Varicose veins or in common people, varicose veins are an irreversible and persistent lengthening and expansion of the veins, mainly of the lower limbs, as well as the formation of some "knots" due to pathology of the venous walls or a genetic defect (insufficiency of the their valves).
Varicose veins are a very common disease today. It affects one in ten men and one in three women. The more a person leads a sedentary and inactive lifestyle, the more susceptible he is to this disease.
USA, France, UK - are the leading countries in the prevalence of varicose veins (more than 30% of the population on average).
The causes of varicose veins
This utility is manifested by an increase in venous pressure. It is generally accepted that varicose veins are exclusively of the lower extremity, however, there are varicose veins of the esophagus, stomach, testicular veins or varicose veins of the small pelvis.
By the way, the latter is one of the reasons for such a fairly common disease as hemorrhoids.
The main reasons for the development of varicose veins include:
- Gender: often in female representatives, varicose veins are provoked by taking various hormonal drugs or by pregnancy.
- Inheritance
- Increased venous pressure, including due to weight problems, a sedentary lifestyle.
The above reasons contribute to both the expansion of the veins and the disruption of the normal normal functioning of the venous valves.
Stages of the disease
The following stages of varicose veins are distinguished:
- Initial- is characterized by aching pains in the legs, swelling and heaviness. Disease prevention at this stage, after all, is more suitable.
- First stage- knotty veins, varicose veins, which can be seen through the skin, are also added to the above symptoms. A burning sensation in the foot and calf area is often possible.
- Second phase- the number of varicose veins and asterisks increases sharply, becoming more visible. The pain becomes unbearable, the legs drain heavily.
- Third phase- here the skin of the legs is directly affected. It becomes cracked, lifeless and dry. In addition, it is possible to change the pigmentation and texture of the skin on the legs. Venous nodes begin to take a convex shape.
What happens with varicose veins?
One of the very first symptoms of varicose veins are frequent leg swelling, distension and heaviness in the calves when sitting for a long time.
In addition, no less characteristic of varicose veins is the reduction or disappearance of these symptoms after a night's rest or after walking.
If you do not start treatment in time, the following symptoms appear: explosive pain in the calves, cramps in the calf muscles, a feeling of heat in the legs.
Red-blue "vascular stars" can also be seen on the legs, saphenous veins expand and dark blue intradermal veins can be seen.
With advanced varicose veins, thrombophlebitis (inflammation of the dilated veins with the formation of blood clots in them), eczema in the affected areas, or trophic ulcers can develop.
To remove the risks of the manifestation of varicose veins, it is necessary to eliminate the main causes of its occurrence and external factors: smoking, alcohol, unhealthy diet.
Varicose veins of the lower limbs develop from a 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 varicose veins of the lower extremity:
- Localized venous lesion with defective discharge through communicative or pathological veins.
- Localized lesion of intradermal or subcutaneous vessels without reflux.
- Diffuse venous involvement with defective deep venous blood flow.
- Diffuse lesion of the veins with defective blood flow through the communicative veins.
Also, separately isolated, a form such as the reticular form of varicose veins. It is a kind of common varicose veins, with it there is an expansion of thin intracutaneous veins
Diagnostics
When the initial symptoms are observed, you should immediately contact a specialist who deals with venous diseases - a phlebologist.
Success in treating varicose veins in the legs largely depends 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 radiopaque and radionuclide methods are used, if necessary.
With these methods, special substances are injected into the bloodstream, and then their distribution through the blood vessels is studied.
How to treat varicose veins
Varicose veins can be treated with 3 methods:
- Sclerotherapy.
- Performing surgery on varicose veins.
- Medicines (conservative treatment).
In addition to the above methods, the complex uses medical knitting and physiotherapy exercises.
Below we will consider each of the 3 methods in more detail.
Sclerotherapy
Scleteropia is a painless, non-surgical, and most importantly, high-quality and effective method of treating varicose veins. This is a fairly young way of treating varicose veins than others.
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 that it does not alter the patient's normal rhythm of life in any way.
The essence of the method lies in the fact that a special sclerosing drug is carefully injected into the "diseased" vein, which causes a kind of "sticking" of the veins.
After the end of the procedure, a bandage is applied, 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, sclerotherapy not only does not help in this case, but can also cause a number of complications and perhaps even deterioration.
For example, there is a classification of varicose veins according to sunburn, in which varicose veins are divided into degrees, and this method can only treat varicose veins of the 1st degree.
As for the consequences of sclerotherapy, it is the preservation of small bruises for a short time and a slight pigmentation of the "diseased" veins.
Performed by a professional doctor, this method guarantees a lasting result: the dilated veins "close" and the blood flow never returns through them.
operation
Surgical treatment for varicose veins or laser surgery for varicose veins. Currently, this method is one of the main ones. One, there are a number of contraindications:
- During pregnancy or women who have just given birth, it is recommended to wait at least 5 weeks, as in many cases the varicose veins that formed during pregnancy go away on their own without any intervention.
- If you are only interested in the aesthetic side of the problem and there are no other symptoms (inflammation of the veins, pain).
- A surgical method for the treatment of varicose veins is indicated only if others do not make sense or will not bring results.
Treatment of varicose veins by a surgical method is carried out, as a rule, on an outpatient basis, without hospitalization of the patient.
There are 3 methods of surgical treatment of varicose veins: ligation, stripping and microflebectomy.
- binding- This is a kind of varicose vein ligation. As a rule, this method is used in combination with others, for example, it serves as an addition to stripping or phlebectomy.
- striptease- a surgical method for the treatment of varicose veins, in which the "diseased" vein is removed using a small thin probe.
- Microflebectomy- the essence lies in the removal of varicose veins through a puncture, which is carried out in the skin.
Method of drug treatment
Drug therapy is an equally important component in the treatment of varicose veins. Competently selected drugs will help not only to remove the rather 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 flow, and so on.
These drugs help in the following:
- Improves the lymphatic drainage function.
- Increases the general venous tone.
- It improves the microcirculation of haemorheological disorders.
It should be noted that the use of these drugs, like all others, should be carried out exclusively after a thorough examination and as prescribed by a doctor.
Treatment with folk remedies for varicose veins
In addition to traditional medicine, there are also recipes from the "popular" first aid kit:
- Take a couple of garlic cloves and chop them finely. Note that only garlic with white peel is used! Then stir in two tablespoons of butter. We apply the resulting gruel to the "painful" veins for the night, on top of parchment paper, fasten with a tight bandage and finally wrap it with a warm scarf. In the morning, after a shower, we dress up in something warm.
- Hops tea is an equally effective folk remedy for varicose veins. Take the hop cones (be sure to dry) and pour 1 glass of boiling water. Leave to infuse for an hour and then feel free to take the infusion half an hour before meals in a glass.
And remember that varicose veins are not a sentence, it is still possible and necessary to be treated, and the sooner you turn to a specialist, the easier and more effective the treatment itself will be.
Be healthy!