Varicose veins are a disease that causes a lot of pain in the veins, especially in the legs. What to do when symptoms appear, how to treat varicose veins, and what factors underlie the development of the disease? Awareness of these issues will help you avoid the negative consequences of the disease.
General information about varicose veins
The carrier of varicose veins is almost one in five people in the world. The main danger of the disease is that its symptoms cannot be noticed immediately, so timely treatment is delayed and the disease leads to complications.
The full medical name for such a disease is varicose veins. From the name it is understood that in the presence of a disease, the size of the peripheral veins located in the limbs of the human body increases, thus giving it a swollen and unhealthy appearance.
In varicose veins, entanglement of nodules, cobwebs, curls, and other non-standard veins may appear on the skin. Their color becomes deeper, edema and pain occur. Due to the occurrence of nodules, the blood cannot flow stably through the veins, blood clots are formed, which puts the veins under great pressure.
Achieving a certain pressure level leads to the fact that during thrombosis, the blood in the veins shifts outward, stretching the walls of the vessels. The first characteristic symptoms of varicose veins appear, such as a noticeable entanglement of veins, an expansion of their volume, and a deep blue tinge.
Most often, varicose veins cover the surface of the legs, so people with such a disease complain of pain in the veins of the legs. Treatment of varicose veins should be performed immediately and under the supervision of an experienced physician. Contact your therapist at the first sign of symptoms.
Cause
The main cause of varicose veins is disruption of stable blood flow. The stagnation of blood in the veins is what puts pressure on them. Therefore, the primary factors influencing the development of varicose veins are:
- Genetic predisposition. If both parents have varicose veins, the child may have a 70% chance of developing the disease. The first symptoms of the disease appear at an early age, and health care can prevent the disease from developing.
- Increased physical activity. Regular and prolonged standing on the legs can strain the blood vessels. Therefore, varicose veins are common in professional athletes and people who are exposed to hard physical work.
- Lack of physical activity. With a complete lack of movement of the blood vessels, blood stagnates. Older people, as well as office workers who have a sedentary or sedentary lifestyle, may 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 face stagnant blood in their vessels. Hormonal disorders can occur during puberty, pregnancy, breastfeeding, menopause, as well as private stressful situations and nervous system disorders. During such periods, it is not the estrogen but the corpus luteum that prevails in the body, which has a relaxing effect on the muscles.
- Mechanical effect on veins. Contraction of peripheral veins on the surface of the limbs can also affect the appearance of blood clots. For example, tight clothing has this effect.
- Alcohol abuse. Alcohol contains toxic and toxic substances to the body and also raises blood pressure. Under the influence of toxins and pressure, the vessel walls lose their firmness and tone.
- Obesity. Excessive food intake leads to rapid weight gain, which can cause the limbs of the body to not bear the strain on them.
If the veins hurt exactly in the legs, the cause of the painful feelings is usually varicose veins. It is worth paying attention to the factors that can influence the development of the disease and reviewing your lifestyle.
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 most important thing is to pay attention to deviations from the norm in the work of the body. The following manifestations speak of varicose veins:
- Pain in the legs. The pressure exerted by the blood on the walls of the vessels causes painful and uncomfortable sensations in the lower extremities. This can cause the vein to hurt, with an unpleasant burning sensation and heaviness in the legs.
- Puffiness. Towards the end of the day, swelling may appear on the surface of the legs when the tension in the limbs is reached. The swelling affects not only most of the legs but also the feet, ankles and knees.
- Cramps. Spasmodic muscle contractions with varicose veins usually occur at night. Nervous tic and convulsive twitching may accompany them.
- Varicose veins. As noted earlier, varicose veins have a completely different appearance. They are swollen, winding and deep blue. Large saphenous veins indicate the presence of thrombosis.
- Discoloration of the skin. Due to the fact that blood stagnation occurs in the blood vessels during the disease, the skin tone under the peripheral veins may become darker and duller.
- Trophic ulcers. Violation of the blood supply to the skin results in defects that do not heal for a long time.
The first symptoms of varicose veins are fever and general weakness.
If you start treating the disease, you may be in the next stage. With the rapid development of varicose veins in the lower extremities, the following symptoms may occur:
- skin hardening;
- dark spots;
- loss of moisture in the skin, violation of nutrition;
- bleeding caused by rupture of nodes.
