With varicose veins, blood gets stuck inside the blood vessel valves, causing the veins to dilate and swell. The process is accompanied by a change in their color. The veins, usually on the legs, take on a purple or blue color, become visible (protrude above the surface of the skin). Varicose veins are considered to be a cosmetic defect, but some people susceptible to this pathology experience physical illness.
Remedies for varicose veins relieve the following symptoms:
- pain (especially while walking);
- bounce;
- feeling of heaviness (or fullness) at the site of varicose veins;
- crisis (most often at night);
- skin modification and the appearance of accompanying pathologies (dermatitis, eczema).
Important! It is impossible to completely cure varicose veins, but various therapeutic methods help to inhibit the manifestations of the pathology and its further development.
How to recognize the first signs of varicose veins?
To start treating varicose veins in time, you need to know what symptoms indicate an imminent illness. There are 6 stages of varicose veins:
- the onset of the disease, which is indicated by edema, heaviness in the legs and night cramps of the muscles of the lower leg, night change in temperature of the feet - they are either hot or cold;
- the first stage is characterized by the appearance of spider veins;
- in the second, the thickening of the veins and the formation of nodules on them;
- third adds severe swelling of the feet in the evening.
The last two stages are the formation of trophic ulcers. The change in skin color of the feet in the affected areas should also be alarming. Get a brown. The greatest success in treatment can be achieved in the initial and early stages. Therefore, at the first symptoms, it is necessary to visit a doctor and start treatment.
The problem of varicose veins is especially acute for pregnant and lactating mothers. Manifestations of the disease greatly aggravate the condition and the possibilities to treat it are limited. Therefore, when evaluating medicines for varicose veins, we will pay attention to the possibility of its use during these periods.
Groups of medicines used to treat varicose veins
For the treatment of varicose veins, several types of medicines are used: oils, lotions, tablets, injections. All medicines belong to one of the following groups:
- Mismatches. Medications that relieve pain and accompanying symptoms (fever, burning, headache). They also tend to dilute the blood. With varicose veins, drugs from this group are often prescribed in the form of tablets or injection solutions.
- Phlebotonics. They are used in the treatment of veins with chronic varicose veins. Drugs increase the elasticity of blood vessels and strengthen their walls, as well as improve blood microcirculation. With prolonged use, phlebotonics stop the symptoms of varicose veins and prevent further development of the pathology.
- Anticoagulants. Blood thinners. They are used to reduce the appearance of veins, to reduce swelling. They have a predominantly cosmetic effect.
- Antioxidants. They are used to accelerate fluid flow, increase elasticity, and strengthen blood vessels. Antioxidants help fight the cosmetic manifestations of varicose veins (venous network), but they also have a therapeutic effect.
Also during treatment, your doctor may prescribe decongestants, salt injections.
Important! In addition to medication, compression stockings are used to combat the manifestations of varicose veins. They can be special socks or sweaters that inhibit the progression of the pathology.
Incompatibilities
Platelets or antiplatelet agents should only be used after consulting a physician or for a short period of time. Drugs from this group dilute the blood, so they can provoke a number of side effects:
- prolonged bleeding;
- drops in blood pressure (blood pressure);
- dizziness, feeling unwell.
Important! An absolute contraindication to their use is heart failure (regardless of the stage of the disease).
Taking acetylsalicylic acid itself is dangerous, as side effects can develop (in particular, a sharp decrease in the rate of blood clotting).Important! Antiplatelet agents, combined with anticoagulants, increase the risk of thrombosis, so the use of drugs from these categories is recommended separately.
Phlebotonics
Preparations from the phlebotonic group have a complex effect on the body. With varicose veins, they perform the main therapeutic functions: they increase the elasticity of blood vessels and stabilize blood flow.
The most effective substances in this category:
- Rutoside. Refers to group P vitamins. The substance is contained in several dosage forms (especially, in tablets). Rutoside is found in vegetables, fruits and berries.
- Pentoxifylline. Has a positive effect on blood microcirculation and its rheological properties (fluidity, viscoplasticity). Pentoxifylline medications also act on blood vessels to increase their elasticity.
- Hesperidin. A substance that reduces the elasticity of veins, reduces blood clotting and permeability of capillary walls. It also has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.
Preparations from this group are derived from natural ingredients. Due to their natural origin, medicines have a minimum of side effects.
Anticoagulants
Preparations from the group of anticoagulants have anticoagulant properties. A popular medicine in this category is Heparin. It is a medicine with direct action. It comes in the form of an injection solution. It is administered either intravenously (in particularly severe cases) or subcutaneously (as part of complex therapy).
