Varicose veins during pregnancy in the legs: causes, symptoms, treatment

Varicose veins refer to diseases that quickly become chronic. The disease causes a change in the length and diameter of the veins, the appearance of the joints, the thinning of the venous walls. Often, varicose veins are manifested during pregnancy, when a woman's body has significant loads against the background of hormonal changes.

Reasons for submitting

If we consider the reasons under which varicose veins occur during pregnancy, there are some of the main ones:

• Weight change.During pregnancy, veins appear in the legs due to an increase in weight of ten or more kilograms, which leads to an increase in pressure and load on the vessels;
• Hormonal changes in the body.During fetal formation, a woman's hormonal background is repeatedly rebuilt, which damages the vessels - they lose elasticity, become brittle, prone to the appearance of varicose veins;

During pregnancy, veins appear in the legs due to a weight gain of ten kilograms or more.

• During pregnancy, the work of the venous valves changes as the volume of blood circulating increases. It should be noted that varicose veins after pregnancy, if left untreated, do not disappear anywhere;
• Hereditary factors. If one of the parents of a pregnant woman has varicose veins, it is very likely that you will develop the same disease;
• Choosing the wrong clothes and shoes. Sometimes expectant mothers wonder where varicose veins come from, not thinking that tight clothes and high-heeled shoes can provoke it;
• Decreased physical activity. In the veins of the legs during pregnancy, blood stasis can start if the pregnant woman moves a little and does not do special exercises.

Some of the causes of varicose veins during pregnancy are easy to eliminate - just change your habits.

Symptoms and Signs

Varicose veins during pregnancy in the early stages are difficult to detect, as there are no pronounced symptoms.

However, it is worth contacting your doctor if the following symptoms occur:

• feeling of heaviness and pain in the legs;
• swelling, especially in the evening, if you stay for a long time;
• convulsions, especially at night;
• redness or darkening of the skin;
• presentation of vascular networks;
• seals on the skin, the appearance of trophic ulcers;
• Inflamed veins during pregnancy are easily palpable.

Types of varicose veins during pregnancy

Varicose veins during pregnancy can be of several types. The most common disease is:

• in the groin;
• standing;
• in the vagina;
• in the womb.

The appearance of varicose veins in the small pelvis has symptoms similar to some gynecological diseases, so it is more difficult to diagnose. With each pregnancy, the risk of varicose veins in the labia also increases (symptoms are felt more after physical exertion or sexual intercourse).

Diagnosis

Varicose veins and pregnancy have a major impact on a woman's body, causing additional stress on many organs, so it is important to identify the disease at an early stage.

To identify varicose veins in pregnant women, the method of duplex sonography is used today. This modern type of diagnostics has replaced previously performed ultrasound scanning and Doppler mapping. Duplex sonography is performed within twenty minutes and provides detailed information about the condition of the deep and superficial veins.

In some cases, for additional diagnosis, perform:

• Segmental Doppler.A simple but reliable test that shows the condition of the arteries, setting their width and narrowing.

• BMR (magnetic resonance venography).If varicose veins are diagnosed during pregnancy, this examination allows you to assess the condition of the vessels without using contrast, it does not cause any harm to the body.
• Phlebography of computed tomography.Performed with the use of contrast, allows you to assess the condition of blood vessels at great depths. If varicose veins have vague symptoms, this type of examination is prescribed.

Methods of treating the disease

Not all methods that can be used to treat varicose veins after pregnancy can be used during pregnancy. For example, during pregnancy, injections of certain drugs can not be used and surgical intervention is not always possible. These restrictions also apply to women with varicose veins in the legs, but who plan to become pregnant within the next two years.

Surgical treatment

As mentioned earlier, varicose veins during pregnancy are dangerous due to limitations in treatment options. However, there are situations when drug treatment is not enough, then surgery is performed. For example, if severe thrombophlebitis is expressed or there are non-healing trophic ulcers.

In most cases, surgeries are performed at a gestational age of no more than six months, and sclerotherapy or frequency removal is used, and further surgeries are performed after pregnancy. In the postoperative period, wearing special footwear and therapeutic exercises are described - these recommendations apply to the postpartum period.

Today, if severely varicose veins are detected during pregnancy, they practice using a laser in treatment instead of a scalpel. Modern technique allows you to defeat varicose veins quickly and safely.

Medications

Doctors know well what the risk of varicose veins is, so they recommend that you contact a specialist at the first signs of the disease. In such a situation, a course of venotonic drugs and means for normalizing blood density is prescribed. There is also a large selection of oils and special oils for external use, including those containing Gingko biloba. Any medication that affects the tone of the veins is serious, so they should only be taken according to the regimen recommended by the doctor.

Alternative Treatment

People have been dealing with the tandem "pregnancy and varicose veins" for a long time, so earlier, even today, such popular methods as lotions, tinctures, oils, baths were widely used in treatment. Of course, if the disease starts, then these techniques are considered exclusively as an adjunct therapy, but in the early stages, alternative treatment is quite effective.

Apply tinctures:

• Tinctures from hops help to overcome in the early stages of varicose veins during pregnancy. You need to take 1 tablespoon of cones, pour 200 milliliters of boiling water and hold for 20 minutes. After that, the solution is drained and used for compresses. In a similar way, infusions are prepared from the flowers or leaves of horse chestnut. Such compresses can be applied at night and kept on foot until morning.
• Veins during pregnancy are treated with powder from peeled horse chestnut fruits: 50 grams of this powder is poured with 200 milliliters of vegetable oil and the feet are massaged with the resulting composition before bedtime;
• If veins with early varicose veins are detected during pregnancy, burnt cabbage leaves are used for compresses, which relieve inflammation, pain, swelling.

Varicose veins during pregnancy on the legs are recommended to be treated with trays with infusions of various medicinal plants, the choice of which is quite wide in any pharmacy. Recommended when doing this:

• do not exceed the temperature of the solution in the bath above 38 degrees;
• take a bath for no more than 15 minutes;
• do a relaxing massage after the procedure;
• Lie at the bottom of the bath for 30-40 minutes with your legs raised.

Varicose veins in pregnant women are also treated with decoctions of herbs taken orally:

• Prepare a decoction of meadow clover flowers: 1 tablespoon of chopped flowers is thrown into a thermos and poured with 400 milliliters of boiling water. After two hours, filter the broth and take ½ cup 4 times a day;
• You can make a collection from the leaves of mushrooms, strawberries and blueberries, bark from five lobes, as well as flowers of calendula officinalis and viburnum. Mix the ingredients in equal parts, 2 tablespoons of the resulting mixture is poured with 400 milliliters of boiling water and kept for 15 minutes in a water bath. After that, you should keep the collection for 40 minutes in a warm place. Take ½ cup 4 times a day.

Disease Prevention

Varicose veins in the legs, like any disease, not only need to be treated, but also preventive measures must be taken to prevent the disease or to prevent its recurrence:

• It is not recommended to sit or stand for long periods of time. It is preferable to rest sideways to relieve stress from the veins of the legs and small pelvis.
• To relieve stress on the veins in your legs, keep your legs elevated when lying down or sitting.
• To make your leg veins lighter during pregnancy, wear special compression stockings. Such underwear helps redistribute blood through the veins, stimulates blood in the veins of the legs and reduces the likelihood of blood clotting. Compression knit dresses are recommended to wear not only during, but also after pregnancy, for one and a half to two months.

Remember that varicose veins in the legs are less common in people who exercise and lead a healthy lifestyle. Even light exercise helps to maintain physical fitness and reduce the risk of developing varicose veins.