Varicose veins of the lower extremities are a chronic disease that manifests itself in violation of the mechanism of outflow of blood into the veins. Due to that, the venous walls are under constant pressure, they gradually thin out, and nodular dilatations are created on the veins.
As a consequence of blood stagnation in the veins of the lower extremities, varicose veins develop. It is manifested by swelling of the peripheral veins of the legs and their protrusion under the skin. The veins look sinuous and take on a bluish tinge. There is severe pain in the legs.
Varicose veins progress without treatment, complicated by thrombophlebitis and trophic ulcer. Treatment of varicose veins should be started at the first symptoms to prevent the development of the disease.
First of all, to treat varicose veins in the legs, doctors use conservative methods. If they do not bring results, then surgical treatment is resorted to.
Physiotherapy treatment
In the way of treating varicose veins on the legs, a significant place is given to physiotherapy methods. The main ones are the following:
- Electrophoresis;
- Lymphatic drainage;
- Hyperbaric oxygenation;
- Galvanizing;
- Magnetotherapy;
- Darsonvalization;
- Exposure to ultraviolet light;
- UHF and others.
The most popular procedure is darsonvalization. It is performed by a special device that generates weak electrical discharges. By moving the legs from the bottom up for 15 minutes for each limb. The course of treatment of varicose veins is about 20 sessions (depending on the stage of disease development). As a result, vascular tone returns to normal, lymph outflow and microcirculation in the legs improve.
Pulsed magnetotherapy is performed using magnetic field generators, which cause eddy electric currents in the tissues of the lower extremities, which have a therapeutic effect. As a result of this effect, the muscle fibers of the vascular walls in the legs are stimulated and toned. This improves blood circulation in the extremities, reduces swelling and reduces pain. Depending on the stage of development of varicose veins, the session lasts from 10 to 20 minutes.
Pneumatic compression also helps to restore the tone of veins and blood vessels through some kind of massage. A boot-like device is placed on the patient's foot. It is under pressure due to the gas supply. However, this method should be discarded for those patients with varicose veins who have a tendency to thrombosis.
Balneotherapy is an effective method of treating varicose veins in the legs, which consists of bathing in mineral water. Bathrooms are called local or general. Hydrotherapy is a contrasting local bath. These methods are especially effective in the early stages of the disease. Manifestations of varicose veins for the treatment of these methods at this stage are very effective.
Oxygenation
In addition to local physiotherapy procedures, others are performed that affect the whole body as a whole. For example, oxygen in bath bubbles improves blood circulation, relieving the symptoms of varicose veins of the legs. Hyperbaric oxygenation is helpful. During the session, the patient inhales pure oxygen at a pressure greater than one and a half atmospheres.
Ozone therapy is associated with this method. Ozone inhalation activates many processes in the patient's body: microcirculation improves, metabolism is normalized, and regeneration is accelerated. In therapeutic doses, ozone also prevents the formation of blood clots, slightly dilutes the blood. The course of treatment of varicose veins with ozone is 5 - 10 procedures with an interval of 2 days between them.
Physiotherapy is especially effective in the early and middle stages of the disease. Physiotherapeutic procedures should be prescribed by a phlebologist.
Drug treatment
Medications to combat varicose veins in the legs are of secondary importance. They are the key to successful treatment and high efficiency of the main method. Medications are prescribed during physiotherapy and other methods of conservative treatment, and after surgery.
There are many medications to treat varicose veins. They can be used in combination or separately. A phlebologist should appoint an appropriate one. All drugs can be divided into several groups:
- Phlebotonics;
- Anticoagulants;
- Decongestants;
- Degregators;
- Antioxidants
- Fibrinolytics.
Phlebotonics allows you to increase the tone of the walls of blood vessels and veins, and are therefore effective in treating varicose veins in the legs. The walls become stronger and denser. The effect of treatment by other methods is fixed. Improves blood circulation in the legs, improves lymph outflow. They are prescribed for preparation for surgery and as rehabilitation after it, to alleviate inflammation of veins with varicose veins.
Anticoagulants are drugs that reduce the ability of the blood to clot. This prevents the formation of blood clots, which is of great importance for varicose veins of the legs. They can be taken as pills or injections. Taking it without consulting a doctor is dangerous because they have a side effect - bleeding that is difficult to stop.
Decongestants can be taken orally as pills or externally as gels and ointments. Diuretics are mainly used in tablet form. Such drugs significantly reduce pain in the legs with varicose veins, as well as additional pressure on the walls of the veins. Their use improves blood circulation.
Degregators - drugs that also affect blood clotting, however, do not belong to anticoagulants. They stop the clotting process only in the earliest stages, and therefore do not belong to anticoagulants. They do not have a significant impact on general coagulation indicators. When used as adjunctive therapy for varicose veins, they have the same effect as anticoagulants.
Antioxidants work by detoxifying. As a result of the restoration of chemical bonds in the cells, the tone of the walls of blood vessels and veins is strengthened. Therefore, the treatment of varicose veins of the legs is much faster.
