A disease of the veins, expressed in a change in their shape, an increase in their size and a decrease in elasticity, is called varicose veins. With varicose veins, damage and degenerative changes occur in the valves and walls of those blood vessels, the location of which is immediately under the surface of the skin.
Causes of varicose veins
The flow of blood in the venous system is characterized by a predominant movement against gravity, upward. To prevent its reverse movement, there are valves - pockets - on the inner walls of the veins. When filled with blood, they close, closing the lumen of the vessel, which allows blood to pass only in one direction - from bottom to top. With poorly functioning valves, blood accumulates in the veins and they begin to stretch and elongate in a bag-like manner, become tortuous, causing varicose veins. There are several theories that explain the appearance of poorly functioning valves in the veins.
- Theory of valvular insufficiency. Varicose veins develop due to improper redistribution of blood from the venous system, located deep into the superficial vascular network. This happens due to the congenital absence or insufficient functioning of the valves of the communicative veins.
- The neuroendocrine theory. Varicose veins appear due to the weak tone of the entire venous network due to hormonal changes (puberty, pregnancy, menopause). Violations in the endocrine system lead to the fact that the blood supply to the veins increases, the lumen between them expands, the walls of the vessels become thinner, and poor valvular patency occurs.
- Mechanical theory. Prolonged standing, compression of the veins leads to an increase in internal pressure in the vessels of the extremities.
Early and subsequent signs of varicose veins. Complications
At an early stage of varicose veins, there are no painful symptoms. Signs of an incipient disease include: heaviness, fullness, fatigue, burning sensation in the legs. In the future, they are joined by such symptoms as: itching of the skin, pain and cramps in the calf muscles. There are seals of soft tissues, dark pigment spots. Over time, nodular thickenings, convolutions, saccular extensions become clearly visible. The phrase "varicose vessel" means "knotty, having multiple thickenings. "With varicose veins, serious complications can occur, such as:
- acute thrombophlebitis (inflammation of the walls of blood vessels with the formation of blood clots);
- bleeding with minor damage to blood vessels due to physical stress, overheating;
- the formation of trophic ulcers, eczema, erysipelas.
Treatment of varicose veins is a long process and requires an integrated approach. It is important to use the entire arsenal of available means and methods of treatment aimed at both further stopping the development of varicose veins and treating possible complications.
Alternative methods of treatment and prevention of varicose veins
Biologically active substances in traditional medicine restore normal appearance and tone to blood vessels and skin, help restore full blood circulation in the veins. Here are the most effective and proven recipes for extracts, decoctions, lotions, rubbing for the treatment of varicose veins.
- Treatment of varicose veins with acacia tincture helps to dissolve varicose veins. It is prepared like this: 30-40 g of acacia insist on vodka for 7 days. Sore spots are lubricated for a month 3-4 times a day.
- Fresh lilac leaves are washed and applied to sore spots, securing with a bandage on top. Hold 30 minutes. From the leaves of lilac, you can also prepare a cool decoction, in which gauze is moistened and wrapped around the legs for 30 minutes. Treatment should be continued for at least 8 weeks.
- Peeled and grated horseradish root put on the legs and secure with a bandage. After 10-20 minutes, remove the compress, rinse the leg with water.
- To 1 teaspoon of turpentine add a spoonful of apple bite and the yolk of one egg, then mix in an enamel pan. Rub sore spots at night every day. Treatment is continuous for 3 months.
- Cut the washed tomato into slices, put on a bandage, and then attach it to the legs. The compress is placed for 2-3 hours, then replaced with a new one. The number of replacements is 3-4 times.
- The affected areas of the legs are preliminarily soaped with laundry soap, baking soda is poured on top, covering it with white cabbage leaves. The compress is fixed and left overnight. Varicose veins will clearly decrease in 4-6 months.
- In the treatment of varicose veins, angelica root is very effective. It is poured with alcohol in a ratio of 1: 4, insisted for 7 days in a dark place, then the sore spots are rubbed with the resulting tincture for a long time.
The best folk remedies to reduce blood clotting, eliminate vasospasm, strengthen the walls of veins and capillaries for varicose veins, are creams and ointments with extracts of hop cones, thyme, horsetail, red grape leaves and mint. The essential oils contained in them increase blood circulation in the veins and create a cooling effect. Productive treatment of varicose veins with excellent results is given by such folk recipes for ointments.
- Ointment from 200 gr. lard, 150 gr. pine resin, 150 gr. beeswax. In a water bath, all components are melted and mixed, 20 g are slowly introduced into the resulting composition. propolis. After cooling, pour in 2 tbsp. spoons of honey. When hot, the ointment is transferred to linen or gauze and the legs are wrapped overnight. Treatment gives results in the second week.
- An ointment is prepared from 3 parts of rendered lard and 1 part of pharmacy bile. It is applied in a thin layer to the places of varicose veins without rubbing.
- Mix 0. 5 tsp. starch with 3 tsp. powdered chamomile flowers and 5 tsp. ground chestnuts. The resulting powder is poured with hot duck fat and the ointment is kept in a steam bath for 2 hours. Lubricate areas of varicose veins in the morning and evening.