Important! The above drugs should not be used for bleeding and pregnancy. Also, anticoagulants are not recommended for women during lactation (breastfeeding).
Antioxidants
Antioxidant drugs are most often used to prevent or reduce the risk of developing varicose veins. These medications are optional.
Additional Recommendations
To relieve the painful symptoms of varicose veins, you should take a warm or hot bath, exercise and go to the bathroom more often. The group of exercises depends on the stage of the disease.
Also, direct exposure to sunlight (and, in principle, any heating of the pathology localization area) helps with varicose veins. But when using this method, it is important to use products with a sunscreen factor, so as not to accelerate skin aging and increase the risk of developing cancer.
Tablets for varicose veins
Self-medication for varicose veins is the most popular therapy. The internet is full of miracle recipes about apple cider vinegar, caterpillars and other magical technologies, and our fellow citizens confidently believe this. Varicose veins can now be treated cheaply or even for free by certified specialists, but miracle shamans are still very popular. Perhaps, these are remnants of the primitive municipal system of our ancestors. Only pain can make a person run after a doctor, we will diligently lubricate uncomplicated varicose veins with various bad things in the hope that they will one day be resolved.
Remedy for varicose veins
The vast majority of people, choosing between surgical treatment of a disease (in our case, varicose veins) and possible non-invasive treatment, be it capsules, varicose vein tablets, gels, oils, herbs and infusions, will choose the latter, especially if from all the screens they will convey about their effectiveness and the uselessness of each operation. The amount of information for shock patients can be judged by the number of ads for varicose vein pills and creams on all federal channels, where happy girls run easily after smearing their healthy feet with a miracle cream or taking miracle pills.
So what to do and take in case of varicose veins?
Before the standard offer to contact our center, we will tell you about really effective methods that can ease the course of the disease.
In this section, we suggest forgetting about the extremely effective pills that "help" with varicose veins and recall traditional and proven methods.
Massage and bath for varicose veins
Massage, unlike many ad-free phlebotonics, is a method of actively treating varicose veins, helping to prevent edema, remove swelling, lower extremity fatigue, and reduce overall body fatigue.
Innovative Vascular Center uses all types of modern massage, especially for pathologies of the lymphatic and venous systems. Of the exclusive methods is the technology of lymphatic drainage massage with banding, which very effectively relieves chronic venous insufficiency.
In chronic venous insufficiency, massage is used to eliminate venous hypertension in varicose veins and post-thrombotic syndrome. The combination of this technology with banding allows you to effectively eliminate all clinical manifestations of the disease.
Therapeutic massage is a very effective remedy for the symptomatic treatment of varicose veins in the legs, but gives you only temporary relief. We use manual lymphatic drainage in patients with severe edema in patients with lymphovenous insufficiency. There is no need to be afraid of "rupture of the blood clot" with such treatment, but in case of deterioration it should not be used.
But the bath is a completely different matter: with varicose veins, lower extremity thrombophlebitis or post-thrombotic disease, it is very dangerous. Any thermal stress can provoke the formation of blood clots in the deep veins, carried by the bloodstream, with all the ensuing consequences. Dehydration in the bathroom leads to "thickening" of the blood. You should not be exposed to unnecessary risks. Varicose veins from the bath will not disappear, and thrombophlebitis may well occur.
Laser treatment of varicose veins
Varicose veins - a disease that does not tolerate deposits in treatment. By not paying proper attention to the course of the disease, a person himself, inadvertently, worsens his situation, increasing the likelihood of an operation.
Medicine is evolving every day and it is good that nowadays there are alternatives to surgical intervention - treatment of varicose veins with laser.
Laser treatment of varicose veins is the same effective method as surgery, but absolutely painless treatment.Unlike medication, a particular advantage is its speed. Laser treatment is used in hospitals, beauty salons, when it is necessary to remove a mild degree of varicose veins - spider veins.
First, the doctor injects the patient with painkillers and uses a laser to close the damaged veins. After such a procedure, the patient should wear compression underwear for a year.
The first results are visible within 5-7 months after laser treatment. Many patients prefer this solution to the problem because laser therapy, unlike pills and other medications, is fast, cheap, effective, and harmless.
Folk remedies for the treatment of varicose veins
Sometimes it happens that due to individual intolerance to pills and medicines, a person is forced to abandon traditional treatments for varicose veins.No need to worry, because natural ingredients are included in the same store creams, oils and other preparations.Many harmful chemicals are only added to them.
