Probably everyone has seen people with prominent veins in their arms. Some consider this to be the norm or an individual characteristic of a person. In fact, the veins should be hidden under the skin and any change is a reason to think about your health. In addition to swollen veins, discomfort or a change in skin tone can be a warning sign.
Are there varicose veins of the upper extremities?
Varicose veins are a vascular disease. It can affect any vessels and occur anywhere on the body. Considering that the provoking factor is excessive load, then most often varicose veins affect the limbs of the body. The disease occurs mainly on the legs, but varicose veins on the hands also happen. According to the international classification (MKB-10), it corresponds to the I86 code.
Varicose veins of the upper extremities are easy to recognize - the veins in the hand and forearm swell up and look like blue snakes. The disease more often affects women after 50 years, as well as male athletes and bodybuilders.
Bulging and swollen veins: is the risk of varicose veins great?
Under the action of excessive loads, the venous walls stretch, and the vein valves cannot fully perform their functions. If your veins used to look normal but now are swollen, you should see your doctor for a detailed examination. The sooner a problem is detected, the easier it is to treat.
If changes occur in the veins, the danger of varicose veins is really great.
In addition to external unaesthetic manifestations, varicose veins affect the patient's well-being, causing pain and provoking some complexes.
Features of varicose veins on the upper limbs
The first changes in varicose veins on the hands appear as blue nodules. After a while, they may disappear and then reappear.
This suggests that the veins cannot cope with the increased load, but quickly recover when the provoking factor is eliminated.
In the absence of timely treatment, nodules in the veins of the arms will be observed constantly, and then the expansion will affect the longer section of the vessel. In this case, the vessel swells noticeably, which often attracts the patient's attention and forces him to consult a doctor.
Other reasons
Not only overloading negatively affects the vessels. Other reasons for the extension might be:
- Stress.
- Taking oral contraceptives or hormonal imbalance in a woman.
- Smoking and alcohol abuse.
- Intensive exercise.
- Unbalanced diet. Read about the correct diet for varicose veins here.
- Heredity.
The hormonal background greatly affects the state of blood vessels. As you know, it is less stable in women than in men.
Symptoms of the violation - pay attention!
Even if a person does not know about the existence of such a problem as varicose veins, he should be alerted by the following changes:
- Puffiness.
- Burning and discomfort.
- Rapid fatigue and weakness.
- Numbness or soreness.
- Contrast between vein and skin color is clearly visible.
- Raising the arms upward decreases the size of the veins.
In thin people with thin skin, the veins may appear swollen. However, this is not a pathology, but a feature of the body.
If this symptom is observed from birth and is not accompanied by other symptoms, do not worry.
Looking at a photo of varicose veins of the arms and a healthy limb, you will immediately notice the difference and know what to look for.
Treatment methods
The tactics of treating varicose veins in the hands depends on the stage of development of the disease. At the initial stages, conservative methods of treatment are used, at later stages, surgical ones.
People who are at risk are advised to engage in the prevention of varicose veins in order to avoid dangerous complications.
Conservative treatment includes the use of special compression hosiery, the appointment of special medications, diet and physiotherapy. All this is aimed at increasing the tone of the veins, strengthening blood vessels and reducing their permeability.
Medical jersey is represented by special gloves or sleeves that are made of special materials. The underwear must be worn at all times to provide mechanical support to the vessels and prevent their expansion. The degree of compression is selected by the doctor, taking into account the neglect of the pathology.
Treatment of late stages of varicose veins on the hands
When deep veins are affected, limb function may be impaired. The person feels heaviness, pain, discomfort, becomes unable to perform the usual work.
Surgical intervention is used in the later stages. Some of the most effective and safest methods are laser correction and sclerotherapy. Their advantages are as follows:
- Painlessness.
- No scars or scars.
- Rapid tissue repair.
- Good cosmetic result.
