Varicose veins. What is important to know
NewsVaricose veins are dilated, swollen veins that are most often found on the lower extremities.
- This is due to increased blood pressure in the veins.
- Valves located in the veins and preventing the blood from moving in the opposite direction can be damaged, leading to stagnation of blood.
- This disease is very common, but in some cases it can lead to quite serious complications.
The most common manifestation of varicose veins is telangiectasia ("vascular asterisks"). This is the expansion of small vessels that look like a spider web.
- They are red, blue, or purple in color and are usually found on the face and legs.
For many, varicose veins are a cosmetic problem that causes awkwardness and embarrassment.
- But some patients are concerned about discomfort, aching pain, heaviness, swelling, itching, discoloration of the skin, dry and scaly skin, ulcers that take a long time to heal.
Risk factors
- Heredity: if close relatives had or have varicose veins, then there is a high probability that it will appear in you.
- Obesity: increased weight increases blood pressure in the veins.
- Age: Aging leads to wear of the valves of the veins, which help the blood move to the heart, which leads to stagnation of blood in the veins.
- Standing and sitting for a long time: muscle contraction helps the veins to eject blood to the heart.
- Labor: work in which a person occupies a long and almost stationary position.
It is important to note that women are more inclined to this disease. Female hormones regulate the tone of the vein wall, causing them to relax. Therefore, any change in the hormonal background of women (before menstruation, pregnancy, postmenopause) may be a factor in the development of varicose veins.
In this case, varicose veins can go on for a long time without symptoms, but there is something that may indicate a disease:
- the appearance of sinuous, bulging, dark purple or skin-colored veins;
- aching pain in the legs, especially after standing and sitting for a long time;
- skin changes: dryness, itching, ulceration, discoloration of the skin along the vein, rash;
- edema , etc .
This may take place after rest. It especially helps if you lie on your back and lift your legs.
- But if the disease is not treated, it can lead to persistent edema, which affects the tissues and skin. These changes can also lead to ulcers and unhealed wounds.
What is very important: it is necessary to pass the diagnosis on time.
When the first symptoms appear, you need to consult a specialist – a cardiovascular surgeon, a phlebologist. If necessary, you will be assigned to perform a duplex ultrasound examination to check the blood flow and structure of the veins.
If you have varicose veins, you can help yourself to manage the symptoms as follows:
- Maintain a healthy weight.
- If possible, try to keep your legs higher while resting. For example, putting them on a pillow.
- Do sports – walk or run more. Important: Muscle contraction improves venous blood flow.
- If the skin is dry, use a moisturizer.
What not to do
- Sit and stand for a long time.
- Smoking. Smoking damages the inner layer of blood vessels.
What are the treatment options?
Conservative treatment.
It is aimed at alleviating existing symptoms, preventing the progression of the disease, as well as preventing complications.
- This method is usually used in the early stages of the disease, when the operation is not yet indicated.
These methods include:
Compression therapy. Wearing compression knitwear (stockings, knee socks, tights), which creates pressure on the superficial (affected) veins of the legs, preventing stagnation of blood.
- It improves blood flow and reduces swelling and pain. Compression stockings are effective if you wear them every day throughout the day and take them off just before bedtime.
- But compression knitwear may not be suitable if there is a lesion of the arteries of the lower extremities.
- There are different types of knitwear, and a doctor will help you find the right one.
Drug therapy. It includes taking venotonic drugs that strengthen the wall and improve the tone of the veins.
- In addition to venotonics, anticoagulants can be recommended – drugs that dilute the blood and prevent the occurrence of blood clots in the affected veins.
There are also mini-invasive methods of surgical treatment.
These include: sclerotherapy, endothermic ablation (laser coagulation, radiofrequency ablation).
Endothermic ablation. This is usually the first method of treating varicose veins.
Main stages:
1. In the course of the entire affected vein, local anesthesia is performed, thanks to which the operation is painless.
2. Next, a special catheter is inserted into the vein. Through it, a device is introduced that can produce radio wave or laser energy. This energy is released in the form of heat, and it "solders" the walls of the vein together. Thus, the blood flow in them stops.
3. Then the catheter with the device is removed.
Sclerotherapy. This is a fairly common method of treating both "vascular asterisks" and small varicose veins.
In the affected vein, sometimes under the control of ultrasound, a chemical or saline solution is injected, which burns the inner surface of the vein and then "glues" them. Blood stops flowing through this vein.
Miniflebectomy. This is an operation that aims to remove the enlarged tributaries of the affected vein through small punctures of the skin with a special hook.
- Such an intervention is often performed together with one of the methods listed above.
Important!
Mini-invasive surgeries are a low-traumatic and effective method of treating varicose veins, and their combination helps to achieve maximum therapeutic effect.
- The main advantage is early rehabilitation, and discharge from the hospital is usually done on the same day.
During pregnancy, doctors advise to limit themselves to compression therapy, because other methods of treatment are undesirable. The disease itself in most cases passes after the birth of the child.
When do I need to see a specialist urgently?
- If there are signs of thrombophlebitis – inflammation of the vein wall with the formation of a thrombus. It can manifest itself as local redness, tightness and soreness when probing, swelling and an increase in skin temperature, and the vein itself feels like a cord.
- If there is pain and swelling.
- If there are trophic ulcers: on the skin, usually on the ankles, and ulcers can also form, which are located next to the varicose vein.
Varicose veins can lead to thrombosis both in them and in the deep veins of the legs.
- This condition can become complicated and lead to a life–threatening condition - pulmonary embolism.
Varicose veins are not only an aesthetic defect, but also a dangerous disease that can progress without the necessary treatment.
- When the first symptoms appear (heaviness in the legs, swelling, vascular asterisks), it is important to consult with a specialist who will diagnose and prescribe effective therapy.
- Compliance with preventive measures and taking care of vascular health will help to avoid complications and maintain lightness in the legs for many years.
Visiting the specialists of our Center is an important step for your health. Timely diagnosis will make it possible to identify the disease at an early stage and select the most effective treatment.
Do not delay taking care of yourself!
You can make an appointment for a consultation by phone: +7 (495) 304-30-39.
Be healthy!
