Varicose veins - a disease that is accompanied by dilation of the subcutaneous vessels or veins located deep under the skin of the human body.
With this disease, the vein walls lose their elasticity, when the dilated nodes appear, they will expand, forming blood stasis, they are most evident in the legs of women. They are more likely to get sick. The disease can manifest at the age of 20 but is more common in middle-aged women. Men also get sick, but less often.
The reasons
Sometimes the cause of varicose veins is the regular use of alcoholic beverages. Alcohol itself has a vasodilator effect, but overuse can lead to bad consequences.
Young girls who like to sit cross-legged for long hours are also at risk. In this position of the leg, blood stagnation occurs, resulting in the interruption of the natural blood supply to the whole body.
Key factors
What are the causes of varicose veins?
- Heredity. If the parents have weakened venous walls, then this can recur in children.
- The cause of the disease may be high blood pressure. Sometimes this is due to a violation of the hormonal system.
- For many women, pregnancy is difficult, especially in the final stages of childbirth. At first, the disease did not show any symptoms, but after giving birth, the signs of the disease showed on the face. The stress women endure during childbirth has a strong influence on the location of the veins.
- The body is overloaded with the physical activities of the muscles that create all the conditions for the development of the disease. It is commonly found in athletes who engage in physical exercise. It is necessary to be able to properly regulate the load on the human body.
- People with sedentary jobs, especially office workers, are susceptible to varicose veins.
- Constantly standing on your feet isn't any better either - it can also be motivating for the disease.
- Women who regularly use birth control methods with large amounts of hormones are at risk of getting the disease.
- Hip disease or previous trauma may predispose to the development of the disease.
- Overweight people are more prone to varicose veins. They have a constant load on the venous system.
- Abuse of sunburn, frequent sauna and alcoholic beverages also lead to the same condition.
Varicose veins are much easier to avoid than to cure. You just need to follow a healthy lifestyle, pay attention to good physical exercise, plus a normal diet. In this case, there is a high probability that varicose veins can be avoided.
How does varicose veins manifest? First sign with a photo
As a rule, various symptoms of varicose veins can appear in the early stages, at which time the disease is still treatable.
As a rule, people rarely think about evening leg fatigue, swelling or varicose veins. If the symptoms appear too obvious, then we are talking about a neglected disease.
Early manifestations of varicose veins
As a rule, determining the early stage of varicose veins is not so easy. This happens because varicose veins have a large number of symptoms and few people pay attention to them. People ignore leg swelling and fatigue. This is especially true for pregnant women: varicose veins are often not taken very seriously, and it is believed that during pregnancy such a complication is completely normal.
Indeed, excess body weight can be considered a cause of varicose veins, but usually the kilograms disappear after the baby arrives, but there are also cases of women experiencing varicose veins while pregnant. The fetus cannot get rid of this disease after giving birth. Often this is because being overweight leads to venous disease.
The early symptoms of varicose veins are easy to notice: the legs begin to tire quickly after any physical activity, they become numb if in one position for a long time. But, as a rule, few people notice this, believing that it is normal to hurt their legs when crossing a long distance. In winter, many people find it painful to wear heavy insulated shoes on their feet, while in summer heat becomes the cause. However, this is just an excuse and there is no truth in it.
The earliest symptoms of varicose veins that can be noticed during diagnosis when contacting a specialist should be considered: leg fatigue after little exertion or pain after wearing heavy shoes, women often wear shoeshigh heels, pain phenomenon, feeling of heat in the legs at night, increased fatigue, impaired performance. If you don't pay attention to the disease, the first sign of varicose veins is ulcers.
Diagnose
At the outset of the diagnosis of a disease such as varicose veins, it is important to examine the veins to determine pain, tenderness, density, presence of affected venous segments, swelling, and inflammation of the side. in them. The specialist who handles this examination is called a phlebologist. What to do at the first sign of varicose veins in the legs? First of all, it is necessary to diagnose the severity of the disease.
During the procedure, the patient must lie in an upright position so that the veins are pumped with as much blood as possible. It is best that the diagnosis is made in the evening - this will allow the affected areas to get a more defined contour. With the help of palpation and physical examination, the specialist can obtain the first information about the patient's pulse status. After the preliminary examination is performed, the second stage of the diagnosis of varicose veins begins - a study using ultrasound.
Testing during the diagnosis of varicose veins is an important source of information to help make an accurate diagnosis.
