Varicose veins are a disease that, above all, hurts the veins in the legs. What to do when symptoms appear, how to treat varicose veins and what factors are the basis for the development of the disease? Awareness of these issues will help to avoid the negative consequences of the disease.
General information about varicose veins
The carrier of varicose veins is almost every fifth person out of the total percentage of the world's population. The main threat of the disease is that its symptoms cannot be noticed immediately, which is why timely treatment is delayed and the disease leads to complications.
The full medical name for this disease is varicose veins. From the name it can be understood that in the presence of diseases of the peripheral veins located on the limbs of the human body increase in size, thus obtaining a swollen and unhealthy appearance.
With varicose veins, nodules, cobwebs, clusters, and other non-standard vein entanglements may appear on the skin. Their color becomes deeper, edema and pain appear. Due to the appearance of nodules, blood cannot flow stably through the veins, blood clots form, due to which the veins are exposed to high pressure.
Achieving a certain pressure indicator leads to the fact that during thrombosis the blood in the veins is pushed outwards, stretching the walls of the blood vessels. The first characteristic symptoms of varicose veins appear, such as visible intertwining of veins, expansion of their volume and dark blue shade.
Varicose veins usually cover the surface of the legs, so people who suffer from such a disease complain of pain in the veins in the legs. Treatment of varicose veins should be urgent and under the supervision of an experienced physician. When the first symptoms appear, consult a therapist.
Causes
The main cause of varicose veins is a disorder of stable blood flow. Stagnation of blood in the veins leads to pressure exerted on them. Thus, the primary factors influencing the development of varicose veins include:
- Genetic predisposition. If both parents suffered from varicose veins, then the probability of developing the disease in their child can reach 70%. The first symptoms of the disease appear at an early age, and the development of the disease can be avoided by health care.
- Increased physical activity. Standing on your feet regularly and for a long time can strain your blood vessels. Therefore, varicose veins are often found in professional athletes and in people who have undergone heavy physical production work.
- Lack of physical activity. With the complete absence of movement in the blood vessels, blood stagnation occurs. Older people, as well as office workers who lead a sedentary or sedentary lifestyle, can suffer from varicose veins.
- Hormonal imbalance. Functional disorders of the hormonal or endocrine system of the human body can lead to various consequences. For example, female representatives are faced with blood stagnation in the veins. Hormonal disorders can occur during puberty, pregnancy, lactation, menopause, as well as due to private stressful situations and nervous disorders. In such periods, estrogen does not predominate in the female body, but the corpus luteum hormone, which has a relaxing effect on the muscles.
- Mechanical action on veins. Contraction of peripheral veins located on the surface of the extremities can also affect the occurrence of blood congestion. For example, tight clothing has such an effect.
- Alcohol abuse. Alcohol contains substances that are toxic and toxic to the body and also increase blood pressure. Toxins and pressure cause the walls of blood vessels to lose firmness and tone.
- obesity. Excessive food intake leads to rapid weight gain, which is why the limbs of the body may not tolerate the load placed on them.
When the veins hurt exactly on the legs, then the cause of painful sensations are, as a rule, varicose veins. Attention should be paid to factors that may influence the development of the disease, and lifestyle should be revised.
Symptoms
Before starting treatment for varicose veins, you need to make sure that the veins are very painful precisely because of the appearance of such a disease. The disease is not asymptomatic, the main thing is to pay attention to all deviations from the norm in the work of the body. The following manifestations speak of varicose veins:
- Pain in the legs. The pressure that the blood exerts on the walls of the blood vessels leads to painful and unpleasant sensations in the lower extremities. Then the vein hurts, you may face an uncomfortable burning sensation and heaviness in your legs.
- Swelling. Swelling on the surface of the legs can appear before the end of the day, when the limbs experience a peak of tension. The swelling affects not only the main part of the legs, but also the feet, ankles and the knee joint area.
- Convulsions. Convulsive muscle contractions with varicose veins typically occur at night. They may be accompanied by nervous tics and convulsive twitches.
- Varicose veins. As mentioned earlier, varicose veins take on a completely different appearance. They are swollen, sinuous and dark blue. The large saphenous veins indicate the presence of thrombosis.
- Skin discoloration. Due to the fact that during the disease stagnation of blood in the veins occurs, the skin under the peripheral veins can change its shade to darker and dull.
- Trophic ulcers. Due to the violation of the blood supply to the skin, defects appear that do not heal for a long time.
The most common symptoms of varicose veins are fever and general weakness.
