Varicose veins are not only a problem for older people, but also for very young people. How often does it happen that a young woman gets bulging knotty veins on her legs, pain and other varicose vein problems after giving birth.
Signs of varicose veins in the legs
The first signs of varicose veins on the legs are small vessels on the surface of the skin. They appear in small groups on the thighs. This is particularly 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 varicose veins. Vessels that appear on the skin are what doctors call telangiectasias. These vascular networks are formed by small vessels that can be a simple cosmetic defect or they can 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 see a doctor. The doctor will also recommend the treatment method that should be used for vascular networks. Another symptom of varicose veins is swelling of the legs. However, legs can also swell with other diseases (diseases of the kidneys, heart, etc. ), so these diseases must first be ruled out. And finally, pain in the legs is the most unpleasant and indicative symptom of varicose veins. The pain usually appears in the afternoon, a field of heavy physical exertion. The calf muscles hurt, the pain is pulling and not very strong.
So, if you have these symptoms: spider veins, swelling, pain in the legs - you should see 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 the so-called venotonic drugs. They give tangible results only in complex therapy. Therefore, to enhance the effect of venotonics, patients with varicose veins should constantly wear compression stockings. These are special stockings, stockings and tights. They gently compress the diseased limb without squeezing the vessels. This gives the veins additional tone, and the disease develops more slowly.
However, special attention is paid to the fact that drug treatment cannot completely eliminate varicose veins. This is just a reduction in venous insufficiency, the prevention of thrombophlebitis (which often complicates the life of people with advanced varicose veins of the legs).
The doctor may advise the patient to undergo lymphatic drainage. This is a special massage performed manually or through hardware. After lymph drainage, swelling decreases, blood and lymph outflow from the lower extremities improves. However, the effect of this procedure is temporary and 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 for varicose veins, you can try using folk remedies. So a shower has a good effect. Gradually, over several days, you need to massage your legs with a jet of water from the shower. Every day, lowering the water temperature a little, 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 shower for yourself: turn on hot, then cold water for a few seconds, and you need to finish the procedure with cold water. After such a shower, the legs should turn red. Rub them with a towel and grease them with a nourishing cream.
Foot baths are helpful. Note that you cannot take hot baths with varicose veins.
So that your legs do not get tired during the day, make a bath according to this recipe in the morning. Leaves of birch, nettle and burdock (taken 1 tablespoon each) are brewed with 1 liter of boiling water and infused for half an hour. Next, 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 broth for at least 20 minutes.
Tightens 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 brew it 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.
Note that folk remedies cannot completely treat varicose veins, 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 together and dissolves over a period of 1. 5 years. Blood circulation begins to flow 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 unpleasant phenomena may appear: hematoma, tingling, pain. But over time this will pass, and swollen veins will go away. 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 very rarely reappear.
If the sclerotherapy is performed with an ultrasound device, it is called echo sclerotherapy. 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 microfoam is injected into the affected vein. The microfoam has closer contact with the vein walls, which makes this method more efficient. Microfoam forces blood out of the vein - this causes the vein to clog and stop working faster. In addition, the blood expelled from the vein does not dilute the drug, as in traditional sclerotherapy, so the drug works more effectively.
Operations for varicose veins
One of the most modern surgical methods for the treatment of varicose veins of the legs is the operation under tumescent anesthesia. It is a form 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 hematomas, there is no intoxication that occurs with 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 better than general anesthesia.
Miniphlebectomy - this operation is performed under local anesthesia. The doctor makes punctures through which he removes varicose veins of the veins. This operation can in some cases serve as a substitute for sclerotherapy. Patients recover quickly, there are no scars and the compression stockings only need to be worn for 1-2 weeks.
Short stripping - This method does not remove the entire vein, only the affected area. The doctor determines the exact location of the diseased vein, its length, then two small incisions are made through which the varicose vein is removed. The operation is short, the soft tissues of the leg are not cut - this allows the patient to recover quickly and does not feel pain after the operation.
The method of endoscopic vein dissection is now widespread. To put it simply, an incision is made in the affected vein into which an endoscope is inserted. The doctor is given the opportunity to see the inside of the affected vein. By moving the endoscope, the doctor determines the length of the varicose vein and then cuts it off. The advantages of this method are that the doctor sees everything he is doing, which prevents him from making mistakes and minimizes the trauma that the patient inevitably suffers during the operation. This is a very promising method of treating varicose veins, since the consequence of such an operation is a gradual decrease in venous insufficiency and an improvement in the condition of the veins.
Intravascular laser photocoagulation is another low-traumatic method of treating varicose veins. An ultrasound machine guides the insertion of a light guide into the vein. The light guide is then 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 securely closed and ceases to function.
Most often, varicose veins suffer from generation to generation. Doctors don't know exactly why the disease occurs, but they believe that those whose grandmothers and mothers had varicose veins should take extra care with their legs. As preventive measures, it is recommended to run, swim, take a shower massage, try not to gain weight, eat right and . . . never lose heart!