Varicose veins are a problem not only for the elderly, but also for the very young. How often it happens that a young woman after childbirth acquires lumpy bulging veins on her legs, pain and other varicose vein problems.
Signs of varicose veins in the legs
The initial signs of varicose veins of the legs are considered the appearance of small vessels on the surface of the skin. They appear in small groups on the thighs. This is especially noticeable with cellulite. By the way, cellulite is directly related to varicose veins. Adipose tissue altered by cellulite makes it difficult for blood to drain from the lower extremities and increases the risk of developing varicose veins. The vessels that appear on the skin are called telangiectasia by doctors. These vascular networks are formed by small vessels, which may be a simple cosmetic defect, or may serve as a sign of the appearance of varicose veins.
To find out if you are at risk for varicose veins, it is recommended to consult a doctor. The doctor will also advise the treatment method that should be used for vascular networks. Another symptom of varicose veins is swelling of the legs. However, the legs can swell in other diseases (diseases of the kidneys, heart, etc. ), so these diseases must be ruled out first. And finally, the most unpleasant and indicative symptom of varicose veins is leg pain. The pain usually appears in the afternoon, a field of great physical exertion. The calf muscles ache, the pain is pulling and not too strong.
So if you have these symptoms: spider veins, swelling, leg pain - you should see a doctor.
Medical treatment of varicose veins of the legs
There are many effective drugs in the early stages of treating varicose veins of the legs. These are called venotonic drugs. They give tangible results only in complex therapies. Thus, to maximize the effect of venotonics, patients with varicose veins must constantly wear compression stockings. These are special socks, stockings and tights. They gently compress the diseased limb without compressing the vessels. Thus, the veins receive additional tone, and the disease develops more slowly.
However, special attention is paid to the fact that drug treatment cannot completely get rid of varicose veins. This is just a decrease in venous insufficiency, prevention of thrombophlebitis (which often complicates the lives of people with advanced varicose veins of the legs).
The doctor may advise the patient to undergo a course of lymphatic drainage. This is a special massage performed manually or by hardware. After lymphatic drainage, the swelling subsides, the outflow of blood and lymph from the lower extremities improves. However, the effect of this procedure is temporary, short-lived, so it is impossible to refuse the use of venotonics and wear compression stockings.
Folk remedies in the treatment of varicose veins
In addition to medical treatment of varicose veins, you can try using folk remedies. So a bath gives a good effect. Gradually, over the course of several days, you need to massage your legs with a jet of water from the shower. Every day, lowering the water temperature a little, you will gradually switch to cold water - and this will give the most significant result. If it is difficult to pour cold water on yourself, arrange a contrast bath for yourself: turn on the hot water and then the cold one for a few seconds and you should finish the procedure with cold water. After this bath, the legs should be red. Rub them with a towel and grease them with a nourishing cream.
Foot baths are helpful. Note that with varicose veins, you cannot take hot showers.
So that your legs don't get tired during the day, take a bath according to this recipe in the morning. Birch, nettle and burdock leaves (each taken 1 tablespoon) are prepared with 1 liter of boiling water and infused for half an hour. Then the resulting broth must be diluted with warm water (to bring it to body temperature) and you can take a bath. Keep your feet in the decoction for at least 20 minutes.
Tones the vessels of the legs and a bath of lemon balm, oregano, chamomile and nettle. Take 2 cups of the mixture (mix all the herbs in equal parts) and mix it with a liter of boiling water. After infusing the broth, add 2 liters of water and keep your feet in a warm bath for 20 minutes.
Note that folk remedies cannot completely treat varicose veins, but will only stop their development.
What is sclerotherapy?
Sclerotherapy is one of the most effective non-surgical treatments for varicose veins. The essence of the method lies in the fact that the doctor injects a special drug into the vein affected by varicose veins. This drug causes destruction of the inner layer of the vein and then the vein itself gradually sticks together and disappears over a period of 1. 5 years. Blood circulation begins to pass through healthy veins. Treatment requires 3-6 sclerotherapy sessions for each leg. After sclerotherapy sessions, you will see the result only after 2-8 weeks, and during all this time there may be unpleasant phenomena: bruising, tingling, pain. But over time, this will pass and the swollen veins will disappear. The doctor selects the drug individually for each patient, so the risk of side effects and complications is minimal. After high-quality sclerotherapy, varicose veins rarely recur.
If sclerotherapy is performed using an ultrasound scanner, it is called echosclerotherapy. This method is better because the scanner allows the doctor to fully control the movement of the syringe in the vein and monitor the even distribution of the drug.
Foam sclerotherapy is a method in which a drug in the form of a microfoam is injected into the affected vein. The microfoam has a closer contact with the vein walls and this leads to a greater efficiency of this method. Microfoam forces blood out of the vein - and therefore the vein sticks and stops working faster. Also, the blood expelled from the vein does not dilute the drug as in conventional sclerotherapy, so the drug works more effectively.
Operations for varicose veins
One of the most modern surgical methods for treating varicose veins of the legs is an operation under tumescent anesthesia. It is a type of local anesthesia based on a mixture of natural anesthetics. This method has many advantages: the patient leaves the clinic within 2 hours after the operation, there are almost no postoperative bruising, there is no intoxication that occurs with general anesthesia. The vein is radically removed, the effect persists for many years.
Operations under general anesthesia are no less effective, the only difference being that patients tolerate local anesthesia much more easily than general anesthesia.
Miniphlebectomy - this operation is performed under local anesthesia. The doctor makes punctures through which varicose veins are removed from the veins. This operation can serve as a substitute for sclerotherapy in some cases. Patients recover quickly, there are no scars and compression stockings only need to be worn for 1-2 weeks.
Short stripping - this method involves removing not the entire vein, but only the affected area. The doctor determines the exact position of the diseased vein, its length, then two small incisions are made through which the varicose vein is removed. The operation turns out to be short, the soft tissues of the leg are not cut - this allows the patient to recover quickly and not feel pain after the operation.
The endoscopic vein dissection method is now widely used. In simple words, an incision is made in the affected vein, into which an endoscope is inserted. The doctor has the opportunity to see the inside of the affected vein. By moving the endoscope, the doctor finds the length of the varicose vein and then cuts it. The advantages of this method are that the doctor sees everything he does, this allows him not to make mistakes and minimizes the trauma that the patient inevitably receives during the operation. This is a very promising method for the treatment of varicose veins, as the consequence of such an operation is a gradual decrease in venous insufficiency and an improvement in the condition of the veins.
Intravascular laser coagulation is another low-traumatic method for treating varicose veins. An ultrasound scanner controls the introduction of a light guide into the vein. Then the light guide is moved to the point where the vein enters the deep venous system. A laser is turned on, under the action of which the blood plasma boils, and the diseased vein is safely closed and ceases to function.
Most often, varicose veins suffer from generation to generation. Doctors don't know exactly why the condition occurs, but they believe that those whose grandmothers and mothers had varicose veins should take special care of their legs. As preventive measures, it is recommended to run, swim, massage in the shower, try not to gain weight, eat right and. . . never be discouraged!