Symptoms of varicose veins of the lower extremities

Varicose veins in the legs are one of the most common diseases that occur in a large number of women of all ages. Men also suffer from it, but much less often. With such symptoms, very rarely, people immediately turn to medical professionals. Everyone tries to self-medicate, seeing all of this as temporary manifestations. Varicose veins of the foot are often confused simply with an overworked body, tired from daily work and a busy schedule.

The peculiarity of varicose veins in the legs is such that treatment helps especially well only in the early stages of the disease, but not in the latter, when there are more and more manifestations every day. If everything is left to chance, then in the extreme stages, surgery is required. The disease progresses gradually. Especially if it is accompanied by venous insufficiency.

With varicose veins of the lower extremities, the symptoms disappear with pathological expansion and hemodynamic disorders. Venous valves are not working well. Over time, all this worsens with thrombophlebitis, phlebothrombosis and pulmonary thromboembolism.

Onset of illness

The first symptoms of varicose veins on the legs are associated with improper action of the valves in the veins, resulting in backflow of blood. Endothelial cells receive a signal from the slowed blood flow. Leukocytes are installed there. Thus, the process of inflammation begins in the vascular walls, which pass along the bed of the veins. The inflammatory process catalyzes disorders of the venous walls.

All the pressure is greater on the venous valve system. To begin with, the lesion is noticeable in the most heavily loaded areas - perforating vessels and large and small saphenous veins. After that, the channel begins to fill up beyond the norm. This is where the redistribution of venous blood in the walls proceeds. And below, more often than not, there are many more. All this volume gently reaches the deep veins, where it stretches everything in its immediate environment. Venous dilation and insufficiency of the valve sections occurs.

Causes

Phlebologists identify a number of reasons that provoke pathologies in the work of the venous system. This may be due to a genetic predisposition and the totality of the unpleasant effects on the human body. Hereditary characteristics are manifested not only in women, but also in men. The disease can pass indoors for a long time, but in no way manifests itself externally. After that, due to an external catalyst, a failure of the venous valves leads to the first manifestations on the skin.

The following important reasons cause disease:

• age parameters;
• failure of hormones;
• Diabetes;
• permanent constipation;
• periods after surgery or injury;
• alcohol and tobacco addiction;
• hypercoagulability and excess weight;
• childbirth period and pregnancy;
• underwear that compress certain parts of the body;
• long periods of inactivity and heavy loads in the workplace;
• congenital malformations of the circulatory system;
• life in unsuitable conditions due to the climate.

Symptoms

Diseases of the leg veins are not just a blue discoloration with long, tree-shaped paths. They are also often called vascular stars. This is far from the first stage, and even the name of such a phenomenon is - intradermal varicose veins. As we wrote earlier, this situation can arise due to a number of factors including pregnant girls. The human body gradually rebuilds itself under the influence of hormones. It is not dangerous, except for discomfort due to external manifestations. Young girls don't like to see that they have a blue discoloration on the outside. Such manifestations of lower varicose veins can be eliminated with cosmetic devices, adjusting your diet, switching to recommended diet products.

The bluish mesh most often indicates to the patient that he has a harmless type of varicose veins of the lower extremities.

Human health in no way suffers from it, but it is always unpleasant to live with such a problem for a long time. Experts advise to contact specialized cosmetology clinics, where you can be prescribed a course of medicine with herbs, lotions, gels and ointments. It is a combination of traditional medicine and classical clinical research.

If any bumps or lumps are already protruding, then it is urgent to see a doctor. There can be no self-medication here. If there is pain in the legs with varicose veins, symptoms that you have difficulty determining, contact therapists. In general, it is very difficult to completely remove varicose veins of the lower extremities, the symptoms in the photo and treatment testify to this. In advanced situations, you even have to turn to the surgical department for help, where you will have an operation. Varicose veins beginning in the legs are characterized by heaviness of the limbs, swelling and some cramping. All these symptoms of varicose veins tell us directly that you just have the case which is only treated under the supervision of a doctor.

If you notice redness on the skin, feel discomfort when walking, see compacted vascular walls, feel an increase in temperature, then this is already a serious disease called thrombophlebitis.

There is already a significant risk of losing health. If you do not pay attention to all these signs of varicose hypertrophy for a long time, several deaths even occur every year. Usually, with an illness with current symptoms, the patient is immediately admitted to the hospital for long-term treatment. Even if you only noticed one symptom, it is not necessary to wait for the weather forecast by the sea. Urgently at the clinic, and there it will already be more visible.

Classification

In 2000, a classification was proposed with 4 degrees of varicose veins in the legs:

1. Dilated veins inside the skin of the segmental type. Venous discharge is not noticeable.
2. Dilated segmental veins with reflux.
3. Dilated veins with reflux over the entire area of the lower limbs.
4. Dilated veins with varicose reflux with penetration into the deep veins.

In addition, medical workers identify not only ascending pathological changes from the foot, but also descending - varicose veins begin at the mouth of the saphenous vein.

When determining the type of disease, they also consider the level of venous insufficiency.

Zero - the disease is absent in men, the first is heaviness in the legs, the second is the manifestation of edema, the third is persistent edema, eczema, increased pigmentation, lipodermatosclerosis, the fourth isthe formation of trophic ulcers.

Diagnostic

At first, the method of examination by a phlebologist is simply external, that is, the doctor examines external changes in the legs. With a high degree of probability, already at this stage a rough diagnosis is determined, but it never stops there. Then they carry out a number of research and diagnostics of a general nature:

• blood test;
• radiography;
• rheovasography and recto-verso scanning;
• Doppler ultrasound and plethysmography.

