Varicose veins (varicose veins) - A disease in which the veins of the diameter increase are becoming winding. Most of the time, this is due to impaired work of venous flaps.
Venous system. Features of the structure of the veins.
Venous vessels are part of the cardiovascular system, they carry blood from peripheral tissues to the heart. The opinion that venous blood always flows through the veins and arteries always flow in the veins. In fact, this is not always the case. For example, lung arteries venous blood from heart to lungs, and lung veins are returned from the lung to the heart of the arteries.
In many arteries, blood flows under high pressure so that they have a thick thick wall. On the contrary, the blood pressure in the veins is quite low, so that your wall is thinner and less dense. There are flaps in the lumen of many veins - they only pass in one direction and thus contribute to his heart. The valves are only missing in the veins of the head and neck because they lie above the heart, the blood flows freely.
What happens in the veins? The essence of varicose veins.
The walls of the veins of the lower extremities are forced to experience constantly increased loads because the blood drainage occurs against gravity due to these vessels. The main mechanisms that lead to varicose veins:
- excessive stretching of the venous wall;
- Disorder of venous valves.
It is anything but always possible to say why these pathological changes occur in the veins. There are factors that increase the risk of varicose veins.
The causes of varicose veins
Factors that increase the risk of illness:
- Direction. This factor is available in all people. The legs are the most distant from the heart of the body, which is among the others while standing and walking. Venous blood is most difficult to return to the heart from your feet.
- Age. With increasing risk of varicose veins when the venous valves wear out. You stop closing so that a small amount of blood can flow in the opposite direction. It stagnates in the veins of the legs instead of returning to heart.
- Floor. Women suffer from varicose veins more often than men. This is made easier by hormonal changes in the female body during pregnancy in postmenopause before menstruation. Female sex hormones contribute to relaxing the walls of the veins.
- Take hormone replacement therapy and oral contraceptives.
- Inheritance. The more members of their family suffer from varicose veins of the lower extremities, the higher their risks.
- Obesity. Additional pounds contribute to increasing the charge of the cardiovascular system. The pressure in the veins increases.
- Stand or sit for a long time. This leads to stagnation of blood in the veins of the lower body. For example, office workers, surgeons and other people who "stand" and "sit" suffer from varicose veins.
- Pregnancy. During pregnancy, women suffer from varicose veins much more often than in other lifetime. This is due to some physiological changes in the body of a pregnant woman.
Signs of varicose veins
- Striking expansion of subcutaneous veins. They increase, become tiny, clearly visible under the skin. Varianly expanded veins look most often like grain, the "worms" of blue or dark purple. Such a picture only occurs with varicose veins that are under the skin. If venous ships are affected in the fabrics, it is impossible to notice this externally.
- Heavy of the heaviness in the legs. Usually it occurs or intensifies after intensive physical exertion, in the evening and at night.
- Different unpleasant sensations. It can be a burning feeling, a feeling of pulsation, tingling, numbness.
- Swelling on the feet. The stagnation of blood in varicose veins means lingering fluid in the tissues and accumulating. The edema usually comes up in the evening, first only on your feet. When the outflow of venous blood violates, the swelling extends to the lower legs, hips.
- Muscle cramps. They arise due to a violation of blood supply to tissue when a person is long.
- Pain in the legs. Not all patients are concerned. Intensify with a longer view.
Complications of varicose veins
Varicose veins do not lead to complications in most patients. However, the following conditions can occur:
- Bleeding. In the event of damage to the skin in the area of varicose veins, bleeding occurs, which may not stop for a long time. In such cases, you have to lie down, pull your legs up and press the bleeding area. If the blood continues, you have to consult a doctor.
- Ulcers for varicose veins. Very painful, most often in the ankle. Urban ulcers occur due to edema and an impaired blood supply to tissues in the area of varicose veins. Usually a ulcer is preceded by a pale spot on the skin. If this complication arises, you must immediately consult a doctor.
- Thrombophlebitis for varicose veins. An illness in which blood clots grow on the venous wall and inflammation occurs. A feeling of heat, redness and pain can occur in the damage area. As a rule, the doctor prescribes compression lines with this complication.
- Chronic venous deficiency. An illness in which the exchange of oxygen, nutrients and waste between skin and blood is disturbed due to impaired blood supply. Chronic venous deficiency increases the risk of pathologies such as eczema, hard dense skin and trophic ulcers.
- Venous eczema (stagnating dermatitis). Skin lesion by stagnation of venous blood and edema formation. The main symptoms: red spots, peeling, itching in the field of varicose veins.
- Restless -Begs -Syndrome. It is characterized by unpleasant sensations in the legs that occur in rest. The patient has to constantly carry out movements, which is why sleep is often disturbed.
Compression lines for varicose veins
Compression stockings and elastic bandages with varicose veins compressed expanded veins, which improves blood circulation. Compression underwear usually lends the legs around the ankles and gradually becomes more freely. It helps the blood to move through the veins towards the opposite gravity - to the heart.
Many patients find that compression stockings and elastic bandages help to deal with complaints, pain and edema.
Despite the fact that compression lines help to improve blood flow and cope with some symptoms, it does not heal varicose veins. During the studies, ambiguous results were achieved so that scientists cannot say whether compression stockings help to eliminate or prevent varicose veins.
Varieties of compression lines:
- Stockings and tights. The most common type of compression laundry. Stockings reach the hips, pantyhose - to the waist. Compression sentences are most convenient because they are safely defined and do not slide.
- Golf. You reach the knee. Often used by men. There are different models.
