In the warm season, when you really want to wear short shorts and skirts, drawing attention to your legs, the picture can be spoiled by the vascular network, stars and swelling - clear signs of varicose veins. We learned from a professional phlebologist how to solve this problem quickly and permanently.
"Every man is more interested in a woman who is interested in him than in a woman who has beautiful legs, " said Marlene Dietrich. But still, you should not forget about the health and beauty of your legs. Especially if you already have vascular networks.
Expert opinion: vascular surgeon and phlebologist: "The most obvious signs of varicose disease of the lower extremities (or, more simply, varicose veins) are not so many. Visible spider veins (telangiectasias), prominent veins, and nodules are the most obvious. It is impossible not to notice such symptoms. But they appear when the disease is already running. But heaviness in the legs, restless leg syndrome and swelling are not such obvious symptoms of varicose veins. If you already have them, this is a good reason to sign up for a consultation with a phlebologist. In general, this disease is well known to adult women, although, alas, young girls and even men know firsthand about it.
Why does varicose veins appear?
The older we get, the greater the risk of varicose veins: we sit a lot and walk a little, gain excess weight, blood thickens, hormonal changes occur, the level of collagen in the walls of blood vessels decreases, which means the elasticity and density of veins. As a result, stagnation of blood begins in the legs, the veins expand under pressure, and the valves no longer close as tightly as they should. Because of this, part of the blood flows down, stagnates even more and puts even more pressure on the veins, stretching them. The blood flow slows down, and the lymph gradually penetrates the walls of the vessels. Edema occurs, and we feel heaviness in the legs. If you do not start treatment at this stage, the disease will progress.
The disturbed function of the venous valves is not restored. First, a blue vascular network appears on the legs. Then nodules form on the veins - blood stagnates and thickens in them, from which blood clots are then formed. This is called thrombophlebitis. It is very dangerous: a blood clot that comes off and comes out of such a nodule is a high risk of stroke or heart attack.
Most often, varicose veins are inherited. It also happens to those who are subject to static loads, for example, when you are constantly "on your feet" (sales assistants in stores) or constantly sitting (all office employees). In addition, varicose veins can appear due to injuries, chronic vitamin and mineral deficiencies, hormonal changes (pregnancy, menopause), obesity or overweight, diabetes, heavy lifting, frequent walking in high heels.
How to get rid of varicose veins
In fact, to prevent varicose veins from appearing, sometimes it is enough to walk. According to WHO standards, this is about 10, 000 steps per day, which is not so much. If you are at risk (that is, you have this problem in your family), then you need to see a phlebologist, use compression stockings, try not to gain excess weight, limit static loads on your legs, wear comfortable shoes, take a course of venotonics (only on the recommendation of a doctor), which will strengthen the walls of blood vessels and relieve inflammation.
The vascular network can be removed with the help of injections of sclerosants. They are injected into small vessels, cause their artificial inflammation and make them "stick together". The procedure is practically painless and takes no more than 10 minutes.
The expansion of large veins is treated with endovasal laser coagulation (abbreviated as EVLT). This is a relatively new method that has been around for about 20 years. Thanks to him, vascular surgeons were almost completely able to abandon operations in favor of minimally invasive interventions. A very thin laser is inserted into the vein under anesthesia and ultrasound control - as thick as a fishing line. The laser beam acts on the inner wall of the vein and coagulates it along its entire length, after which it simply closes over time. The whole procedure is fully automated - the laser and the ultrasound sensor move by themselves. The procedure lasts about 40 minutes. After that, a special compression stocking is put on the leg, which must be worn without removing it for three days. After the procedure, the patient is not limited in movement and can go home on his own. The effect can be observed in a few days.