Varicose veins are a serious disease that significantly reduces the quality of life and without timely treatment makes it simply unbearable.
That is why it is important for everyone who has encountered such a problem to know the causes of varicose veins, its manifestations and most importantly, to study the best methods of treatment of this disease.
General Information
Varicose veins are 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 blood vessels that normally carry blood exclusively from the lower extremities to the heart. Stagnant blood puts pressure on the walls of blood vessels, causing them to thin, lose elasticity and deform, expanding significantly. With the naked eye on such a patient's feet can be observed trembling "snakes" of blood vessels, which 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 cause:
- "Bad" legacy. Varicose veins are encountered in individuals with congenital weakness of the valve apparatus or venous walls.
- Increase in venous pressure. Very often, the factors that increase blood pressure cause such a disease, namely pregnancy, obesity, constant vertical load (when a person stands on his feet for a day), sedentary lifestyle (sedentary work).
- Taking hormonal drugs. Some hormonal drugs, such as estrogen birth control pills, cause blood clots and can cause varicose veins.
- Circulatory disorders. These disorders can occur due to poor physical activity, smoking, wearing too tight shoes, or chronic constipation.
- Hormonal disorders associated with age-related changes in the body.
Manifestations and complications of the disease
Doctors note that varicose veins are not in themselves so terrible as its complications are dangerous. Indeed, in the early stages of the disease, enlargement of the diaphragm veins is an aesthetic problem for a man (from which women suffer especially). First of all, vascular networks appear on the skin - the so-called "spider". At the same time, the person begins to feel heaviness in the legs, notices swelling of the limbs and feels pain while walking. These are important symptoms of varicose veins that should in no way be ignored. If a person is not in a hurry to visit a doctor and find out the cause of the disease, he risks running varicose veins and will face a problem that cannot be solved without surgery.
With the development of varicose veins, the skin of the lower leg becomes denser and becomes bluish. The patient's calves begin to "moan" even with a short walk, while under the skin you see swollen veins. Moreover, over time, such veins become very painful.
But this is only the beginning of serious health problems. If a person does not begin to fight the existing disease, irreversible changes begin in the skin surrounding the affected veins, resulting in the development of lipodermatosclerosis, which later leads to trophic ulcers. Moreover, without treatment, the inner walls of the veins become inflamed and cause blood to clot. This is how thrombophlebitis develops. By increasing in size, blood clots block the venous lumen and can clot at any time. And this condition is full of death.
Thus, it is quite clear that treatment of varicose veins is necessary. And you should start therapy as soon as possible. Next, we will discuss the treatment methods for this serious disease.
Drug treatment
Medications are definitely used in the complex therapy of varicose veins. Most of them are capsules or tablets that have versatile action on the body. In particular:
- Phlebotonics. These drugs increase blood flow, prevent the development of thrombosis and at the same time increase the tone of blood vessel walls. It will be impossible to eliminate varicose veins with such drugs, but they can quite relieve the swelling of the legs, eliminate the burning sensation and pain.
- Blood thinners. Such drugs thin the blood and promote better blood circulation, prevent the development of thrombosis. Medications are prescribed only individually, and the time of application is determined by your doctor.
- Anti-inflammatory drugs. These include pills, ointments, and gels that relieve pain, relieve swelling, and prevent platelets from touching each other. Most importantly, these medications prevent inflammation of the veins, which causes thrombophlebitis.
Socks and tights from varicose veins
The fair sex suffer from varicose veins much more often than men. This is largely due to hormonal changes in a woman's body (menopause, pregnancy). That is why the most optimal way to prevent varicose veins for them is to wear special tight socks or tights. Such compression underwear compresses the legs and prevents varicose veins, which means that it is an excellent prevention of varicose veins. And in the case of an already developed disease, such underwear protects the feet from pain, swelling and fatigue.
Hydrotherapy
Water treatment of varicose veins has been known since time immemorial. At different temperatures, the veins narrow and widen, which helps to increase their elasticity. Knowing this, modern physicians use hydrotherapy in the early stages of the development of varicose veins, when vascular networks have just appeared on the skin. Moreover, depending on the problem, baths can be local (for the feet only) or general (for the whole body). The water temperature in such a bath ranges from 20 to 40 ° C.
