Most people have heard or known about a disease such as varicose veins. However, not everyone knows that this pathological process affects not only the vessels of the legs, but also the veins of the pelvic organs, which is especially important for women.
To counteract this illness, you must first know what symptoms to look out for. But it’s just as important to have an idea of what this type of varicose veins is, why it develops, and how it can be treated.
The essence of pathology
Varicose veins are pathologies in which a number of pathological changes occur in the blood vessels, external or internal. First of all, it is a deformation, which means the dilation and elongation of the veins, but in addition, there is also a thinning of the vessel wall and the formation of an inadequate valve system. All of these factors lead to damage to the blood circulation in the blood vessel, causing the blood to stagnate and the blood vessels themselves to collapse due to excessive pressure.
Pathology is minimal in the initial stages, but as it progresses, the risk increases exponentially, especially in pelvic varicose veins.
In such situations, the outflow of blood from the pelvic organs is disturbed, especially the function of the female genitals and the impairment of reproductive functions.
Excessive blood flow from the external and internal genitals of the pelvis accumulates due to the stagnation of the pelvis affected by varicose veins. In this case, the blood does not “go” well into the genital vein, a large trunk vessel. As a result of stagnation, edema of internal organs and tissues occurs, an inflammatory process develops, and so on.
Provided that this form of varicose veins progresses, accompanied by strong and constant painful feelings, the development of various gynecological diseases, there is a real danger of infertility.
Causes of pelvic varicose veins in women
First, it is important to understand that pelvic varicose veins are primarily affected by women who reach puberty. The older you age, the more likely you are to develop this disease. To draw a similarity, statistics show that 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 causes and factors of pelvic varicose veins can be distinguished:
- Genetics - innate predisposition is one of the main causes of all types of varicose veins. This is not about the spread of the varicose vein, but about the innate tendency of the weakness of the valve system that becomes perceptible over the years. Dysplasia or thinning of the vessel walls is also a genetic factor.
- Very often, varicose veins develop as a result of severe hormonal disorders. This can be a hormonal disorder during menopause or hormonal problems caused by prolonged use of strong hormonal medications.
- Pregnancy is the reason why women are more likely to develop all forms of varicose veins, especially the pelvis. This factor is multifaceted, combining both hormonal changes and increased loads because a growing fetus increases pressure on pelvic organs and blood vessels.
- Excessive strain - there may be some likelihood of varicose veins in a small pool if a woman engages in hard physical work, exposes herself to strenuous exercise, or simply spends a lot of time on her feet because of her professional activities (hairdressers, salespeople, surgeons, cooks). . . This can include being overweight because obesity leads to a constant increase in the load on the legs and pelvis, and cholesterol affects the condition of the blood vessels.
- The coin also has a drawback, overly sedentary and sedentary lifestyles can lead to varicose veins. The lack of an adequate level of mobility triggers stagnant processes in the basin region.
- Intimate problems, especially with sex. This can be a long absence of sexual intercourse or a systematic premature termination, inability to reach orgasm, and so on.
- Various diseases of the genitals and intrapelvic organs.
- Cardiovascular pathology and blood clotting such as thrombosis.
Clinical picture
As mentioned earlier, pelvic varicose veins are not a serious threat in the early stages of development. However, this form of pathology is very difficult to recognize because the main symptom of varicose veins is the enlarged veins, especially on the legs, in the pelvic region, the blood vessels appear mainly in the later stages of development, and not always.
Nevertheless, the disease has certain clinical symptoms and increases as the varicose veins progress. Consider the clinical picture of the pathology:
- Uncomfortable and painful feelings in the lower abdomen. Initially, this symptom is unstable and cloudy, with mild pain rarely disturbing, especially during the day with intense physical exertion. The development of the disease leads to increased pain, they become intense, they can be pulling, they can be permanent.
- Painful feelings during menstruation should be noted separately. They appear as menstruation approaches, with peak intensity usually falling within 1-2 days of menstruation. In this case, there may be a scarcity or, on the contrary, an excessive abundance of secretions.
- In the small pool, the development of a varicose vein is associated with pain and discomfort during cohabitation. As before, the pain is mild at first, but increases 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 secretions, but also in delayed menstruation or increased duration of bleeding.
- Itching, burning, swelling may appear in the vagina and external genitalia. The external genitalia and mucous membranes can change color, and cyanosis is present in later stages of development.
- In some cases, urination problems are seen, which are manifested in the inability to empty the bladder completely, pain when urinating, and sometimes urinary incontinence.
- In later stages of varicose veins, veins appear in the perineal region as well as in the external genitalia. The blood vessels are lumpy, tortuous, often forming vascular "stars. "
- Severe varicose veins can lead to uterine bleeding, an increased risk of impaired reproductive function and infertility.
Conservative approach to treatment
To fully treat pelvic varicose veins, a woman should follow all of her doctor’s recommendations and make lifestyle changes. First of all, you need to pay attention to the loads, if they are too big, reduce them, if the patient is living an excessively sedentary lifestyle, then play sports, walk more often, and so on.
Varicose veins are strongly advised to change their diet, consuming as little as possible (fried, smoked, large amounts of sweet, salty), alcohol, caffeine. It is better to give preference to vegetables and fruits, fermented dairy products, cereals.
To prevent the disease from progressing and for medical purposes, doctors require varicose patients to wear compression underwear.
Drug therapy
Despite the importance of the recommendations described above, drug therapy remains the basis for conservative treatment.
It is important to understand that all medications, dosage, and duration of administration are determined by your doctor.
As the main goal is to normalize blood flow and maintain vascular health, treatment is based on the following groups of drugs:
- Venotonics - are responsible for toning blood vessels.
- Anticoagulants - reduce blood viscosity and prevent blood clots.
Traditional Medicine
Traditional therapies are not as effective, but in combination with drug therapy, they can significantly improve the patient's condition and generally have a positive effect on treatment. Among the popular methods, the following are especially effective:
- Application of horse chestnuts for making tinctures and special creams.
- Apply apple cider vinegar against varicose veins.
- A decoction of chamomile or larch.
It is important to understand that in the treatment of pelvic varicose veins, traditional medicine predominantly uses prescriptions in which medicated decoctions and infusions are taken orally. This is due to the fact that not all ointments and even more so a compress can be used in the pelvic area.
Operational Management Methods
It is worth recognizing that conservative treatment methods actually give visible results primarily in the initial stages of varicose veins. At the same time, the problem can be basically solved and the disease can only be completely eliminated by surgery. There are many variants of surgical treatment of varicose veins in modern medicine, consider the most common and effective types of surgery:
- Sclerotherapy- a special chemical composition is introduced into the lumen of the affected vein, which has sclerosing properties. As a result, the vein is glued together, thereby excluding it from the circulation and replacing it with connective tissue.
- Laparoscopy- small defects are made in the abdominal cavity through which the ovaries are connected with surgical devices to further excise them.
- Endovascular surgery- the surgeon reaches the affected vessels through the femoral vein, after which the ovarian vein is embolized with special equipment.