Varicose veins: first signs, description of symptoms, causes

Varicose veins are a disease that is accompanied by dilation of the subcutaneous vessels or veins that are deep under the skin of the human body.

With this disease, the walls of the veins lose their elasticity, when varicose veins appear, they expand, forming a blood clot, mainly appearing on the legs of women. They are the ones who most often suffer from the disease. The disease can occur from the age of 20, but more in middle-aged women. Men also get sick, but much less often.

varicose veins in the leg

Causes

Sometimes the cause of varicose veins is the frequent use of alcoholic beverages. Alcohol itself causes vasodilation, but if abused, it will lead to adverse consequences.

Alcohol consumption as a cause of varicose veins

Young girls who like to sit cross-legged for hours are also at risk of developing the disease. In this position of the legs, blood stasis occurs, which leads to interruption of the natural blood supply to the whole body.

The main factors

What are the causes of varicose veins?

  1. Heredity. If the parents had weakened the walls of the veins, then this can be repeated in children.
  2. High blood pressure can be the cause of the disease. Sometimes this is due to a violation of the hormonal system.
  3. For many women, pregnancy is difficult, especially at the end of pregnancy. At first, the disease does not manifest itself, but after childbirth, all the signs of the disease are on the face. The stress that women experience during childbirth strongly affects the position of the veins.
  4. Overloading the body with natural muscle work provides all the conditions for the development of the disease. This is common in athletes who exercise. One must be able to properly regulate the load on the human body.
  5. People with sedentary work, especially office workers, are exposed to the development of varicose veins.
  6. Constant staying on your feet is not better - it can also cause illness.
  7. Women who frequently use contraceptives with many hormones are at risk.
  8. Hip joint disease or previous trauma can cause the disease to develop.
  9. Overweight people most often have varicose veins. They have a constant load on the venous system.
  10. Tanning abuse, frequent sauna and alcohol consumption lead to the same situation.
varicose veins in the leg

Varicose veins are much easier to prevent than to cure. You just have to follow a healthy lifestyle, pay attention to good physical condition, plus a normal diet. In this case, there is a high probability of avoiding varicose veins.

How do varicose veins manifest in the legs? The first signs from the photo

the doctor examines the legs with varicose veins

As a rule, at an early stage, various symptoms of varicose veins may appear, so the disease is still treatable.

As a rule, people rarely think of tired legs at night, swelling or varicose veins. If the symptoms are very severe, then we are talking about a neglected disease.

Early manifestations of varicose veins

As a rule, it is not so easy to locate the initial stage of varicose veins. This is because varicose veins have a huge number of symptoms and few people notice them. People are unaware of the swelling and fatigue of the legs. Especially for pregnant women: varicose veins are often not given much importance and it is believed that such a complication during pregnancy is quite normal.

Indeed, the cause of varicose veins can be considered too much body weight, but usually the pounds disappear after the appearance of the baby, but it also happens that a woman who suffered from varicose veins during pregnancy can not get rid of this disease afterChild birth. This is often due to the fact that being overweight leads to venous disease.

The first symptoms of varicose veins are easy to notice: the legs begin to get tired quickly from any physical activity, numb if they are in one place for a long time. As a rule, one rarely pays attention to this, believing that leg pain when covering a long distance is normal. In winter, many attribute the pain to the presence of heavy insulated shoes on their feet, while in summer the reason is the heat. However, this is only an excuse and there is no truth to it.

It is worth considering the first symptoms of varicose veins that can be observed at diagnosis when communicating with a specialist: fatigue in the legs after a little physical exercise or pain after heavy shoes, often women who wear heels experience this, the presence of pain, burning sensation in the legs at night, increased fatigue, deterioration of the ability to work. If the disease is neglected, then the first sign of varicose veins are ulcers.

Diagnostics

vein

From the beginning of the detection of a disease such as varicose veins, it is necessary to examine the veins to determine the pain, intensity, density, the presence of parts of the affected vein, swelling and inflammation inside them. The specialist who performs this test is called a venologist. What to do at the first signs of varicose veins on the legs? First of all, it is necessary to diagnose the severity of the disease.

During the procedure, the patient should stand up so that the veins are filled with blood as much as possible. It is best if the diagnosis is made at night - this will allow the affected areas to have a more outlined outline. With the help of palpation and superficial examination, the specialist can obtain the very first information about the condition of the patient's blood vessels. After the preliminary examination, the second stage of the diagnosis of varicose veins begins - examination with the help of ultrasound.

Tests in the diagnosis of varicose veins are an important source of information that helps in the correct diagnosis of the disease.