What tests are done if varicose veins are suspected?
The first analysis is to take a blood sample for hormones, biochemistry, and hemoglobin. A general blood test is also performed, its group and Rh, infectious group are determined.
After that, the patient needs to have a urinalysis also to determine hemoglobin, sugar, ketone bodies, this analysis will also identify 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 disease. This procedure takes no more than half an hour, during which time the patient is in a horizontal position.
The treatment
This disease is very dangerous and common all over the world, depending on the stage of the disease, different treatment methods are applied.
To treat the first signs of varicose veins in the legs, you need to consult a vascular specialist, after examining the doctor will make an accurate diagnosis, can not self-treat. This disease is. In the absence of prompt treatment, the patient can die.
Methods of treating the first signs of varicose veins in the legs:
- therapeutic therapy;
- medical treatment;
- medicine;
- compression underwear;
- surgical intervention.
Folk method
They are used only in complex treatment in combination with drugs, you need to get tincture from nettle, acacia. These tinctures, taken three times a day before meals, are useful for making a cool foot bath from the decoction of burdock, nettle and birch leaves.
All recommended herbal preparations are taken only with the permission of a doctor; Do not arbitrarily drink decoction and drops.
Drug treatment
Such drugs, which have a venous strengthening effect, are sold in pharmacies in the form of tablets and capsules, ointments and gels.
For the ointment to be effective, you should wear compression underwear at the same time.
Compression underwear
This range includes tights, stockings, at different stages of varicose veins, different compression underwear is prescribed. You can buy such medical tights in specialized stores.
This underwear helps to normalize the outflow of blood to the veins, compressing the necessary force to restore the normal functioning of the veins.
Taking the drug does not completely cure varicose veins, but eliminates some symptoms and facilitates the course of the disease. In addition, thanks to the use of various drugs, the risk of manifestation of such a disease as thrombophlebitis is reduced. This disease occurs because there is no cure for varicose veins, it is only treated in a hospital and often requires surgery.
I also often use lymphatic drainage massage for treatment, thanks to its use in the general course, patients can improve lymphatic drainage in the legs, reduce swelling, fatigue and heaviness in the legs disappear. . The only downside is the effect of the massage. It will only last two months, but then the massage course can be extended.
Therapeutic therapy
This is the type of treatment used if surgery is needed, but the procedure is different from surgery. A special medicine is injected into the vein where the blood clot is found.
This medicine works in such a way that the top layer of the affected vein is destroyed, then it sticks back together. Then, after 1. 5 years, this vein disappears in the human body, other veins begin to perform its working functions.
The drug is prescribed by a veniologist, applying an individual treatment method for each patient. Sclerotherapy involves 3-6 sessions, after a period of 2 to 8 weeks, your doctor will be able to determine how well this treatment is working.
This procedure can only be performed by experienced specialists, because if done incorrectly, the vein will restore blood flow through the sclera vessel and will have no therapeutic effect.
In addition to the use of drugs, when applying this procedure, microfoam is injected into a vein. For the accuracy of this procedure, an ultrasound scanner is required, by which the doctor will see on the screen the movement of the needle and the delivery of the drug along it.
In more complicated cases, when massage, wearing underwear, medications do not help and the disease moves to a more acute stage, surgery will be indicated for these patients.
Consequences of varicose veins
The consequences of this disease are not good, it is a cosmetic problem and related to other health problems that appear as a result of varicose veins. Every woman wants her legs to look the most beautiful and slim. With the onset of the disease, this is not possible, but the cosmetic issue is not primary. Varicose veins lead to more specific health problems.
Usually, pain in the legs, accompanied by unpleasant itching. Soreness arises because insufficient oxygen and other trace elements cannot enter the affected area. The cause of the pain is the defeat of the great veins. But the small vessels also give a feeling of discomfort.
Of course, cosmetic issues are also important for women, but the more unpleasant consequence is swollen ankles. Pain in the upper and lower legs. Even with good rest, a person will feel constant pain.
Dermatitis - a consequence of varicose veins
The most serious consequence is dermatitis. The disease develops in places of varicose veins. With such a disease, a person suffers from constant itching, the formation of various wounds and rashes. The occurrence of dermatitis can lead to thrombophlebitis. When a blood clot occurs, you need to urgently seek the help of a specialist. If this is not done, the consequences for a person can be very serious. Therefore, there is no case where it is impossible to delay.