What is varicose veins?

Many people experience varicose veins in their lives.Unfortunately, this is a fairly common phenomenon, which affects not only the legs, as is commonly believed, but also other organs.Fortunately, it can be treated.True, it is long and complex and should be started only after fully understanding the reasons for its occurrence.

What causes varicose veins, who should worry?

The main symptoms of the onset of the disease:

• the appearance of spider veins, or even mesh;
• veins become visible;
• The skin on the feet is uncomfortably dry;
• cramps in the leg muscles;
• leg swelling and heaviness appear at the end of the day;
• thickening or darkening;
• veins become sensitive.

What are varicose veins?This question torments many middle-aged people and others.This term refers to the swelling of the veins in the lower part.The veins swell, form knots, become very troublesome and create a thick blue surface.

This happens because the blood flow in the veins is not good enough.The blood stops moving as it should, causing the pressure in the veins to increase.When it exceeds all normal levels, excess blood begins to have a stretching effect on the vein walls.The edge of the vessel moves closer to the upper layer of the epidermis and becomes visible to the naked eye.The first sign of varicose veins is the appearance of a vascular network.Vessels on the legs that can be seen through the surface of the diseased skin.

Varicose veins - What they have known since ancient times.Even Byzantine doctors mentioned this disease in their works.The Egyptians dealt with it using elastic bandages, and Hippocrates, Avicenna and Paracelsus tried to create more effective ways to treat it.

It is scary that this pathology is very common - about 25 percent of the world's population is exposed to this disease.Phlebologists say that the main cause of varicose veins is the level of development of connective tissue in the legs.Most often, women suffer from this disease, because constant hormonal changes create favorable conditions for the development of this disease.

Prevention of varicose veins

Good strong veins require constant self-care.In the early stages, varicose veins destroy the beauty of the legs and pose little threat to health, but as they progress, they create complications and threaten life.Varicose veins of other organs are the most frequent companions of various diseases and to get the real effect they need to be treated with them.Risk groups to remember about varicose vein prevention:

1. Anyone who leads a sedentary lifestyle.
2. It costs a lot during the day, for example at work.
3. Overweight or obese.
4. Always wear high heels or shoes that are too narrow.
5. Having disease (or recent surgery) in the pelvic area.
6. Wearing tight clothing that interferes with blood flow.
7. Often sits with his legs crossed.
8. Pregnant women.
9. Athletes exercise with regular advantage.
10. Taking hormonal drugs.

Many people do not suspect that they are carriers of serious diseases.The advanced stage of the disease is quite difficult to treat, unlike the initial stage.Therefore, everyone, and especially those with bad heredity, need to know what varicose veins are, their symptoms and remember that a timely visit to a phlebologist is just necessary, just like a preventive examination at the dentist.You need to take care of your own health, without letting things take their course.

Varicose veins, what are they?

To understand what varicose veins are, let's look at the causes of this disease.As you know, our body is penetrated by a dense network of blood vessels, some of which push blood to the heart, others, on the contrary, take it in the opposite direction - arteries.As long as the system is working smoothly and the blood vessels are clean, elastic and not subject to excessive pressure, everything is fine.If the usual failures begin, sooner or later they can lead to diseases, one of which is varicose veins.

It can occur anywhere on the body, but is most often located on the legs.Partly because, lifting the blood up the legs, the veins withstand a high load, partly because our limbs are one of the busiest parts of our body - we have to lift weights, walk a lot, stand or sit, which is also bad, because it interferes with normal blood flow.

Varicose veins from the legs: complications

The most common form of this disease, which is basically what is meant by varicose veins, is varicose veins of the legs.The initial symptoms are listed above, but what can cause the neglect of treatment?We list the main complications of this disease:

• thrombophlebitis;
• Phlebothrombosis;
• trophic ulcers;
• Bleeding varicose veins.

What is thrombophlebitis?This is inflammation of the external vein walls and the appearance of blood clots in them, which not only narrows the space for blood flow, but can eventually completely block the vessel.It accompanies varicose veins of the legs almost from the very beginning.And a person who does not take care of his veins, as a result, and a group of complications, gets acute thrombophlebitis, when blood clots not only disrupt blood circulation, but also the center of inflammation, which affects not only the walls of the vessels, but also nearby tissues.

Phlebothrombosis- This is the name of deep vein thrombophlebitis, which is an equally serious and difficult to treat disease, when thrombosis interferes with blood flow, and the vessels and tissues around them become inflamed.What is thrombosis?This is the appearance of blood clots in the vessels, disrupting blood flow, or even blocking the lumen of blood vessels.Even a partial reduction in the supply of fresh blood slows down tissue metabolism and leads to the accumulation of its products, and complete blockage can eventually lead to cell death, i.e. tissue necrosis.

The danger of this disease is that it can eventually lead to thromboembolism - the blood clot, after exiting, will migrate with the blood flow throughout the body, blocking one of the large arteries, which in turn can be fatal.

Another serious problem, varicose veins of the last stage, is a trophic ulcer-a long-term non-healing wound.How long?If within a month and a half the wound does not seem to heal, this is a trophic ulcer.He is being treated, but it is a long and complex treatment, when you have to combine surgical and therapeutic methods.

No less dangerous are complications such as bleeding varicose nodes.It can be caused either by thinning the blood vessels in places of thickening, or by mechanical pressure.Because it takes nothing to damage a vessel that has become thin and has lost its elasticity.Don't think that this only applies to external veins;Those located inside are just as "subtle" and vulnerable to any pressure, shock, or displacement.

