Varicose veins - a disease accompanied by the expansion of subcutaneous vessels or veins that are located deep under the skin of the human body.
In this disease, the walls of the veins lose their elasticity, when enlarged nodes appear, they expand, creating blood stagnation, they are most visible on the legs of women. They are more likely to contract this disease. The disease can manifest itself at the age of 20, but more often in middle-aged women. Men also get sick, but much less often.
Reasons
Sometimes the cause of varicose veins is the frequent use of alcoholic beverages. Alcohol itself causes vasodilation, but if abused, it will lead to harmful consequences.
Young girls who like to sit for hours with their legs crossed are also at risk of developing the disease. In this position of the legs, blood stagnates, which leads to the interruption of the natural blood supply to the whole body.
Main factors
What are the causes of varicose veins?
- Heredity. If parents had weakened vein walls, it can happen again in children.
- The cause of the disease can be high blood pressure. Sometimes it is due to a violation of the hormonal system.
- For many women, pregnancy is difficult, especially at the end of labor. In the beginning, the disease is not manifested, 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. It is often found in athletes who engage in physical exercises. 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 developing varicose veins.
- Being on your feet all the time isn't any better - it can also promote disease.
- Women who frequently use contraceptives with a large amount of hormones are at risk.
- Disease of the hip joint or previous injuries can lead to the development of the disease.
- People who are overweight are more likely to develop varicose veins. They have a constant load on the venous system.
- Abuse of sunburn, frequent saunas and drinking alcoholic beverages lead to the same situation.
Varicose veins are much easier to avoid than to cure. You just need to lead a healthy lifestyle, take care of good physical condition, plus a normal diet. In this case, there is a high probability of avoiding varicose veins.
How do varicose veins appear on the legs? The first signs with a photo
As a rule, various symptoms of varicose veins can appear already at an early stage, and then the disease is still curable.
As a rule, people rarely think about tiredness in the 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, identifying the early stage of varicose veins is not so easy. This happens due to the fact that varicose veins have a huge number of symptoms, and few people pay attention to them. People overlook leg swelling and fatigue. This is especially true for pregnant women: varicose veins are often not given much importance and it is believed that such a complication during pregnancy is quite normal.
Indeed, excessive body weight can be considered the cause of varicose veins, but usually the pounds disappear after the baby appears, but it also happens that a woman who suffered from varicose veins during pregnancy cannot get rid of this disease after childbirth. Often this is due to the fact that excess weight leads to vein disease.
Early symptoms of varicose veins are easy to notice: legs get tired quickly from any physical activity, become numb if they are in one position for a long time. But, as a rule, hardly anyone pays attention to it, believing that pain in the legs when overcoming a long distance is normal. In winter, many people attribute the pain to the presence of heavy insulated shoes on their feet, while in summer the cause is heat. However, this is just an excuse and there is no truth in it.
It is worth considering the earliest symptoms of varicose veins that can be noticed during the diagnosis when contacting a specialist: leg fatigue after a little physical effort or pain after wearing heavy shoes, women who wear heels often experience this, the presence of pain, a burning sensation in the legs in the evening, increasedfatigue, deterioration of performance. If the disease is ignored, then the first sign of varicose veins are ulcers.
Diagnostics
From the very beginning of detecting a disease such as varicose veins, it is necessary to probe the veins in order to determine pain, tension, density, the presence of affected parts of the vein, swelling and inflammation inside them. The specialist who deals with 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 a vertical 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 defined contour. With the help of palpation and surface examination, the specialist can get the first information about the condition of the patient's blood vessels. After the preliminary examination, 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 that helps in the correct diagnosis of the disease.
What tests are given if varicose veins are suspected?
The first analysis is blood sampling for hormones, biochemistry and hemoglobin. A general blood test is also taken, its group and Rh, infectious group are determined.
After that, the patient should urinate for analysis in order to determine 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 foci of the disease. This procedure takes no more than half an hour, during which time 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 course, different treatment methods are used.
To treat the first signs of varicose veins on the legs, you should contact a phlebologist, after the examination he will make the correct diagnosis, it is impossible to treat this disease on your own. If timely treatment is not undertaken, patients may die.
Methods of treating the first signs of varicose veins on the legs:
- sclerotherapy;
- treatment;
- herbs;
- compression underwear;
- surgical intervention.
Folk methods
They are used only in complex treatment in combination with medicines, it is necessary to take nettle and acacia tinctures. These tinctures are drunk three times a day before meals, it is useful to make cold foot baths from decoctions of burdock, nettle and birch leaves.
All suggested herbal preparations are taken only with a doctor's permission, it is not recommended to drink decoctions and tinctures independently.
Drug treatment
Such drugs, which have a tonic effect on the veins, are sold in pharmacies in the form of tablets and capsules, ointments and gels.
In order for the application of the ointment to become effective, it is recommended to wear compression underwear at the same time.
Compression underwear
This assortment includes tights, socks, different compression underwear is prescribed in different stages of varicose veins. You can buy such medical socks in specialized stores.
This underwear helps to normalize the venous blood outflow, compression of the necessary force restores the normal functioning of the veins.
Taking medication does not completely cure varicose veins, but it removes some of the symptoms and eases the disease process. Also, thanks to the use of various drugs, the risk of developing diseases such as thrombophlebitis is reduced. This disease occurs as a result of not treating varicose veins, it is treated only in a hospital, and surgery is often required.
For treatment, I often use lymphatic drainage massage, thanks to its application in the general course of therapy, the patient's lymph outflow in the legs improves, there will be less swelling, fatigue and heaviness in the legs disappear. The only drawback is the massage effect. 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 where the thrombus is located.
This medicine works by destroying the upper layer of the affected vein and then closing it up. Then, after 1. 5 years, this vein dissolves in the human body, other veins begin to perform their working functions.
The drug is prescribed by a phlebologist, individual treatment is applied to each patient. The course of sclerotherapy includes 3-6 procedures, after some time from 2 to 8 weeks, the doctor will be able to determine how this treatment worked.
This procedure can only be performed by experienced specialists, because if the procedure is performed incorrectly, the vein will restore blood flow through the sclerotic vessel and there will be no therapeutic effect.
In addition to the introduction of drugs, during the application of this procedure, microfoam is injected into a vein. The accuracy of this procedure requires an ultrasound scanner, thanks to which the doctor will see on the screen the movement of the needle and the process of distributing the medicine along it.
In more complex cases, when massage, compression garments, drugs do not help and the disease goes into a more acute phase, such patients are prescribed surgery.
Consequences of varicose veins
The consequence of the disease does not bode well, it is a cosmetic problem and related to other health problems that appeared as a result of varicose veins. Women who want their legs to look beautiful and slim suffer the most. 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.
Pains in the legs, which are accompanied by unpleasant itching, occur most often. Aching pain is caused by an insufficient amount of oxygen and other trace elements that cannot pass into the affected area. The cause of the pain is the defeat of large veins. But small vessels also give unpleasant sensations.
Of course, a cosmetic problem is also important for women, but the more unpleasant consequences are swelling of the ankles. The pain is in the upper legs 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 the places of dilated veins. With such a disease, a person suffers from constant itching, formation of wounds and various rashes. The appearance of dermatitis can lead to thrombophlebitis. When a blood clot appears, you must immediately seek the help of a specialist. If this is not done, the consequences for the person can be very serious. Therefore, it cannot be postponed in any case.