Varicose veins are a problem not only for the elderly, but also for very young people. How often does it happen that a young woman after giving birth gets bulging nodular veins on her legs, pain and other problems with varicose veins.
Signs of varicose veins on the legs
The initial signs of varicose veins of the legs are considered to be the appearance of small vessels on the surface of the skin. They appear in small groups on the thighs. This is especially visible with cellulite. By the way, cellulite is directly related to varicose veins. Adipose tissue replaced by cellulite hinders the flow of blood from the lower extremities and increases the risk of developing varicose veins. Veins that appear on the skin are called telangiectasia by doctors. These vascular networks form small blood vessels, which can be a simple cosmetic defect, and can also serve as a sign of the beginning of varicose veins.
To find out if you are at risk of varicose veins, it is recommended to consult a doctor. The doctor will also advise the treatment method to be used for vascular networks. Another symptom of varicose veins is swelling of the legs. However, the legs can also swell with other diseases (kidney, heart disease, etc. ), so these diseases must first be ruled out. And finally, the most unpleasant and indicative symptom of varicose veins is pain in the legs. The pain usually occurs in the afternoon, in the field of heavy physical exertion. The lower leg muscles hurt, the pain is pulling and not very strong.
So, if you have these symptoms: spider veins, swelling, leg pain - consult a doctor.
Medical treatment of varicose veins of the legs
There are many drugs that are effective in the initial stages of treating varicose veins of the legs. These are so-called venotonic drugs. They give tangible results only in complex therapy. Therefore, in order to enhance the effect of venotonics, patients with varicose veins should constantly wear compression stockings. These are special socks, stockings and tights. They gently compress the affected limb without squeezing the blood vessels. Thus, the veins gain additional tone, and the disease develops more slowly.
However, special attention is paid to the fact that drug treatment cannot completely resolve varicose veins. This is only the reduction of venous insufficiency, the prevention of thrombophlebitis (which often complicates the life of people with advanced varicose veins of the legs).
The doctor may recommend that the patient undergo a course of lymphatic drainage. This is a special massage that is performed manually or with hardware. After lymphatic drainage, the swelling decreases, 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 taking venotonics and wearing compression stockings.
Folk remedies in the treatment of varicose veins
In addition to medical treatment of varicose veins, you can also try using folk remedies. So showering gives a good effect. Gradually, over several days, you must massage your legs with a stream 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 douse yourself with cold water, organize a contrasting shower for yourself: turn on hot and then cold water for a few seconds, and you must finish the procedure with cold water. After such a shower, the legs should turn red. Rub them with a towel and apply a nourishing cream.
Foot baths are beneficial. Keep in mind that you cannot take warm baths with varicose veins.
So that your legs don't get tired during the day, make a bath according to this recipe in the morning. Birch, nettle and burdock leaves (take 1 tablespoon each) are boiled with 1 liter of boiling water and left for half an hour. Then the obtained soup must be diluted with warm water (so that it is brought to body temperature) and you can take a bath. Keep your feet in the decoction for at least 20 minutes.
Tonifies the vessels of the legs and a bath of lemon balm, oregano, chamomile and nettle. Take 2 cups of the mixture (mix all herbs in equal parts) and boil with a liter of boiling water. After the broth is infused, add 2 liters of water and keep your feet in a warm bath for 20 minutes.
Keep in mind that folk remedies cannot completely cure 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 changed by varicose veins. This drug causes the destruction of the inner layer of the vein, and then the vein itself gradually sticks and retracts over a period of 1. 5 years. Blood circulation begins to go 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 all this time there may be unpleasant phenomena: hematomas, tingling, pain. But with time it 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 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 uniform distribution of the drug.
Foam sclerotherapy is a method in which medicine in the form of microfoam is injected into the affected vein. The microfoam has a closer contact with the vein walls and this leads to greater efficiency of this method. The microfoam forces the blood out of the vein - and therefore the vein clogs up and stops working faster. In addition, the blood removed from the vein does not dilute the drug, as in conventional sclerotherapy, so the drug works more effectively.
Varicose vein operations
One of the most modern surgical methods for the treatment of varicose veins of the legs is surgery under tumescent anesthesia. It is a type of local anesthesia based on a mixture of natural anesthetics. This method has numerous advantages: the patient leaves the clinic within 2 hours after the operation, there are almost no postoperative hematomas, there is no intoxication that occurs in general anesthesia. The vein is radically removed, the effect lasts for many years.
Operations under general anesthesia are no less effective, with 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 he removes the enlarged tributaries of the veins. In some cases, this operation can serve as a substitute for sclerotherapy. 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 its affected area. The doctor determines the exact position of the diseased vein, its length, then two small incisions are made through which the enlarged 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 method of endoscopic vein dissection is widely used today. In simple words, an incision is made on the affected vein into which the endoscope is inserted. The doctor has the opportunity to see the inside of the affected vein. By moving the endoscope, the doctor learns the length of the varicose vein and then cuts it. The advantages of this method are that the doctor sees everything he is doing, which 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, because the consequence of such an operation is a gradual reduction of venous insufficiency and improvement of the condition of the veins.
Intravascular laser coagulation is another low-traumatic method for treating varicose veins. The ultrasound scanner controls the introduction of the light guide into the vein. Then the light guide is advanced to the point where the vein enters the deep venous system. The laser is turned on, under the action of which the blood plasma boils, and the diseased vein is safely closed and stops functioning.
Most often, varicose veins suffer from generation to generation. Doctors do not know exactly why the disease occurs, but they believe that people whose grandmothers and mothers had varicose veins should take special care of their legs. As preventive measures, running, swimming, showering, trying not to gain weight, and eating properly are recommended. . . never lose heart!