Consequences of not treating varicose veins in the photo:

Varicose veins in the video make an even sadder impression.To prevent this from happening, you need to consult a doctor as early as possible and strictly follow all his instructions, both in treatment and lifestyle.

Types of varicose veins

As mentioned above, there are other types of varicose veins.There are many of them;These diseases arise for various reasons, and while some are quite widespread, others are very rare phenomena, usually associated with other diseases.

1. Reticular varicose veins are a network of blue stars on the thighs and calves.It happens even in young and thin people, and is often considered just a cosmetic defect, although this is the first bell - you need to see a phlebologist.
2. Stars and vascular networks on the face are a reason to see an endocrinologist, because this often indicates that a person has problems in the endocrine system.Although the reason is also in lifestyle - alcohol abuse, fatty and unhealthy food, tanning, the habit of squeezing pimples.
3. Varicose veins of the hands - Most often this problem occurs among athletes and those who work requiring constant heavy loads on the hands.
4. A varicocele is a varicose vein that surrounds the testicles.It is a very common pathology, and therefore men, especially teenagers, should consult a doctor at the first symptoms, because untreated often causes infertility.
5. Hemorrhoids are varicose veins from the rectum.It can be caused not only by a sedentary lifestyle, but also by lifting weights, pregnancy, constipation and various other reasons.
6. Leg veins have several stages and if treatment is not taken at an early stage, it can lead to serious vascular pathology and disability.
7. Varicose veins of internal organs usually occur as a complication of other diseases or in the postoperative period.This can be varicose veins of pelvic organs, stomach, esophagus, etc.

This is a short list of the main types of this serious disease.You can learn about how to treat varicose veins of each type from detailed articles published on our website.We try to talk regularly about the traditional and most modern methods of treating it.

Chronic venous insufficiency

The source of this problem is bipedalism, which means we are the only species on earth susceptible to it.We will not consider pseudo-scientific hypotheses explaining why this happens, although some of them are quite funny.One, for example, assumes that humans arrived on earth from Mars, where the force of gravity is less, and therefore our bodies are not adapted to earthly burdens, the other, that humans were created by aliens and less evolved somewhere.Therefore, walking upright requires the blood vessels to raise the blood to a significant height, which means it subjects them to serious pressure.

Normally this system works harmoniously, blood quickly and evenly supplies all parts of the body with oxygen and necessary substances.But if some kind of failure occurs (injury, for example) or the body is constantly affected by some bad factors (hard work, heavy weight, lack of hormones, etc.), CVI develops - chronic venous insufficiency.In recent decades, this disease has become younger and now occurs not only in the older generation, but also in teenagers, and therefore everyone should know the symptoms:

• telangiectasia - melting of small superficial vessels;
• swelling of the legs, worse in the evening;
• cramps, goosebumps and other painful sensations in the calf muscles;
• cold feet;
• leg skin pigmentation;
• General discomfort and fatigue throughout the day.

As you can see, they largely coincide with the symptoms of varicose veins listed at the beginning of the article, because this is the beginning of the same disease - varicose veins.Therefore, if you have at least some of these signs, you should immediately contact a phlebologist who will prescribe treatment and help you determine your diet and lifestyle.Varicose veins are not a disease that can be cured with pills, it is actually a way of life that must be followed continuously in order not to face a more serious stage in its development.

Modern science offers many treatment methods that to some extent compensate for CVI, eliminate both its external manifestations and generally affect the condition of blood vessels.For example, read about spider veins on legs, their causes and treatment.Medicine now offers a set of measures to combat this "cosmetic" defect, including:

• Conservative Therapy - ointments and tablets to strengthen the walls of blood vessels and stimulate blood flow;
• Compression therapy - special medical pants;
• Invasive therapy - microthermocoagulation, microsclerotherapy.

Also effective methods that help get rid of telangiectasia and its causes include therapeutic exercises and lymphatic drainage massages.

Treatment of varicose veins with complications is much more difficult, but here too an integrated approach does its job.what do you meanThis is what modern medicine has to offer:

1. Therapeutic Methods - Medicines, Special Pants, Massage, Physiotherapy.
2. Surgical methods (phlebectomy, miniphlebectomy, short stripping, endoscopic vein surgery, etc.).This is the most radical method of treating varicose veins, which requires not only preparation for the operation, its professional implementation, but also qualified postoperative observation.

Medicinal treatment of varicose veins involves the use of drugs for oral administration - such as drops, tablets and capsules, and for application to the skin - these are various ointments used to rub sore legs.Some drugs narrow and strengthen blood vessels, others relieve inflammation, and others reduce blood clotting, so they can only be used after a doctor's prescription.External agents, namely various creams, ointments and jellies, usually have analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and antipyretic properties.Often they are supplemented with components that affect blood clotting.These drugs act mainly on superficial vessels, but have fewer contraindications.

Having discovered chronic venous insufficiency, if possible, it is necessary to exclude the cause of venous disease.That is, changing jobs that require you to stand on your feet all day or lift weights, lose weight, serve spicy food, etc.It is clear that, for example, you cannot remove a hereditary tendency, but knowing about it, you can choose a suitable profession and monitor the condition of your veins, including visiting a phlebologist once a year for prevention.Despite all the advances in medicine, our health is still in our hands.