Varicose veins are a disease accompanied by the expansion of the subcutaneous vessels or veins located deep under the skin of the human body.
With this disease, the walls of the veins lose their elasticity, when varicose nodes appear, they expand, forming blood stasis, most of all they are seen on the legs of women. More often it is they who suffer from the disease. The disease can appear from the age of 20, but more in middle-aged women. Men also get sick, but much less often.
Causes
Sometimes the cause of varicose veins is the frequent use of alcoholic beverages. Alcohol itself provokes vasodilation, but if abused, it will lead to adverse consequences.
Young girls who like to sit cross-legged for hours are also at risk of developing the disease. In this position of the legs, blood stagnation occurs, which leads to interruptions in the natural blood supply to the entire body.
The main factors
What are the causes of varicose veins?
- Heredity. If the parents had weakened vein walls, then this can be repeated in children.
- High blood pressure can be the cause of the disease. Sometimes this is due to a violation of the hormonal system.
- For many women, pregnancy is difficult, especially at the end of gestation. At first, the disease does not manifest itself, but after childbirth, all the signs of the disease are on the face. The stress that women endure during childbirth strongly affects the location of the veins.
- Overloading the body with physical muscle work provides all the conditions for the development of the disease. This is common in athletes who exercise. You must be able to properly regulate the load on the human body.
- People with sedentary work, in particular office workers, are exposed to the development of varicose veins.
- Constant staying on your feet is no better - it can also give rise to the disease.
- Women who often use contraceptives with a lot of hormones are at risk.
- Disease of the hip joint or previous trauma can lead to the development of the disease.
- Overweight people most often have varicose veins. They have a constant load on the venous system.
- Tanning abuse, frequent saunas and alcohol consumption lead to the same situation.
Varicose veins are much easier to avoid than cure. You just need to lead a healthy lifestyle, pay attention to good physical fitness, plus a normal diet. In this case, there is a high probability of avoiding varicose veins.
How does varicose veins manifest on the legs? The first signs from the photo
As a rule, at an early stage, various symptoms of varicose veins may appear, at which time the disease is still treatable.
As a rule, people rarely think about tired legs in the evening, swelling or varicose veins. If the symptoms appear too sharply, then we are talking about a neglected disease.
Early manifestations of varicose veins
As a rule, it is not so easy to identify the early stage of varicose veins. This is due to the fact that varicose veins have a huge number of symptoms, and few people pay attention to them. People ignore leg swelling and fatigue. Especially it concerns pregnant women: often varicose veins are not given special importance and it is believed that during pregnancy such a complication is quite normal.
Indeed, the cause of varicose veins can be considered too large body weight, but usually the kilograms go away after the appearance of the baby, but it also happens that a woman who suffered from varicose veins during pregnancy cannot get rid of this disease after the birth of a child. This is often due to the fact that it is excess weight that leads to venous disease.
The early symptoms of varicose veins are easy to notice: the legs begin to tire quickly from any physical activity, numb if they are in one position for a long time. But, as a rule, rarely anyone pays attention to this, believing that pain in the legs when overcoming a long distance is normal. In winter, many attribute the pain to the presence of heavy insulated shoes on their feet, while in summer the heat becomes the cause. However, this is just an excuse, and there is no truth in this.
It is worth considering the earliest symptoms of varicose veins that can be seen during diagnosis when contacting a specialist: leg fatigue after little physical exertion or pain after wearing heavy shoes, often women who wear heels face this, the presence of pain, burning sensation inlegs in the evenings, increased fatigue, deterioration in working capacity. If the disease is neglected, then the first sign of varicose veins is ulcers.
Diagnostics
From the very beginning of detecting a disease such as varicose veins, it is necessary to probe the veins to determine soreness, tension, density, the presence of areas of the vein that have been affected, swelling and inflammation inside them. The specialist who performs this examination is called a phlebologist. What to do at the first signs of varicose veins on the legs? First of all, it is necessary to diagnose the severity of the disease.
During the procedure, the patient must take an upright position so that the veins are filled with blood as much as possible. It is best if the diagnosis is carried out in the evening - this will allow the affected areas to acquire a more contoured outline. With the help of palpation and a superficial examination, the specialist can obtain the very first information regarding the state of the patient's vessels. After the preliminary examination has been carried out, the second stage of the diagnosis of varicose veins begins - examination with the help of ultrasound.
Taking tests during the diagnosis of varicose veins is an important source of information that helps to diagnose the disease correctly.
What tests are taken if you suspect varicose veins?