- Elastic bandages. There are different lengths that can only be intended to close the lower leg or the lower leg and the hips. This is the cheapest, but the most unpleasant variety of compression laundry. The association has to be used longer than tights or stockings, it is constantly sliding. The degree of compression is checked manually by regulating the strength of the association and is not always appropriate.
Operations for varicose veins
With pronounced varicose veins on the legs, you can use surgical treatment. Usually the operation is carried out under general anesthesia. In most cases, the patient is released from the hospital on the day of surgical intervention. If the operation is carried out on two legs, it may have to spend a night in the hospital.
There are different types of surgical treatment of varicose veins.
Tighten and remove an extended vein
Two cuts are made: one in the groin area, the other below, in the ankle, in knees or in another place. In the upper section, a vein is bound and crossed. It is carried out by a special thin wire into the lower section, according to which it is pulled together with which. By removing the surface vein, blood supply to the leg is not influenced because the functions take on deep veins.
Possible complications when putting on and removing the veins:
- the formation of great bleeding;
- Bleeding;
- Pain;
- A very rare complication is deep venous thrombosis.
After such a company in most patients, the performance takes place within 1-3 weeks. During this time you have to wear compression stockings. If there is venous insufficiency, compression underwear must be used in the long run.
Sclerotherapy
During this procedure, a special substance is inserted into the vein, which damages the wall from the inside and leads to the overlap of the lumen. The varicose takes place within a few weeks. Sometimes the drug has to be administered several times.
Radio frequency
The technology ensures heating the vein wall using radio frequency energy. The course of the procedure:
- A small cut is made over or under the knee and access to Vienna.
- Under the control of ultrasound, a catheter (a half flexible tube) is carried out in a vein.
- Then the doctor carries out a probe through the catheter that gives radio frequency energy.
- The energy emitted by the probe heats the vein wall from the inside, burns and closes the lumen of the vessel.
This operation is usually carried out under local anesthesia without anesthesia. During the procedure, the patient can have small unpleasant sensations that resemble with pins in injections. Sometimes a small skin burn occurs. Within a few weeks after the radio frequency dubplating, compression laundry must be worn.
Treatment of varicose veins with a laser
Closing the vein leverage can also be caused by irradiation of its wall from the inside with a laser. The course of the procedure:
- A catheter is inserted into the patient's vein.
- A source of laser radiation is carried out by a catheter to Vienna.
- The laser causes heating the veins, burning its walls from the inside and the ceiling of the lumen.
- The surgeon directs the laser rays under the control of the ultrasound and gradually burns the vein wall.
As a rule, the treatment of varicose veins is carried out with a laser under local anesthesia. The procedure is effective in 98% of cases.
Exercises for varicose veins
Therapeutic gymnastics can be an advantage for varicose veins. In the following we will take the simplest exercises into account, but before implementation you will definitely have to consult a doctor. Only your doctor can say exactly which loads are not contraindicated and can benefit.
How can gymnastics help with varicose veins:
- Improvement of the drainage of venous and lymphatic vessels;
- Improvement of blood supply to the lower extremities;
- Increase the tone of the walls of the veins;
- Improvement of blood circulation in small vessels;
- Strengthening the muscles of the legs and increases their endurance.
Massage for varicose veins
Massage can be used for varicose veins, but not always, it depends on the severity and the presence of complications. Do not take on self -massage, it is better to contact a professional massage therapist.
The massage for varicose veins helps to reduce symptoms such as swelling, cramps, numbness and other complaints. It relieves the voltage in the muscles and helps to restore the normal tone of the venous walls. With varicose veins, massage is often combined with physiotherapy exercises.
How can you handle varicose veins at home?
There are some measures that can be used independently of one another at home to slow down the progression of varicose veins and to reduce the feeling of symptoms to which it is accompanied:
- Physical activity. Going helps to strengthen the legs of the legs and improve the drainage of venous blood. Contact your doctor, he will recommend the physical activity suitable for you.
- Maintain a healthy weight. Keep a healthy diet. If you suffer from an excessive body weight or obesity, try to get rid of additional pounds. Contact a nutritionist: A specialist gives recommendations for the type of food that will be optimal in your case.
- The right choice of clothes. Do not wear high shoes, tight linen and clothes that press the veins.
- Raise your legs. It will be very good if you can take breaks regularly and increase your legs over the level of the heart. If you sleep or just lie on the bed, put 3-4 pillows under your feet.
- Break with longer sitting or standing. Try to move every 30 minutes.
- Don't put your foot on your leg when you sit. For this reason, the veins are squeezed, the blood drainage is even more disturbed.
Prevention of varicose veins
It is impossible to completely prevent varicose veins. Existing preventive measures only help to delay the disease or to slow down if it has already been created.
- If you have to sit or stand for a long time, you definitely take breaks. Go, go. If possible, you can lie down and lift your legs.
- Try to keep your legs in an elevated position when you sit, rest, sleep. Sometimes it is useful to go to the sofa or on the floor and keep your legs raised and lean on the wall.
- The more your legs are higher than the level of the heart, the better for your veins.
- Perform physical exercises that help strengthen the legs of the legs. Thanks to this, the blood movement will improve through the veins.
- If you have overweight or obesity, try to lose weight. This not only reduces the risk of varicose veins, but also has a positive effect on the condition of the entire cardiovascular system.
- Do not wear cramped clothes, especially one that pulls in the waist, groin and legs. For this reason, the blood drainage can deteriorate through the veins.
- Try to carry as little as possible with high shoes with high shoes. For this reason, the sound of the legs of the legs is disturbed and stops pushing blood through the veins.