However, it should not be forgotten that all folk remedies are effective only in the initial stage of varicose veins. Traditional medicinal prescriptions, like traditional medicines, aim to improve blood circulation.
Before the emergence of effective remedies in the fight against varicose veins, our ancestors used homemade creams, oils, infusions, lotions from birch leaves, chestnuts, burdock, apple cider vinegar, hops and calendula. Such drugs treated leg pain no worse than many modern medicines and expensive pills.
For example, a natural remedy from crushed Kalanchoe leaves was rubbed on the foot for a month, the pain syndrome disappeared and the venous networks became less visible. Such a natural preparation worked quite well and was clearly not inferior to the pills.
With pronounced symptoms that bring worries and anxieties into daily life and suspicions of varicose veins in the legs, you do not need to prescribe pills and medications independently. It is recommended to visit a phlebologist who will professionally choose an individual medicine for the treatment of varicose veins.
Horse Chestnut
In folk medicine, the first place belongs to the horse chestnut. The effectiveness of the treatment of varicose veins is due to the content of some substances in plants:
- escin strengthens blood vessel walls, thins the blood and has an antibacterial effect;
- esculin prevents the formation of a vascular network (strengthens capillaries and other small vessels) and blood clotting; tannins
- have the ability to bind protein and regulate it in the vascular wall, thus increasing its strength;
- routine reduces vascular wall permeability;
- kaempferol helps in tissue regeneration, heals ulcers and has anti-cancer effects.
The result of using folk remedies based on horse chestnut is achieved by treating the course. Expressed in the reduction of edema, swollen veins, heaviness, itching and pain disappear. The disadvantage of horse chestnut is the impossibility of treating it while holding a baby and breastfeeding. Like any folk remedy, it is only an adjunct to medication therapy. Effective medicines are created on the basis of horse chestnut extract.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Even official medicine recognizes its benefits for treating varicose veins. A large amount of beneficial substances - acids, amino acids, vitamins and minerals - allow you to fight several manifestations of varicose veins at once. The placement of apple cider vinegar allows:
- normalize vascular tone;
- increase skin elasticity and avoid the thinning that usually accompanies the disease;
- removes swelling;
- to increase smooth muscle tone;
- relieves inflammation due to the antiseptic properties of apple cider vinegar.
Commercial apple cider vinegar is not suitable for treating varicose veins. The home-made version is easy to make with fresh apples. There are two possible ways to use it - external and internal. Concentrated vinegar is used for baths, compresses, wraps and cleansers. For oral administration, it should be diluted. The tool can be used only in the absence of a threat of blood clots.
Compression aids
Compression stockings and knee lifts are 50% of the success of treating varicose veins. Their main purpose is to improve the functioning of the venous valve mechanism, venous-muscular pump and microcirculation, i. e. the ability of capillaries to absorb extracellular fluid. These goals are achieved by putting pressure on the muscles in specific places. There is a preventative underwear, there is a medical one. The more severe the stage of the disease, the more pressure must be exerted by the socks. Prophylaxis is available for free sale, medicines are sold only by prescription.
Wound healing bandages
The late stages of varicose veins are characterized by the appearance of trophic ulcers. This is a serious condition that often requires hospital treatment and nursing care. To help trophic ulcers, different tools are used depending on the condition and the stage of treatment. One of these is a healing dressing to help cleanse the wound and absorb the exudate.
Our review is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation for the use of the above treatments for varicose veins. Specific appointments can only be made by the attending physician, based on the patient's condition and the individual characteristics of his body.
Effective drugs for the prevention of varicose vein thrombosis
Thrombophlebitis is a common complication of varicose veins of the lower extremities, especially during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Low molecular weight heparin is a proven drug for the prevention of vascular thrombi. For the prevention of thrombophlebitis after treatment of varicose veins in our clinic, tablets are used. The course of treatment with pills is 7 days after the intervention with laser or radio frequency.
It is best to come for a consultation with a phlebologist, and then, as a specialist with a higher medical education, he will perform a comprehensive examination and prescribe adequate treatment, including drug therapy (most tablets). good for varicose veins), but still the most effective cure for varicose veins would be laser coagulation.Remember the best medicine for any disease, even varicose veins are an active and healthy lifestyle. Therapeutic exercises, outdoor walks strengthen the venous wall better than any pill. The correct way of working and resting, using an elevated position to relieve tension from the legs, swimming in the sea and in the pool - these measures are the best preventive and curative tools. Do not assume that if the packaging of antistax tablets says "made from grape leaves", then they are no longer chemical preparations. Why poison yourself with ineffective medicines, if it is impossible to remove varicose veins with their help.