With sclerotherapy, a positive effect may appear several weeks after the procedure. It only takes a few minutes. The patient is injected into a bulging vein to inject a sclerosing agent.
The process is absolutely painless. The vein is glued together under the action of the drug and does not require the surgeon to cut the tissue. To prevent relapse, the patient must wear a compression garment.
The advantage of modern methods is that they do not have a negative effect on the surrounding tissues, eliminate the incision in the skin and almost never cause complications.
Hirudotherapy
For many vascular diseases, hirudotherapy is popular. Despite the fact that this is an unconventional method of treatment, it requires adherence to some rules. It is not recommended to put leeches on your own. For this procedure, only healthy worms are suitable, which are used only once.
The medicinal secret secreted by leeches helps to strengthen blood vessels and thin the blood. It helps to reduce edema, get rid of blood stasis, normalize microcirculation and restore the structure of the vein.
Home Treatment
Many patients try to cure varicose veins on their hands with folk remedies. As monotherapy, they are suitable only at the very first stage of the disease.
If varicose veins are severe enough, folk recipes can only be used in addition to the basic scheme prescribed by the doctor.
Chestnut-based remedies help well against varicose veins. The healing properties of this plant are also recognized by official medicine, since chestnut is part of many venotonic ointments.
You can make your own cream at home. For this, the chestnut fruits are crushed and mixed with melted pork fat. The agent is used externally, with the help of light rubbing on the affected area.
Compresses made from cabbage or wormwood leaves give a positive effect in the treatment of varicose veins. They are ground in a blender with the addition of a small amount of oil or kefir, so that the beneficial substances penetrate deeper into the skin. The mixture is impregnated with gauze and applied to the dilated areas of the veins.
One of the popular methods of getting rid of any disease is a bath.
Prevention of varicose veins on hands
To prevent varicose veins in the arms, doctors recommend:
- Limit physical activity on the upper limbs. Girls should not lift weights, and male athletes need to use compression garments during training.
- Change the type of activity. People with sedentary office work at the keyboard need to take breaks during which to raise their hands up and stretch their joints.
- Eat right. Antioxidants and vitamins are useful for strengthening blood vessels, especially C and PP. In the daily diet, you need to include more fresh vegetables and fruits, as well as at least 1. 5 liters of clean water.
- When taking a contrast shower, don't forget about your hands. Cool water trains blood vessels, prevents the formation of nodules and allows you to achieve the desired tone of the veins.
- Control your weight. Excess body weight creates a constant load on the vessels, and over time, their strength decreases.
- Minimize negative factors. Alcohol, smoking, stress - all this has a bad effect on the elasticity of blood vessels and their tone.
Possible complications
Hand veins are not only a cosmetic defect, but also a dangerous medical condition.
Blood stasis forms in the areas of enlargement, which leads to insufficient nutrition of the adjacent tissues.
An area with poor microcirculation eventually becomes a focus of an inflammatory and even infectious process.
In the future, this can lead to thrombophlebitis or blockage of the vascular lumen by a thrombus.
The formation of a blood clot is facilitated by a slowdown in blood circulation in the area of expansion, increased coagulability and a disturbed structure of the vascular wall. More often thrombosis occurs in the lower extremities, however, prolonged squeezing of the hand or an uncomfortable position can cause the formation of venous arms and a thrombus.
Thrombophlebitis can be suspected if the patient complains of pain and swelling of the hand, while the cyanosis increases with clenching the fist. Severe disruption of blood flow in a certain area causes necrosis of adjacent tissues and leads to the need for limb amputation.
Male varicose veins are less common due to the fact that the stronger sex is emotionally more stable. However, in addition to stress, other triggers can cause venous dilatation even in young men.
A feeling of heaviness in the hand, evening fatigue and the appearance of nodules are some of the first symptoms of varicose veins of the upper limbs. Taking care of your health and regular medical examinations will help you maintain your health and beautiful appearance.