Fibrinolytics prevent the formation of blood clots. This is due to the destruction of fibrin, which is part of the blood clot. The use of a drug from this group allows blood plasminogen (an inactive protein) to take the form of plasmin, which causes the destruction of the blood clot. However, taking this drug does not prevent further thrombosis with varicose veins.
The pharmaceutical company has developed a range of drugs that combine the properties of several of the groups described. Such medications should be prescribed by a physician and taken strictly under his supervision. This is due to the fact that they have a lot of side effects.
The use of medications for varicose veins on the legs may not be the only yardstick. They are prescribed along with other treatments.
Laser therapy
This is an effective way to treat varicose veins of the legs. The principle of operation of the laser in this disease lies in its effect on hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is absorbed by laser light and heat is generated in the blood. As a result, the damaged vessel is "sealed". The laser also indirectly affects the tone of the walls of blood vessels and veins, because it causes spasm of these walls. The advantage of such an influence is its accuracy. It only affects certain tissues without affecting the surrounding tissues in any way.
After exposure to the laser, the movement of blood through the treated area will stop. The blood supply to this part of the limbs will be produced by the deeper veins. In the "non-working" part of the vessel, connective tissue is created that will dissolve over time.
The advantage of this method of removing varicose veins is its minimal trauma. Patients do not feel discomfort or pain after the intervention. In addition, there are other benefits:
- The method does not require skin incisions, unlike surgery. Therefore, no scars remain after it. There are also no bruises after the procedure;
- The procedure is short and is performed under local anesthesia. Given this, it is as safe as possible for health, as opposed to surgical intervention performed under general anesthesia;
- From a financial point of view, laser treatment of varicose veins is similar to surgery. Although it seems more expensive, it must be borne in mind that after it, the patient does not have to go through a period of rehabilitation and stay on sick leave for a long time or spend money on recovery.
Many diseases can be cured with a laser. It has become a good alternative to many types of procedures. Minimal trauma, painlessness and effectiveness - all this makes laser treatment more desirable in many situations.
Sclerotherapy
Sclerotherapy is a popular method of treating varicose veins in the legs, sometimes called physiotherapy. Basically, special drugs are injected into the veins. The method is non-traumatic and effective, and is therefore popular. This method can sometimes be compared to a laser in terms of efficiency, and even surgical intervention. After such a procedure, the walls of the vessel are glued and strengthened, which makes it possible to beat the varicose veins of the legs. And the drug is absorbed by the body.
The main advantage of the method of removing the disease is the lack of scars and bruises after the procedure. It is also important that it is not too painful and that it can be performed under local anesthesia. After the procedure, the integrity of the vascular system is not disturbed because the veins are not removed. Such an intervention can be an ideal option even when it is dangerous to use surgical methods - with thrombophlebitis, periphlebitis, and in the treatment of recurrence of the disease, when the veins are fragile and distorted.
The method has a number of contraindications. First of all, this is pregnancy and breastfeeding. Serious diseases of the cardiovascular system, diabetes mellitus, chronic liver and kidney diseases, allergies - all this will also become a contraindication to the use of sclerotherapy, it is better to consider how to differently cure varicose veins of the legs.
If the doctor prescribes sclerotherapy, he should be informed of possible contraindications. When a patient has chronic diseases of any nature, the possibility of using sclerotherapy remains questionable.
Surgery
Surgery is a traumatic and painful way to effectively treat severe varicose veins of the legs. However, only its efficiency reaches 100%. In addition, sometimes it takes significantly less time than any other. Of the minuses we can call large scars and scars, a long period of rehabilitation. There are several types of surgical interventions:
- Removal involves removing part of the vein with a thin probe. It is injected at the beginning of the vein and withdrawn at the end. In this case, the area fixed on the probe rotates upside down, making it easy to remove;
- Phlebectomy is a traditional surgical method for treating varicose veins, which involves cutting the tissue with a scalpel. It is also performed when minimally invasive intervention is impossible, for example, when significant areas are affected or severe inflammation is present, and for other indications;
- Microphlebectomy is considered a minimally invasive procedure. It helps in the effective treatment of varicose veins. It is similar to the previous method in terms of the type of performance, only the cuts on the skin are very small. It is therefore less traumatic. It can be reported when the lesion is not so serious and it is not necessary to remove a large part of the vein.
This method has a number of indications and contraindications. So pregnant women and those who have recently given birth cannot mix. You have to wait at least a month and a half after giving birth. You should also not use this method in the early stages of varicose veins.
Surgical intervention does not guarantee the absence of recurrence of varicose veins in the leg. You need to be careful about your health.
Many methods of how to cure varicose veins on the legs allow the doctor to choose the best one for each individual case. However, the more the disease starts, the more radical method will have to be chosen. Therefore, you should not delay a visit to the doctor if you notice the first symptoms of varicose veins in the leg.