According to statistics, varicose veins on the legs in the stronger sex are about 3 times less common than in women. Nevertheless, everyone, including men, is susceptible to this disease.
According to phlebologists and vascular surgeons, there are no fundamental differences between varicose veins in men and women, but unfortunately, the former seek help much later, when the disease has developed and is much less treatable. The article will focus on the features of the course of the disease in men, as well as methods of dealing with it.
The influence of heredity and bad habits on the development of varicose veins
First of all, it is worth understanding that varicose veins or varicose veins in medical practice is called a pathology, accompanied by deformation of the venous vessels. In this case, the latter expand, stretch, their walls become thinner, and the valve system ceases to cope with its functions. The consequences of the progression of the pathological process are as follows:
- Stagnation of blood in the veins, respectively, increased venous pressure.
- Violation of blood circulation is accompanied by a deterioration in lymph outflow.
- Vascular nodules, also called spider veins, appear.
- Vascular rupture and the appearance of hematomas.
- Occurrence of trophic ulcers.
- Increased risk of thrombophilia.
Studying the etiology of varicose veins, doctors have come to the conclusion that the disease is more likely to develop due to a genetic predisposition. However, the hereditary factor does not concern the varicose veins itself, it is a predisposition to weakness of the valve system, as a result of which the venous valves weaken and wear out faster. This process is the cause of impaired blood circulation in the vascular bed and, as a consequence, the development of congestion, deformation of the veins, that is, the very varicose veins.
In addition, bad habits, in the list of which smoking and alcohol are in the first place, play an important role in the anamnesis of patients. Abuse of tobacco and alcohol products negatively affects the functioning of the cardiovascular system, as well as the state of blood vessels and even the composition of the blood. Again referring to the harsh statistics, both habits are more likely to be men, it is this fact that puts smoking and alcohol addiction at the top of the list of reasons for the development of varicose veins.
However, the two described reasons are not the only ones, there are several more factors that are considered the most likely in the list of causes of the pathology:
- Excessive stress on the legs due to professional activities (cooks, surgeons, etc. ), excess weight, excessive physical exertion due to sports or all the same professional activities (loaders, builders, etc. );
- The medal has a downside, varicose veins can be triggered by lack of exertion, or rather a sedentary or simply sedentary lifestyle. If we proceed from this point of view, drivers, office workers, as well as people who, for other reasons, move little, including unwillingness, are susceptible to the disease;
- Taking into account the fact of smoking and hereditary predisposition, one of the serious and very common causes are various diseases in which blood clotting is impaired.
As for hormonal disruptions, wearing uncomfortable shoes and similar factors, they are more inherent in women, for the same reasons (due to the greater number of triggers), women suffer from varicose veins more often.
The main symptoms of varicose veins
When it comes to the clinical picture of the disease, a lot depends on the stage of its progression, as well as a number of individual factors and causes of varicose veins. However, there are a number of symptoms that men most often experience:
- The initial stage of development of varicose veins rarely bothers the patient. There may be slight fatigue in the legs, worse in the evening, pulling or squeezing sensations, slight swelling. In most cases, men do not pay attention to such phenomena and in vain, since the disease progresses and over time the symptoms become more and more pronounced and cause more trouble.
- As the pathological process progresses, veins begin to appear under the skin. Initially, these are vascular networks and separately protruding enlarged veins, which are then supplemented with vascular “asterisks”. The more the disease develops, the more obvious this clinical sign becomes, at the later stages of the development of the disease, the veins bulge under the skin, form nodules, and the risk of trophic ulcers increases.
- Unpleasant bursting sensations, a feeling of heaviness in the legs, as well as puffiness that previously appeared in the late afternoon or at the end of the working day, are making themselves felt more and more. Over time, unpleasant sensations develop into systematic pain, spreading along the course of the vessels affected by varicose veins.
- In places where enlarged veins and vascular mesh are clearly visible, itching appears on the skin.
- Cramps, most often involving the foot or calf muscle, may also disturb at night.
Important to remember!All the described clinical signs of varicose veins tend to intensify in the evening, but this is due precisely to fatigue. That is, the symptoms become more intense also with increased physical exertion.