Unconventional treatment
Non-traditional methods can also be used in the complex treatment of varicose veins. Some examples.
Potato juice
Affected veins should be lubricated in the morning, afternoon and evening with freshly squeezed potato juice, and at night should be bandaged with a bandage soaked in this juice. In addition, you should drink 100 ml of potato juice 3 times a day. Varicose veins should be treated with such means for 3-4 months.
Apple vinegar
It is called "medicine number 1" for varicose veins and it all happens because apple cider vinegar improves blood circulation, strengthens blood vessel walls and improves skin tone. It is very easy to use: 2-3 times a day you should lubricate the skin around the veins damaged by vinegar. And at the same time, you should drink a glass of water in which 1 tsp is diluted. Vinegar. The duration of therapy is 2 months.
Kalanchoe leaves
This is another effective way to deal with varicose veins. Fill a half-liter bottle with chopped kalanchoe leaves in half and fill the raw material with 40% alcohol to make the bottle full. After soaking the product in a dark place for a week, strain it and apply the tincture to clean the affected areas 2 times a day. The treatment should be supplemented with a light massage of the swollen veins. This treatment lasts for 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 crust, after which 2 s. K. Pour such raw material into 400 ml of water and boil on low heat for 15 minutes. Add the finished product to the water buckets, then lower the legs and let stand for 30 minutes. And as soon as the procedure is over, put on compression stockings and stop the legs. Procedures should be performed every other day for 3 months. Incidentally, to enhance the effect, willow bark decoction can be diluted with oak bark decoction.
All of these methods are an excellent way to prevent this disease and provide good help to varicose veins in the early stages of the disease. However, practice shows that in 80% of cases people with affected veins go to doctors with advanced disease. In such a situation, neither compression underwear, nor creams and ointments, nor folk remedies can in any way affect the development of the disease. Radical measures are needed. Fortunately, modern medicine is ready to offer effective methods to solve this difficult 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 - sclerosant. Such a substance traps inside the vein, causing it to open and blood flow to begin to pass through healthy veins. The number of sclerosant administration sessions may vary depending on the severity of the injury. And throughout the treatment, the patient should wear compression underwear.
As a result of such therapy a person almost forever forgets about annoying varicose veins. Relapses occur in only 25% of cases and they are usually associated with advanced disease. It is true to understand that sclerotherapy is not performed on 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 "wraps" the affected vein from the inside, thus closing its lumen and interrupting the blood flow path that begins the journey into the deep veins. Over time, connective tissue is formed from the adhesive vessel, which subsequently disintegrates.
This method of problem solving is more effective than sclerotherapy. It is low traumatic, the operation lasts no more than 40 minutes and the patient can leave the clinic literally 2 hours after the operation. Not surprisingly, laser treatment of varicose veins is called "office surgery. "In this case, skin wounds should be done only when the large veins are eliminated and the small varicose veins without tissue damage. Just keep in mind that the cost of such an operation is quite high.
Radiofrequency ablation
Recently, in our country, they began to practice the most modern method of removing the affected veins, called radiofrequency ablation. It is used to treat major large veins affected by varicose veins. In this case, a radiofrequency catheter is inserted through a skin puncture into the affected vein, which, using microwave ovens, "erupts" from inside the vein. 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 wounds on the skin, leaves no hematomas and is held in just 30 minutes. On the day of surgery the patient can return to his duties. However, the cost of such a procedure is high even compared to 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. Neglected varicose veins can be eliminated only with surgical removal of the veins in conjunction with sclerotherapy. However, not everything is so critical here either. In the arsenal of modern surgeons there are low-trauma microsurgical methods that allow you to remove a diseased vein through one small incision and the scars after the procedure will simply be gone. In addition, new technologies make it possible to remove painful veins in just 30-40 minutes.
There is no need to fear varicose veins. On the contrary, the disease requires a lot of attention and the sooner the better. Timely identification and properly selected method of treatment will allow you to eliminate the disease without any problems and live a full life.
Wish you health!