatment for varicose veins compared to other treatments.
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 in any way affect the patient's usual rhythm of life.
The essence of the method is that a special sclerosing drug is carefully injected into the "diseased" vein, which causes the veins to "stick" together.
After the procedure is finished, a bandage is put on, which must be worn for a week. During this time, the vein becomes overgrown, 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, then in this case not only will sclerotherapy not help, but it can also cause a number of complications, and possibly even worsening.
For example, there is a classification of varicose veins according to Sear, in which varicose veins are divided into degrees and only 1st degree varicose veins can be treated with this method.
The consequences of sclerotherapy are the short-term retention of small bruises and slight pigmentation of the "diseased" veins.
Performed by a professional doctor, this method guarantees a permanent result: the dilated veins "close" and blood flow never returns through them.
operation
Surgical treatment of varicose veins or laser surgery for varicose veins. Currently, this method is one of the most important. First, there are a number of contraindications:
- During pregnancy or in women who have just given birth, it is recommended to wait at least 5 weeks, as in many cases varicose veins that develop during pregnancy will go away on their own without intervention.
- If you are solely concerned with the aesthetic side of the problem and there are no other symptoms (inflammation of the veins, pain).
- Surgical method of treating varicose veins is only indicated when others make no sense or produce no results.
Treatment of varicose veins with a surgical method is usually carried out on an outpatient basis without the patient being hospitalized.
There are 3 methods of surgical treatment for varicose veins - ligation, stripping, and microflebectomy.
- league- This is a type of varicose vein ligation. As a rule, this method is used in combination with others, for example as a supplement to stripping or phlebectomy.
- Stripping- a surgical method of treating varicose veins in which the "diseased" vein is removed with a thin, small probe.
- Microflebectomy- The essence lies in the removal of varicose veins through a puncture that is inserted into the skin.
Drug treatment method
An equally important component in the treatment of varicose veins is drug therapy. Competently selected drugs will help not only to get rid of the more basic manifestations of varicose veins, but also to reduce the risk of complications.
Most of these drugs help relieve swelling and pain syndromes, improve blood circulation, and so on.
These drugs help with:
- Improve the lymphatic drainage function.
- Increase the general venous tone.
- Improve the microcirculation of hemorheological disorders.
It should be noted that the use of this medication, like all others, should only be carried out after a thorough examination and according to a doctor's prescription.
Treatment with folk remedies for varicose veins
In addition to conventional medicine, there are also recipes from the "People's" first aid kit:
- Take a couple of cloves of garlic and finely chop them. Note that only white-skinned garlic is used! Then mix with two tablespoons of butter. We apply the resulting pulp to the "sore" veins on parchment paper for the night, fix it with a tight bandage and wrap it with a warm scarf at the end. In the morning after showering, we put on something warm.
- Hops infusion is an equally effective folk remedy for varicose veins. Take hop cones (be sure to dry them) and pour 1 glass of boiling water. Let it steep for an hour and then take the infusion in a glass half an hour before meals.
And remember, varicose veins are not a sentence, it is still possible and necessary to be treated, and the sooner you contact a specialist, the easier and more effective the treatment itself will be.
Bless you!