If any of these symptoms occur, a doctor should be consulted immediately and treatment should be started immediately.
Treatment methods
If the veins in your legs hurt precisely because of varicose veins, the specialist will prescribe a series of measures to eliminate the disease. The most common treatments for varicose veins are:
- pharmaceutical preparations;
- folk remedies;
- gymnastics;
- massage;
- compacts and binds the affected areas;
- special diet.
Treatment will be most effective if the patient takes a holistic rather than a selective approach.
Medicines
Medicines for the treatment of varicose veins can be divided into 4 groups:
- external use;
- for oral administration;
- to relieve symptoms;
- to address the root causes;
- operating methods.
In the fight against the disease, doctors prescribe blood thinners, painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs, vitamin complexes, and so on. Oral drugs can be administered orally or by injection.
Any medicine should only be used under the supervision of your doctor, in accordance with the instructions for use and the duration of treatment.
Folk remedies
Folk remedies for the treatment of varicose veins should complement a series of measures to eradicate the disease. You can use them at home.
Popular folk methods include:
- spas;
- compress;
- decoctions of herbs.
Bathing 3-4 times a week is recommended for effective treatment of varicose veins. The water must be diluted with special sea salt for baths or with pre-prepared special herbs. For example, you can use the following recipe:
- Fill the bathtub with warm water.
- Dissolve the dry leaves of the herbs in water.
- Take a bath for 20-25 minutes.
The ingredients of the spa are chamomile, St. John's wort, oak bark and plantain leaves, which can be purchased at any cost in any pharmacy in the city. It is possible to use such baths prophylactically because they help clean the dishes of toxic substances and stabilize blood flow.
Compresses and body lotions can be made using pharmacy herbal and essential oils, aloe juice or honey. To do this, apply one of the listed components to the areas affected by varicose veins and then screw in the area of application with an elastic bandage. Such compresses should be changed twice every 2-3 hours.
You can prevent the development of the disease by folk methods by consuming decoctions made from herbs. The following herbs are suitable for making broths:
- hawthorn;
- chamomile;
- hop cones;
- cooking bananas;
- St. John's wort;
- licorice;
- angelica.
You should consult your doctor in advance about alternative methods. Some components may not be used due to the presence of allergic reactions.
Gymnastics
One of the causes of varicose veins is inactivity, which causes blood to stagnate in the blood vessels. Therefore, people who are forced to lead a computerized lifestyle should do regular gymnastics exercises at home. For example:
20-25 times:
- Sit in a chair
- Squeeze your legs
- Tighten your muscles
- Lower your foot to your toes and then to your heels
20-25 times:
- Lean against the wall with both hands
- Climb on tiptoe
- Get off your heels
15-20 times:
- Sit down
- Stand on tiptoe while sitting
- Get off your heels
15 times on both feet:
- Sit down
- Raise your right leg parallel to the floor for 7 seconds
- Lower
- Do the same with your left foot.
Massage
Varicose veins can be massaged on their own at home. You will need a special nourishing cream or oil. Sea buckthorn is perfect. Rub the problem areas of your feet in circular motions for five minutes a day. This procedure increases the elasticity of the skin and nourishes it with moisture.
Diet
Diet for varicose veins means restricting or completely refusing to consume the following foods:
- broths;
- pickles;
- salty, smoked, sweet, oil-fried foods;
- coffee and beverages;
- alcoholic and tobacco products.
It is worth diversifying your diet with foods that have a positive effect on strengthening the walls of your blood vessels:
- fresh fruits and vegetables;
- nuts;
- fish products; Seafood;
- greens;
- fermented milk products.
Methods of operation
It exists for the treatment of varicose veins and surgery. However, it is used in extremely advanced cases. Surgery consists of ligation of the esophageal and gastric veins using anastomosis or placement of a stent in the canal between the liver and portal veins.
To avoid varicose veins, you should rest your feet and perform preventative home procedures. Effective treatment of an established varicose vein consists of timely and complex treatment under the guidance of a specialist.
Which doctor to go to
The treatment is performed by a phlebologist and a vascular surgeon.