If you start treating the disease, then it can develop to the next stage. With the rapid development of varicose veins of the lower extremities, you may encounter the following symptoms:
- skin hardening;
- dark spots;
- loss of moisture in the skin, violation of its diet;
- bleeding caused by rupture of nodules.
If one of these symptoms occurs, you need to see a doctor and start treatment immediately.
Methods of treatment
If the veins on the legs hurt precisely because of varicose veins, then the expert will prescribe a whole series of measures to eliminate the disease. The most common treatments for varicose veins include:
- medical preparations;
- folk remedies;
- gymnastics;
- massage;
- dressings and bandages affected areas;
- special diet.
Treatment will be most effective if the patient agrees to a comprehensive rather than selective approach.
Medications
Drugs for the treatment of varicose veins can be divided into 4 groups:
- external use;
- for oral administration;
- to relieve symptoms;
- to treat the underlying causes;
- operational methods.
In the fight against the disease, doctors prescribe drugs that thin the blood, painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs, vitamin complex, etc. Oral medications can be given orally or by injection.
Any medication should be used only under the supervision of a physician, following the instructions for use and duration of treatment.
Folk remedies
Folk remedies for the treatment of varicose veins should complement a number of measures to eliminate the disease. You can use them at home.
Among the common folk methods are:
- medicinal baths;
- compresses;
- herbal decoctions.
Baths for effective treatment of varicose veins are recommended 3-4 times a week. The water should be diluted with a special sea salt for baths or special herbs prepared in advance. For example, you can use the following recipe:
- Fill the tub with warm water.
- Dissolve the dried leaves of medicinal herbs in water.
- Bathe for 20-25 minutes.
Chamomile, St. John's wort, oak bark and plantain leaves, which can be bought in any pharmacy in the city at a low price, are suitable as raw materials for baths. Such baths can be taken for prophylactic purposes, as they help clean the blood vessels of toxic substances, and also stabilize blood flow.
You can make compresses and lotions from pharmaceutical herbal and essential oils, aloe juice or honey. To do this, you need to apply one of the listed components to the areas affected by varicose veins, and then wrap the application area with an elastic bandage. You need to change such dressings twice a day every 2-3 hours.
You can prevent the development of the disease in folk ways by consuming decoctions of medicinal herbs inside. Raw materials from the following plants are suitable for the preparation of broth:
- hawthorn;
- chamomile;
- hop cones;
- plantain;
- St. John's wort;
- licorice root;
- angelica root.
You should consult your doctor in advance about alternative methods. It is possible that some components cannot be used due to the presence of allergic reactions.
gymnastics
One of the reasons for the development of varicose veins is inactivity, which causes blood stagnation in the veins. Therefore, people who are forced to lead a computer lifestyle should regularly perform gymnastic exercises at home. For example:
20-25 times:
- Sit on a chair
- Press your feet together
- Tighten your muscles
- Put your feet on your toes and then on your heels
20-25 times:
- Lean against the wall with both hands
- Climb on your toes
- Get on your heels
15-20 times:
- Sit down
- Stand on your toes as you sit
- Get on your heels
15 times on each leg:
- Sit down
- Raise your right leg parallel to the floor for 7 seconds
- Below
- Do the same with your left foot.
Massage
You can do a massage for varicose veins on your own at home. You will need a special nourishing cream or oil. The sea thorn is perfect. It should be rubbed into the problem areas of the feet in a circular motion for five minutes a day. This procedure will also increase the elasticity of the skin and nourish it with moisture.
Diet
The diet for varicose veins implies a restriction in the consumption or complete rejection of the following foods:
- soups;
- marinade;
- salty, smoked, sweet food fried in oil;
- coffee and beverage derivatives;
- alcoholic and tobacco products.
It is worth diversifying the diet with food that has a positive effect on strengthening the walls of blood vessels:
- fresh fruits and vegetables;
- nuts;
- fish products;
- cabbage;
- fermented dairy products.
Operational methods
There is treatment for varicose veins and surgery. However, it is used in extremely advanced cases. Operations consist of ligation of the veins of the esophagus and stomach with the imposition of an anastomosis or placement of a stent in the canal between the hepatic and portal veins.
To avoid varicose veins, it is worth resting your legs and doing preventive home procedures. Effective treatment of already formed varicose veins consists of timely and complex treatment under the guidance of a specialist.
Which doctor to go to
Treatment is performed by a phlebologist, a vascular surgeon.