Varicose veins are a serious disease that significantly impairs the quality of life, and without timely treatment makes it simply unbearable.
That is why it is important for everyone who faced such a problem to know the causes of varicose veins, its manifestations, and most importantly, to study the best methods of treating this disease.
General information
Varicose veins is a chronic vascular disease that develops as a result of blood stagnation (usually in the lower extremities). This is due to the failure of the vascular valves, which normally pass blood exclusively upward, from the lower extremities to the heart. Stagnant blood puts pressure on the walls of blood vessels, as a result of which they become thinner, lose elasticity and deform, expanding significantly. On the legs of such a patient with the naked eye, one can observe the wriggling "snakes" of blood vessels that rise above the skin, and in some places form varicose "nodes".
Causes of varicose veins
There are quite a few reasons for the development of this disease. In particular, varicose veins can lead to:
- "Bad" heredity. Varicose veins are encountered by persons with congenital weakness of the valve apparatus or venous walls.
- Increased venous pressure. Very often, factors that increase blood pressure lead to such a disease, namely, pregnancy, obesity, constant vertical loads (when a person stands on his feet for a day), a sedentary lifestyle (sedentary work).
- Taking hormonal drugs. Certain hormonal medications, such as the high estrogen birth control pill, cause blood clots and can lead to varicose veins.
- Violation of blood circulation. These disruptions can appear due to poor physical activity, smoking, wearing too tight shoes, or chronic constipation.
- Hormonal disruptions associated with age-related changes in the body.
Manifestations and complications of the disease
Doctors notice that varicose veins are not as terrible in themselves as its complications are dangerous. Indeed, at the first stages of the development of the disease, the expansion of the saphenous veins is an aesthetic problem for a person (from which women especially suffer). First, vascular networks appear on the skin - the so-called "cobwebs". At the same time, a person begins to feel heaviness in the legs, notices swelling of the limbs and feels pain when walking. These are important symptoms of varicose veins, which in no case should be ignored. If a person is in no hurry to consult a doctor and find out the cause of the ailment, he risks running varicose veins and encountering a problem that cannot be solved without surgery.
With the development of varicose veins, the skin in the lower leg area becomes denser and becomes bluish. The calves of the patient begin to "ache" even with a short walk, and under the skin you can see swollen veins. Moreover, over time, such veins become very painful.
But this is just the beginning of serious health problems. If a person does not begin to fight the existing disease, irreversible changes begin to occur in the skin surrounding the affected veins, as a result of which lipodermatosclerosis develops, and later trophic ulcers appear. Moreover, without treatment, the inner walls of the veins become inflamed and provoke blood clots. This is how thrombophlebitis develops. Increasing in size, blood clots block the lumen of the vein, and at any time the clot can come off. And this condition is fraught with death.
Thus, it is quite clear that varicose veins need to be treated. And you need to start therapy as early as possible. Next, we will consider the methods of treatment for this serious disease.
Drug treatment
In the complex therapy of varicose veins, medications are necessarily used. Most of these are capsules or tablets, which have a versatile effect on the body. In particular:
- Phlebotonics. These drugs increase blood flow, preventing the development of thrombosis, and at the same time, increase the tone of the vascular walls. It will not be possible to eliminate varicose veins with such drugs, but they are quite capable of relieving the swelling of the legs, eliminating the burning sensation and pain.
- Blood thinning drugs. Such medicines thin the blood and promote better blood circulation, preventing the development of thrombosis. Medicines are prescribed only on an individual basis, and the timing of the application is set by the doctor.
- Anti-inflammatory drugs. These include pills, ointments and gels that relieve pain, relieve swelling, and prevent platelets from sticking together. More importantly, these medications prevent the inflammation of the veins that leads to thrombophlebitis.
Stockings and tights from varicose veins
The fair sex is faced with varicose veins much more often than men. This is largely due to hormonal changes that occur in the female body (menopause, pregnancy). That is why the most optimal way to prevent varicose veins for them is wearing special tight-fitting stockings or tights. Such compression underwear compresses the legs and prevents varicose veins, which means it is an excellent prevention of varicose veins. And in the case of an already developed disease, such underwear protects the legs from pain, swelling and fatigue.
Hydrotherapy
Treatment of varicose veins with water has been known since time immemorial. At different temperatures, the veins narrow and expand, which helps to increase their elasticity. Knowing this, modern doctors use hydrotherapy in the early stages of the development of varicose veins, when vascular networks have just begun to appear on the skin. Moreover, depending on the existing problem, baths can be local (only for the feet), or general (for the whole body). The water temperature in such a bath varies from 20 to 40 ° C.
Unconventional treatments
In the complex treatment of varicose veins, non-traditional methods can also be used. Here are some examples.