Processing

Varicose veins of the lower extremities are easily treatable in the early stages. The whole procedure is aimed at normalizing blood circulation, blood flow and preventing any complications. All this helps to improve the general condition of the body. Therapeutic techniques are divided into two types.

Conservative treatment is most often used when the first signs of varicose veins appear on the legs. The skin is affected, but these are not pronounced segments. The person continues to live an ordinary life. The disease basically affects nothing except the psychological state.

The surgical method is recommended when the disease manifests itself in large areas with clear lines, small bumps and ulcers. The recovery method often begins with minimally invasive procedures, but sometimes full-fledged surgery comes to the rescue when the case is extremely neglected.

Conservative technique

A complex course is prescribed to the patient:

1. Specialists are trying to get rid of all possible risks of disease progression. Varicose veins in the legs are examined by a phlebologist, who may submit the patient for a physical examination.
2. They begin to fight against adynamia. If there is no thrombosis, then you need to actively play sports, evenly loading your body, vigorously training your lower limbs. The intensity is already in discussion with the physiotherapist. Most often they are forced to swim, run, ride a bicycle. It is recommended to wear sports underwear with additional compression. Before exercising, you should keep your legs elevated for several minutes. It is not recommended for patients to practice contact sports: power martial arts, football, hockey. For better fixation of the legs, elastic bandages are used.
3. Compression knits and elastic bandages are not only necessary on the athletic field. They try to treat the symptoms of varicose veins in the lower extremities. When used correctly, venous circulation should improve. This type of treatment is often prescribed for a limited time.
4. To take pills. The course of taking drugs is prescribed for all stages of the development of varicose veins. Careless use of pills against the disease can only make the situation worse. The patient can get rid of any light manifestations on the legs within a month, if he follows the doctor's instructions. All prescribed drugs belong to different groups of drugs that have an anti-inflammatory effect and are related to angioprotectors, phlebotonics, desogregants or anticoagulants.
5. Physiotherapy is always included in the complex for combating the symptoms of varicose veins of the legs. All of them first of all affect the restoration of tone of the venous walls, lymphatic drainage and improvement of blood circulation. A number of medications are prescribed, from magnetic and laser therapy to pneumocompression and hyperbaric oxygenation. These are often oxygen and mineral baths. If there are no contraindications and side effects, the patient is prescribed massage activities. In addition, sometimes they can even be performed alone at home. They are also treated with hirudotherapy and apitherapy.

Surgical technique

Venous-type diseases sometimes need to be treated by surgeons, when all the symptoms of the disease accumulate and affect each other negatively, and the stage has long passed to the last quarter. They try to fight with a minimally invasive method. It is sclerotherapy with the introduction of certain substances that affect the walls of blood vessels. It is microsclerotherapy that acts directly on spider veins. This is microthermocoagulation, working on a thin electrode, eliminating all external luminous manifestations. These are laser endovasal coagulation and radiofrequency ablation of varicose veins - they all work on the affected areas of the veins, providing a thermal effect. All this is necessary in order not to prescribe drastic measures and to carry out a real operation. There are already separate methods of a new type, which only began to be applied from the end of the 90s.

Transluminal phlebectomy: a thin probe is inserted into the lumen of the diseased vein. Thanks to this, the doctor exercises control over the entire operation. Anesthetic medication is administered. All affected areas are removed by aspiration.

Endoscopic dissection: Perforating veins are ligated using endoscopic devices.

There are also separate operations to preserve the veins. They aim to restore the functioning of the venous valves. There is a fixation of specialized structures that hamper progress of a pathological nature. Sometimes hemodynamic operations are used to relieve the affected veins by directing venous flow in other directions. Relapses in these situations are common. Do not visit baths, saunas in the postoperative period, walk less often and do not lift heavy objects.

Opinion of the phlebologist:

The use of compression stockings with elastic bandages is not only necessary for sports. With their help, the first signs of varicose veins are treated. If done correctly, there is an improvement in venous blood circulation. Often, these treatments are prescribed for an unlimited period. Medication can be prescribed at any stage when varicose veins develop. If the pills are madly used to cure a disease, the situation can only get worse. After a month, patients can eliminate various manifestations on the surface of the legs, when he begins to follow the recommendations of the doctor. The drugs produce an effect in which the inflammation goes away. They are angioprotectors, phlebotonics, disinfectants or anticoagulants.

Comments

• The first response, a 39-year-old woman: "The signs of varicose veins in the legs were given to mean about a year ago. It is my inherited disease in the line of my mother. Often at the same time atherosclerosis of the vessels occurs. In this case, in my case, traditional methods did not help with pain relief, although I had initial internal varicose veins. I started to practice prophylaxis too late. The disease has reached the small pelvis. I turned to a specialist who examined all the affected areas. He will prescribe me a specialized treatment which relieved me of all the unpleasant external manifestations in about a month. We can safely say that all women should see a doctor immediately. Don't use all of these grandma methods. Only phlebologists will help you find medication. They know all about varicose veins problems. "
• The second opinion, a 52-year-old woman: "Despite the fact that she was constantly monitoring her health, varicose veins nonetheless appeared. I always turn to the attending physicians simply for the initial examination and diagnosis. course lasted 3-4 weeks. Then I was already engaged in purely preventive and restorative procedures. Now a little sport, good nutrition, yes, in general, that's all. The disease receded and, I hope never will return. "