Most people have heard or know of a disease like varicose veins. However, not everyone knows that this pathological process affects not only the vessels of the legs, but can also affect the veins of the pelvic organs, which is especially important for women.
To combat this disease, you must first know what symptoms to look for. But it is also important to have an idea of what kind of varicose veins this is, why it develops and what are the ways to deal with it.
The essence of pathology
Varicose veins are a pathology in which a number of pathological changes occur in the veins, external or internal. First of all, we are talking about deformation, which means dilation and elongation of veins, but with that comes the thinning of the vascular wall, as well as the development of insufficiency of the valve system. All these factors lead to impaired blood circulation in the vascular bed, as a result of which the blood stagnates and the vessels themselves begin to decay due to excessive pressure.
Pathology poses a minimal threat in the early stages, but as it progresses, the risk increases exponentially, especially when it comes to varicose veins in the pelvic area.
In such situations, the outflow of blood from the pelvic organs is disturbed, primarily endangering the work of the female sexual organs, as well as impaired reproductive function.
Due to stagnation in the varicose veins affected by the pelvic veins, an excessive amount of blood accumulates coming from the external and internal genital organs of the pelvis. In this case, the blood does not "go" well into the genital vein, a large main vessel. Due to stagnation, edema of internal organs and tissues occurs, an inflammatory process develops, etc.
Provided that this form of varicose veins progresses, is accompanied by strong and constant painful sensations, the development of various gynecological diseases, there is a real threat of infertility.
Causes of varicose veins of the pelvis in women
First of all, it is important to understand that varicose veins of the small pelvis mainly affect women who have reached puberty. The older you are, the more likely you are to develop this disease. If we draw an analogy, according to statistics, after 35 years, varicose veins are diagnosed with a probability of about 50%, while at the age of 20 this figure barely reaches 20%. Of course, predisposing factors play a very important role.
In general, the following reasons and factors for the development of varicose veins of the pelvis can be distinguished:
- Genetics - congenital predisposition is one of the main causes of all types of varicose veins. This is not about the transmission of varicose veins, but about the innate predisposition for the weakness of the valve system, which has been felt for years. Dysplasia or thinning of the vascular walls is also a genetic factor.
- Very often varicose veins develop as a result of serious hormonal disorders. These can be hormonal disorders during menopause or hormonal problems caused by long-term use of strong hormonal medications.
- Pregnancy is the reason why women are more likely to develop all forms of varicose veins, especially the small pelvis. This factor is ambiguous, combining both hormonal changes and increased loads, because the growing fetus increases the pressure exerted on the organs and vessels of the pelvic region.
- Excessive effort - varicose veins of the small pelvis can develop with some probability if a woman engages in hard physical work, undergoes exhausting training or simply spends a lot of time on her feet due to her professional activities (hairdressers, salesmen, surgeons, chefs). . . This can also include being overweight, as obesity leads to a constant increase in the load on the legs and pelvis, and cholesterol affects the condition of the blood vessels.
- Medal also has a downside, too inactive and inactive lifestyle can also lead to varicose veins. Lack of adequate level of mobility causes stagnant processes in the pelvic region.
- Intimate problems, mostly related to sex. It can be a long absence or a systematic premature termination of sexual intercourse, inability to reach orgasm, etc.
- Various diseases of the genital and intrapelvic organs.
- Pathologies of the cardiovascular system and blood clotting, such as thrombosis.
Clinical picture
As mentioned earlier, varicose veins of the pelvis do not pose a serious threat in the early stages of development. At the same time, this form of pathology is very difficult to detect, because the main symptom of varicose veins is varicose veins, it is visible mainly on the legs, in the pelvic region, vessels show up mainly in later stages of development and not always.
However, the disease has certain clinical signs and they intensify as the varicose veins progress. Consider the clinical picture of the pathology:
- Unpleasant and painful sensations in the lower abdomen. At the beginning, this symptom is unstable and vague, mild pain rarely bothers, mostly with strong physical effort during the day. The development of the disease leads to increased pain, they become intense, dragging in nature, they can be constant.
- Painful feelings during menstruation should be especially noted. Appearing with the approach of menstruation, the peak intensity usually falls on 1-2 days of menstruation. In this case, there may be a shortage or, conversely, an excessive abundance of secretions.
- The development of varicose veins in the small pelvis is accompanied by pain and discomfort during intercourse. As before, the pain is initially insignificant, but intensifies as the disease progresses.
- The pathological process is accompanied by irregularities in the menstrual cycle, which is manifested not only in the scarcity or abundance of discharge, there are delays in menstruation or an increase in the duration of bleeding.
- Itching, burning sensation, swelling may occur in the vagina and on the external genitalia. The external genitalia and mucous membranes may change color; in the later stages of development, cyanosis is present.
- In some cases, problems with urination are observed, which is manifested in the inability to completely empty the bladder, pain during urination, and sometimes even urinary incontinence.
- In the later stages of the progression of varicose veins in the perineal region, as well as on the external genitalia, veins appear. The vessels are bumpy, bent, often forming vascular "stars. "
- With the serious development of varicose veins can begin bleeding from the uterus, the risk of impaired reproductive function and the development of infertility.
Conservative approach to treatment
For the complete treatment of varicose veins of the small pelvis, a woman must follow all the recommendations of the doctor, as well as change her lifestyle. First of all, you need to pay attention to the loads, if they are too high, it is necessary to reduce them, if the patient leads an excessively inactive lifestyle, it is necessary to do sports, walk and the like more often.
Patients with varicose veins are warmly recommended to adjust their diet, eat as little unhealthy food as possible (fried, smoked, sweet in large quantities, salty), alcohol and caffeine. It is better to give preference to vegetables and fruits, fermented dairy products, cereals.
Also, as a preventive measure for disease progression and for therapeutic purposes, doctors prescribe wearing compression underwear for patients with varicose veins.
Drug Therapy
Despite the importance of the recommendations described above, drug therapy is still the basis of conservative treatment.
It is important to understand that all medications, their dose and duration of administration are determined by your doctor.
Since the main goal is to normalize blood flow and maintain vascular health, the treatment is based on drugs from the following groups:
- Venotonics - are responsible for toning blood vessels.
- Anticoagulants - reduce blood viscosity and prevent blood clots.
Traditional medicine
Traditional methods of treatment are not as effective, but in combination with drug therapy can significantly improve the patient's condition and positively affect treatment in general. Among the popular methods, the following are especially effective:
- Applying wild chestnut to create tinctures and special creams.
- Application of apple cider vinegar for varicose veins.
- Decoctions of chamomile or larch.
It is important to understand that for the treatment of varicose veins of the pelvis in traditional medicine are mostly used recipes in which medicinal decoctions and infusions are consumed orally. This is due to the fact that any ointment, and even more the compress, cannot be used in the pelvic area.
Surgical methods of treatment
It is worth recognizing that conservative treatment methods give really visible results mainly in the initial stages of varicose veins. At the same time, the problem can be thoroughly solved and the disease can be completely eliminated only by surgery. In modern medicine there are many variations of surgical treatment of varicose veins, consider the most common and most effective types of operations:
- Sclerotherapy- a special chemical composition that has sclerosing or sticky properties is injected into the lumen of the affected vein. As a result, the vein sticks, which is excluded from the circulation and replaced by connective tissue.
- Laparoscopy- small punctures are made in the abdominal cavity through which the ovarian vein is tied with the help of surgical equipment for its further excision.
- Endovascular surgery- the surgeon reaches the affected vessels through the femoral vein, after which, with the help of special equipment, the ovarian vein is embolized.