- Mix one yolk, honey, vodka. The mixture is applied to dilated veins, covered with polyethylene and wrapped warmly. The ointment is used at night for a month.
Such folk remedies for the treatment of varicose veins, like decoctions, are used orally. At the same time, they not only have a local effect on the affected vessels, but also purify the blood, reducing its viscosity and thereby improving its current. Here are some recipes.
- Treatment of varicose veins with thistle decoction. The flowering tops of thistle are cut off and placed in a bowl, poured with water and boiled. The resulting decoction is taken orally 40 drops for 14 days, then a break of 14 days and again a two-week course of administration. Treatment is carried out in three courses.
- A tincture of 200 g of grated nutmeg and 1 liter of vodka is aged for 12 days. Then the infusion is squeezed and filtered. Reception 15 drops 4 times a day. Varicose veins will stop bothering you.
- Mix 4 parts of horse chestnut flowers, 1 part of fragrant bison, 2 parts of yarrow, peppermint - 4, plantain leaf - 2, hop cones - 2, lingonberry leaf - 2, chicory root - 4. 1 tbsp. l. mixture pour 300 ml. boiling water and leave for 2 hours. Take half an hour before meals, 100 ml 4 times a day.
When diagnosing varicose veins, it is very useful to take folk remedies with a blood-purifying effect. A good decoction of verbena (not sickness) is 3 tbsp. l. From unpleasant cosmetic problems arising from varicose veins, such folk recipes will help get rid of.
- In the morning and before going to bed, rub apple cider vinegar on the varicose veins. The process is repeated for 2 - 3 weeks for 5 minutes.
- 2. Compresses for the night from a mixture of sour cream and fresh viburnum leaves ground into gruel (proportion 2: 1). Do 2 weeks.
- 3. Do foot baths using an aqueous tincture of a mixture of oak bark and willow roots (ratio 1: 5) before going to bed.
Home methods of treatment and prevention of varicose veins
Treatment of varicose veins at home should begin with simple measures to maintain vigor and health of the legs. Simple physical exercises in the morning strengthen the muscular corset, make the legs stronger. Important exercises: rolling rounded objects with your feet, "birch", "bicycle", raising straight and bent legs, walking on the inside and back of the foot, on toes. You can raise the tone of the veins affected by varicose veins with the help of baths with contrasting water temperature. The legs are lowered alternately 15-20 times in a container with hot and cold water. At the end of the procedure, the legs are wiped until redness appears. No worse than a massage, walking barefoot on the ground, pebbles, water, dew, snow will relieve fatigue of the legs. Sea salt contains many trace elements that help in the treatment of varicose veins and improve the condition of blood vessels. 1 tablespoon of salt is added to 1 liter of warm water and a foot bath is prepared. In the resulting saline solution, you can also moisten gauze and wrap it around the entire calf muscle. The procedure time is 15-20 minutes. Varicose veins with cramps are eliminated by baths of decoctions of linden flowers and chamomile with honey. 2 tablespoons of herbs are poured with boiling water and infused for 10-15 minutes, then honey is added and the legs are lowered for 15-20 minutes. For resorption of small blood clots inside the veins, there is an excellent folk remedy - alcohol tincture of horse chestnut. 10 gr. chestnut peel insist on 100 gr. alcohol for a week, then take every day 15 minutes before meals, 40 drops 2 times a day. Treatment course of 1. 5 months If there are initial signs of varicose veins, it is recommended to wear special medical stockings, stockings, tights. By squeezing the muscles of the lower leg, they facilitate the return of blood to the heart and prevent the expansion of veins. When putting on compression underwear, you need to clearly follow the rules - without getting out of bed, raise your legs vertically and hold them a little, in the same position you need to pull on elastic underwear. If you lower your legs to the floor and only then put on underwear, then the incorrect state of the venous valves will be fixed, which means that the benefits of wearing will be reduced to zero. It should be understood that wearing anti-varicose underwear only stops varicose veins, and does not eliminate the disease. At any stage of varicose veins, the fight against constipation is of particular relevance. Significant efforts applied during emptying, heavily load the lower limbs and varicose veins begin to progress. Simple folk remedies can and should get rid of it.
- On an empty stomach, drink a glass of tomato juice with the addition of 1 tbsp. spoons of sunflower oil.
- Soft cleansing gives kissel from flax: 0. 5 liters. water 2 tbsp. l. flax seeds. Boil until thickened, drink a glass warm one hour before meals.
- 1 tspnettle seed powder mixed with 1 tbsp. l. sunflower oil and consumed 3 times a day.
Using folk remedies for the treatment of varicose veins, you can reduce the painful symptoms of the manifestation of the disease to a minimum. This treatment has several advantages:
- side effects are either minimal or non-existent;
- it is less expensive than drug treatment;
- the effect of the use of ointments, decoctions, lotions, etc. has been tested by several generations;
- general strengthening effect not only on the vessels, but also on the whole organism.
With complicated forms of manifestation of varicose veins, the use of only folk remedies is not enough. A neglected or acute condition of venous disease requires conservative, medical, and in especially severe cases, surgical treatment. Today, the diagnosis of varicose veins is, fortunately, not a sentence; its development can not only be slowed down, but also successfully prevented, while preventing the occurrence of complications.