The first test is blood sampling for hormones, biochemistry and hemoglobin. A general blood test is also taken, its group and rhesus, the infectious group are determined.
After that, the patient must pass urine for analysis to determine also hemoglobin, sugar, ketone bodies, and this analysis will also determine acetone and ammonia in the patient's urine.
Ultrasound procedure
With the help of ultrasound or ultrasound examination of the veins, you can examine the venous system from the inside and find the foci of the disease. This procedure takes no more than half an hour, while the patient is in a horizontal position.
Treatment
This disease is very dangerous and widespread throughout the world, depending on the stage of the disease, different methods of treatment are used.
To treat the first signs of varicose veins in the legs, you need to consult a phlebologist, after the examination, he will make the correct diagnosis, you cannot treat this disease on your own. In the event that timely treatment is not taken, patients may die.
Methods for treating the first signs of varicose veins on the legs:
- sclerotherapy;
- medical treatment;
- medicinal herbs;
- compression underwear;
- surgical intervention.
Folk methods
They are used only in complex treatment in combination with drugs, you need to take tinctures of nettle, acacia. These tinctures are drunk three times a day before meals, it is useful to make cool foot baths from decoctions of burdock, nettle and birch leaves.
All the proposed herbal preparations are taken only with the permission of a doctor; it is not recommended to drink decoctions and tinctures on your own.
Treatment with drugs
Drugs are used that have a tonic effect on the veins and are sold in the pharmacy in the form of ointments and gels.
In order for the use of ointments to become effective, it is at the same time recommended to wear compression underwear.
Compression underwear
This assortment includes tights, stockings; at different stages of varicose veins, different compression of the linen is prescribed. You can buy such medicated tights in specialized stores.
This underwear helps to normalize the venous outflow of blood, the necessary compression force restores the normal functioning of the veins.
Taking medications does not completely cure varicose veins, but removes some of the symptoms and facilitates the course of the disease. Also, thanks to the use of various drugs, the risk of manifestation of a disease such as thrombophlebitis is reduced. This disease appears as a result of the lack of treatment for varicose veins, it is treated only in a hospital, and surgery is often required.
Also, for treatment I often use lymphatic drainage massage, thanks to its use in the general course of therapy, the patient's lymph outflow in the legs improves, edema will decrease, fatigue and heaviness in the legs disappear. The only negative is the effect of the massage. It will last only 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 medicine is injected into the vein in which the thrombus is found.
This drug works in such a way that the top layer of the affected vein is destroyed, then it sticks together. Then, after 1. 5 years, this vein dissolves in the human body, other veins begin to perform its working functions.
The drug is prescribed by a phlebologist, individual treatment is applied for each patient. The course of sclerotherapy includes 3-6 procedures, after a while from 2 to 8 weeks, the doctor will be able to determine how this treatment worked.
This procedure can only be carried out by experienced specialists, since if the procedure is performed incorrectly, the vein will restore its blood flow through the sclerosed vessel, and there will be no therapeutic effect.
In addition to the administration of medications, when using this procedure, microfoam is injected into the vein. For the accuracy of this procedure, an ultrasound scanner is needed, thanks to which the doctor will see on the screen the movement of the needle and the process of distributing the drug along it.
In more difficult cases, when massage, compression underwear, medications do not help and the disease progresses to a more acute stage, such patients are prescribed surgeries.
The consequences of varicose veins
The consequence of the disease does not bode well, this is a cosmetic problem and associated with other health problems that have arisen as a result of varicose veins. The most affected women are those who want their legs to look beautiful and slender. With the onset of the disease, this is impossible, but the cosmetic problem is not the main one. Varicose veins lead to more tangible health problems.
Most often, there is pain in the legs, which is accompanied by unpleasant itching. Aching pain occurs from insufficient oxygen and other trace elements that cannot pass into the affected area. The cause of the pain is damage to the large veins. But small vessels also give unpleasant sensations.
Of course, for women, a cosmetic problem is also important, but the more unpleasant consequences are swollen ankles. The pain goes away in the upper and lower legs. Even with good rest, the person will feel constant pain.
Dermatitis - a consequence of varicose veins
The worst consequence is dermatitis. The disease develops in places of varicose veins. With such a disease, a person suffers from constant itching, wound formation, and the occurrence of various rashes. The onset of dermatitis can lead to thrombophlebitis. When a blood clot appears, an urgent need to seek the help of a specialist. If this is not done, then the consequences for a person can be very serious. Therefore, in no case should it be delayed.