Varicose veins or in common people, varicose veins are irreversible and persistent lengthening and expansion of veins, mainly of the lower extremities, as well as the formation of certain "nodes" as a result of pathology of the venous walls or due to a genetic defect (insufficiency of their valves).
Today, varicose veins are a very common disease. It affects every tenth man and every third woman. The more a person leads a sedentary, inactive lifestyle, the more he is susceptible 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 usefulness appears with an increase in venous pressure. It is generally accepted that varicose veins occur exclusively in the lower end, however, there are varicose veins of the esophagus, stomach, testicular veins or pelvic varicose veins.
By the way, the latter is one of the reasons for a fairly common disease such as hemorrhoids.
The main reasons for the development of varicose veins include:
- Gender: Often in female representatives, varicose veins are provoked by the intake of various hormonal drugs or pregnancy.
- Heredity
- Increased venous pressure, including due to weight problems, a sedentary sedentary lifestyle.
The above reasons contribute to both the expansion of the veins and the disruption of the usual normal functioning of the venous valves.
Stages of the disease
The following stages of varicose veins are distinguished:
- Initial- it is characterized by aching pain in the legs, swelling and heaviness. Prevention of the disease at this stage, after all, is better suited.
- First stage- knotty veins, spider veins, which can be seen through the skin, are also added to the above symptoms. Burning sensation in the area of the feet and calves is often possible.
- Second stage- the number of varicose veins and asterisks increases sharply, becoming more visible. The pain becomes unbearable, the legs are draining heavily.
- Third stage- 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 structure of the skin on the legs. Venous nodes begin to take on a convex shape.
What happens with varicose veins?
One of the very first symptoms of varicose veins are frequent swelling of the legs, distention and heaviness in the calves with prolonged sitting.
Also, no less characteristic 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 - bursting pains in the calves, cramps in the calf muscles, a feeling of heat 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.
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 may develop.
To remove the risks of manifestation of varicose veins, it is necessary to get rid of the main causes of its occurrence and external factors: smoking, alcohol, unhealthy diet.
Varicose veins of the lower extremities develops from a lack of fiber-rich foods in the diet. It is an intestinal cleaner that removes toxins, 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 discharge through communicative or pathological veins.
- Localized lesion of intradermal or subcutaneous vessels without reflux.
- Widespread venous involvement with defective deep vein blood flow.
- Widespread lesion of the veins with defective blood flow through the communicative veins.
In addition, separately isolated, such a form 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 observing the initial symptoms, you should immediately contact a specialist dealing with venous diseases - a phlebologist.
Success in treating varicose veins of the legs depends largely on when you started treatment. Naturally, the earlier 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 the need arises.
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.
- Carrying out a surgical operation on the varicose veins.
- Medication (conservative treatment).
In addition to the above methods, the complex uses medical knitwear and physiotherapy exercises.
Below we will consider in more detail each of the 3 methods.
Sclerotherapy
Scleteropia is a painless, non-surgical, and, most importantly, a high-quality and effective method of treating varicose veins. This is a fairly young way of treating varicose veins compared to 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 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 a kind of "gluing" of the veins.
After the end of the procedure, a bandage is applied, which must be worn for one week. During this time, the vein is 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 sclerotherapy not only will not help in this case, but can also cause a number of complications, and possibly even deterioration.
For example, there is a classification of varicose veins according to sear, where varicose veins are divided into degrees, and this method can only treat varicose veins of the 1st degree.
As for the consequences that sclerotherapy entails, it is the preservation of small bruises for a short period 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, since in many cases, varicose veins that have arisen during pregnancy goes away on its own without any intervention.
- If you are concerned exclusively with the aesthetic side of the problem and there are no other symptoms (inflammation of the veins, pain).
- A surgical method for treating varicose veins is indicated only if others do not make sense or will not bring results.
Treatment of varicose veins by surgery 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.
- Ligation- 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.
- Stripping- a surgical method for the treatment of varicose veins, in which the "diseased" vein is removed using a thin small probe.
- Microflebectomy- the essence lies in the removal of varicose veins through a puncture, which is made in the skin.
Medication method of 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:
- Improve lymphatic drainage function.
- Increase the general venous tone.
- Improve the microcirculation of hemorheological disorders.
It should be noted that the use of these drugs, like any others, should be carried out exclusively after a thorough examination and as directed by a doctor.
Treatment with folk remedies for varicose veins
In addition to traditional medicine, there are also recipes from the "folk" first aid kit:
- Take a couple of garlic cloves and finely chop it. Note that only garlic with white husks is used! Then stir it with two tablespoons of butter. We apply the resulting gruel in the "sore" veins for the night, on top of parchment paper, secure with a tight bandage and at the end wraps it with a warm scarf. In the morning, after a shower, we dress in something warm.
- Hop infusion is an equally effective folk remedy against varicose veins. Take hop cones (be sure to dry) and pour 1 glass of boiling water. Let it brew for an hour and then feel free to take the infusion half an hour before meals in a glass.
And remember varicose veins is 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!