What tests are done if you suspect varicose veins?

The first test is a blood test for hormones, biochemistry and hemoglobin. A general blood test is also taken to determine the group and rhesus, the infectious group.

After that, the patient must pass urine for analysis to also determine hemoglobin, sugar, ketone bodies, and this analysis will also determine the acetone and ammonia in the patient's urine.

Ultrasound procedure

With the help of ultrasound or ultrasound examination of the veins, you can examine the venous system from the inside and find the foci of the disease. This procedure does not take more than half an hour while the patient is in a horizontal position.

Treatment

This disease is very dangerous and widespread throughout the world, depending on the stage of the disease, different methods of treatment are used.

To treat the first signs of varicose veins in the legs, you should consult a venologist, after the examination, he will make the correct diagnosis, you can not cure this disease on your own. If left untreated, patients can die.

Methods for treating the first signs of varicose veins in the legs:

  • sclerotherapy;
  • medical care;
  • medicinal herbs;
  • compression underwear;
  • surgery.

Traditional methods

nettle for the treatment of varicose veins

Used only in complex therapy in combination with drugs, you need to take tinctures of nettle, acacia. These tinctures drink three times a day before meals, it is useful to make cool foot baths from a decoction of burdock, nettle and birch leaves.

All recommended herbal preparations are taken only with a doctor's permission; it is not recommended to drink decoctions and tinctures yourself.

Drug treatment

Used drugs that have a tonic effect on the veins and are sold in the pharmacy in the form of ointments and gels.

In order to use the ointments effectively, it is also recommended to wear compression underwear.

Compression underwear

This variety includes tights, socks, in different stages of varicose veins, different linen compression is provided. You can buy such medicinal tights in specialty stores.

This underwear helps to normalize venous blood flow, the necessary compression force restores the normal function of the veins.

Taking medication does not completely cure varicose veins, but it removes some of the symptoms and facilitates the course of the disease. Also, thanks to the use of various drugs, the risk of developing a disease such as thrombophlebitis is reduced. This disease occurs as a result of lack of treatment for varicose veins, is treated only in hospital and often requires surgery.

Also, for treatment I often use lymphatic drainage massage, thanks to its use in the general course of treatment, the patient's lymphatic outflow in the legs is improved, the swelling will be reduced, the fatigue and heaviness in the legs disappear. The only negative is the effect of the massage. It will only last two months, but then the massage class can be extended.

Sclerotherapy

sedentary work as a cause of varicose veins

This type of treatment is used if surgery is required, but this procedure is different from surgery. A special drug is injected into the vein in which the clot is located.

This medicine works in such a way that the upper layer of the affected vein is destroyed and then sticks together. Then, after 1, 5 years, this vein dissolves in the human body, other veins begin to perform its functions.

The drug is prescribed by a venologist, individual treatment is applied to each patient. The course of sclerotherapy includes 3-6 procedures, after a little from 2 to 8 weeks, the doctor will be able to determine how this treatment worked.

This procedure can only be performed by experienced specialists, as if the procedure is performed incorrectly, the vein will restore its blood flow through the hardened vessel and there will be no therapeutic effect.

In addition to administering medication, when using this procedure, the foam is injected into a vein. To perform this procedure accurately, an ultrasound is required, thanks to which the doctor will see on the screen the movement of the needle and the process of distributing the drug along it.

In more difficult cases, when massage, compression underwear, drugs do not help and the disease progresses to a more acute stage, in these patients surgery is prescribed.

The consequences of varicose veins

leg pain with varicose veins

The consequence of the disease does not bode well, this is a cosmetic problem and is related to other health problems that have arisen as a result of varicose veins. The most affected women are those who want their legs to look beautiful and slim. With the onset of the disease, this is impossible, but the cosmetic problem is not the main one. Varicose veins lead to more tangible health problems.

Most often, there is pain in the legs, which is accompanied by unpleasant itching. Pain in pain is caused by insufficient oxygen and other trace elements that can not pass to the affected area. The cause of pain is damage to the large veins. But small vessels also give off unpleasant sensations.

Of course, for women, a cosmetic problem is also important, but the most unpleasant consequences are swollen ankles. The pain disappears in the upper and lower legs. Even with good rest, the person will feel constant pain.

Dermatitis - a consequence of varicose veins

The worst consequence is dermatitis. The disease develops in varicose veins. With such a disease, a person suffers from constant itching, wound formation and the appearance of various rashes. The appearance of dermatitis can lead to thrombophlebitis. When a blood clot appears, you should seek professional help immediately. If this is not done, then the consequences for a person can be very serious. Therefore, in no case should it be delayed.