Stages of venous disease in men
As mentioned earlier, the symptomatology, and besides it, the patient's state of health and methods of treating varicose veins, strongly depend on the degree of disease progression. In total, there are three stages in the development of pathology:
- Compensatory or mild- in this case, the symptoms are the least intense, and the patient himself practically does not complain about anything. Already at the first stage, slightly protruding vessels may appear on the legs, but men do not pay attention to this.
- Moderate- this stage of the disease is also called subcompensatory. Veins are more clearly visible on the surface of the skin, but their enlargement and deformation can still be considered insignificant, as is the pressure inside the vessel. At this stage, other symptoms intensify, edema, a feeling of fatigue are more and more often disturbing, painful sensations appear for the first time.
- Stage of decompensation- the most severe form, the case when varicose veins reach their peak. There is severe swelling, intense pain that can bother you throughout the day, the veins protrude strongly on the surface of the skin and change. At this stage, vascular nodes are formed, an excessively increased vascular pressure leads to damage to the walls of the veins, and hematomas appear. In especially advanced cases, trophic ulcers and eczema occur. At the third stage, conservative methods of treatment are absolutely powerless, the patient needs surgical intervention, the specificity of which is selected by the doctor.
Treatment of varicose veins
As in the case of symptoms, the principles of treatment are directly dependent on how far the varicose veins have progressed. Here it is important to understand that conservative therapy bears fruit mainly at the first, sometimes second stage of the development of the disease, otherwise the methods of conservative treatment predominantly restrain the disease, but do not provide an opportunity to completely get rid of varicose veins. Nevertheless, it is worth considering a wide range of methods for dealing with pathology.
Conservative therapy
For treatment with conservative methods, an integrated approach is very important, which primarily implies dietary adjustments and lifestyle changes.
In terms of nutrition, it is important to limit the use of junk food, fatty and fried foods, sweets in large quantities, minimize salty, spicy and acidic foods, as all this contributes to fluid retention in the body and impairs lymph flow.
As for lifestyle adjustments, try to move as much as possible without overloading your legs. Do light sports, take regular walks, if you have to sit a lot at work, do a warm-up every hour. It is also very important to exclude bad habits, give up smoking and limit the use of alcohol as much as possible.
Drug therapy
Without the use of certain medicines, full treatment is impossible, therefore, when contacting a phlebologist, a specialist can prescribe drugs of the following groups:
- Anticoagulants - change the composition of the blood, reducing its viscosity, which improves blood circulation and prevents the formation of blood and lymph congestion.
- Venotonics - as the name suggests, drugs in this group improve vascular tone. In turn, it also helps to improve blood circulation, but it is based on a different principle of action.
- As a symptomatic treatment, ointments from the category of NSAIDs are prescribed, which reduce painful sensations and stop the inflammatory process, and also prescribe special ointments for varicose veins, eliminating edema and other symptoms.
- Also, within the framework of conservative treatment, it is necessary to wear compression underwear, it prevents the progression of varicose veins and improves the patient's condition in general.
Surgical treatments
If conservative treatment does not give the desired results or the disease has progressed too much, a decision is made about surgical intervention, in this case one of the types of operations is selected:
- Sclerotherapy- a substance (usually in the form of foam) is injected into a vein, which glues the walls of the vessel, excluding it from the circulation. Over time, this vessel removes itself, is replaced by connective tissue.
- Phlebectomy- a full-fledged operation, during which the anastomosis of a vein is clamped and the subsequent excision of its affected area is carried out. This method is the most effective and at the same time radical, as it involves an incision, the imposition of words and a long period of rehabilitation.
- Miniflebectomy- a variation of phlebectomy, which is performed mainly on small vessels. A puncture is made in the skin, through which a part of the vein is pulled out using a special surgical instrument for subsequent dissection. The operation is painless, the puncture heals quickly, and no rehabilitation is required.
- Laser coagulation- a method similar to sclerotherapy, but instead of introducing a special composition into the lumen of a vessel, a thin catheter equipped with a laser is immersed there. Thermal action creates a sclerosis effect, due to which the vessel is also glued together.