Potato juice
Affected veins should be lubricated with freshly squeezed potato juice in the morning, afternoon and evening, and bandages with a bandage dipped in this juice should be applied at night. In addition, 100 ml of potato juice should be drunk 3 r / day. Varicose veins should be treated with such a remedy for 3-4 months.
Apple vinegar
It is called "remedy number 1" for varicose veins, and all because apple cider vinegar improves blood circulation, strengthens the vascular walls and improves skin tone. It is very simple to use: 2-3 r / day you need to lubricate the skin in the area of the affected veins with vinegar. And in parallel, you should drink a glass of water in which 1 tsp was diluted. vinegar. The duration of therapy is 2 months.
Kalanchoe leaves
This is another effective remedy for dealing with varicose veins. Fill a half-liter bottle with chopped Kalanchoe leaves halfway, and fill the raw material with 40% alcohol to make the bottle full. After letting the product stand in a dark place for a week, strain it and use the tincture to rub the affected areas 2 r / day. The treatment should be complemented with a light massage of swollen veins. This treatment lasts 4 months.
Willow bark
Baths with white willow bark will be a good help in the fight against this disease. For such a procedure, it is necessary to grind the bark, after which 2 tbsp. l. pour such raw materials with 400 ml of water and boil over low heat for 15 minutes. Add the finished product to buckets of water, where then lower your feet and hold for 30 minutes. And immediately after the procedure, put on compression stockings and let your legs rest. The procedures should be carried out every other day for 3 months. By the way, to enhance the effect, a decoction of willow bark can be diluted with a decoction of oak bark.
All of these methods are excellent means of preventing this disease and provide good help in treating varicose veins at an early stage of the disease. However, practice shows that in 80% of cases, people with affected veins go to doctors with an advanced disease. In such a situation, neither compression underwear, nor creams and ointments, nor folk remedies, are able to in any way affect the development of the disease. Drastic measures are needed. Fortunately, modern medicine is ready to offer effective methods for solving this complex issue.
Sclerotherapy
This is a non-surgical method of dealing with varicose veins, in which the doctor, using a thin needle, injects a special substance into the affected vein - a sclerosant. Such a substance sticks together the vein from the inside, as a result of which it dissolves, and blood flow begins to flow through healthy veins. The number of sclerosant administration sessions can vary depending on the severity of the lesion. And throughout the treatment, the patient must wear compression underwear.
As a result of such therapy, a person almost forever forgets about the annoying varicose veins. Relapses appear only in 25% of cases, and they are usually associated with an advanced disease. True, it should be understood that sclerotherapy is not performed for pregnant women and obese people.
Laser treatment
This is one of the modern advances in medicine that allows you to get rid of varicose veins without surgery. The radiation generated by the laser "solders" the affected vein from the inside, thereby closing its lumen and cutting off the path of blood flow, which begins to travel through deeper veins. Over time, connective tissue is formed from the glued vessel, which subsequently dissolves.
This method of solving the problem is more effective than sclerotherapy. It is low-traumatic, the operation takes no more than 40 minutes, and the patient can leave the clinic literally 2 hours after the operation. No wonder the treatment of varicose veins with a laser is called "office surgery". In this case, incisions in the skin have to be done only when large veins are eliminated, while small varicose veins are eliminated without damaging the tissues. One has only to remember that the cost of such an operation is quite high.
Radiofrequency ablation
More recently, in our country, they began to practice the most modern method of eliminating the affected veins, which is called radiofrequency ablation. It is used to treat the main large veins affected by varicose veins. In this case, a radiofrequency catheter is inserted through a puncture in the skin into the affected vein, which, using microwaves, "brews" the vein from the inside. Moreover, the catheter has sensors that allow you to monitor the effectiveness of the procedure.
This method can compete with laser treatment, because it also does not require incisions on the skin, does not leave hematomas and is carried out in just 30 minutes. On the day of the operation, the patient can return to his duties. However, the cost of such a procedure is high even in comparison with laser coagulation.
Surgical removal
It is important to understand that in the case of eczema, thrombophlebitis, as well as trophic ulcers, treatment with the above methods is not carried out. It is possible to eliminate neglected varicose veins only by surgical removal of veins in conjunction with sclerotherapy. However, everything is not so critical here either. In the arsenal of modern surgeons there are low-traumatic microsurgical methods that allow you to remove a diseased vein through one small incision, and there will simply be no scars after the procedure. In addition, new technologies make it possible to remove painful veins in just 30-40 minutes.
There is no need to be afraid of varicose veins. Quite the opposite, the disease requires close attention to itself, and the sooner the better. Timely identification and a correctly selected method of treatment will allow you to eliminate the disease without problems and live a full life.
Good health to you!