Probably everyone has seen someone with obvious blood vessels in their arms. Some people think this is a norm or a person's personal characteristics. In fact, veins should be hidden under the skin, and any changes are the reasons for considering your own health. In addition to swollen veins, discomfort or changes in skin color can also be a shocking sign.
Do you have varicose veins in your upper limbs?
Varicose veins is a vascular disease. It can affect any blood vessel and occurs anywhere in the body. Considering that excessive load is a stimulus factor, varicose veins usually affect the limbs of the body. The disease mainly occurs in the legs, but there are also varicose veins on the hands. According to the International Classification (MKB-10), it corresponds to the I86 code.
Varicose veins in the upper limbs are easy to identify-the veins in the hands and forearms are swollen and look like blue snakes. This disease usually affects women after the age of 50, as well as male athletes and bodybuilders.
Vein swelling and swelling: Is there a high risk of varicose veins?
Under the action of overload, the vein wall stretches and the venous valve cannot fully perform its function. If your veins looked normal before but are now swollen, you should see a doctor for a detailed examination. The earlier the problem is found, the easier it is to solve it.
If the veins change, then the risk of varicose veins is really great.
In addition to external unsightly appearances, varicose veins can also affect the health of the patient, cause pain and cause certain complexes.
Characteristics of upper limb varicose veins
The first change in varicose veins on the hand is shown as a blue nodule. After some time, they may disappear and then reappear.
This shows that the vein cannot cope with the increased load, but can recover quickly when the predisposing factors are eliminated.
Without timely treatment, nodules in the brachial veins will be continuously observed, and then the expansion will affect the longer part of the blood vessel. In this case, the blood vessels will swell significantly, which usually attracts the patient's attention and forces him to see a doctor.
Other reasons
Not only overload will have a negative impact on the ship. Other reasons for expansion may be:
- Stress.
- Taking birth control pills or female hormone imbalance.
- Smoking and alcohol abuse.
- Strenuous exercise.
- Unbalanced diet. Read about the right diet for varicose veins here.
- Heredity.
Hormonal background greatly affects the state of blood vessels. As you know, women are not as stable as men.
Symptoms of Violation-Attention!
Even if a person does not know whether there is a problem with varicose veins, he should be reminded by the following changes:
- Puffiness.
- Burning pain and discomfort.
- Fatigue and weakness quickly.
- Numbness or soreness.
- The contrast between veins and skin tone is clearly visible.
- Raising your arm up can reduce the size of the vein.
In thin people with thin skin, veins may swell. However, this is not a pathology, but a feature of the body.
If this symptom has been observed from birth and there are no other symptoms, please don't worry.
Looking at photos of varicose veins on your arms and healthy limbs, you will immediately notice the difference and know what to look for.
Treatment method
The strategy for treating varicose veins in the hand depends on the stage of the disease. In the initial stage, conservative treatment is adopted, and in the later stage, surgical treatment is adopted.
It is recommended that people at risk participate in the prevention of varicose veins to avoid dangerous complications.
Conservative treatment includes the use of special compression stockings, designated special drugs, diet and physical therapy. All these aims are to increase the tension of the veins, strengthen the blood vessels and reduce their permeability.
Medical sweatshirts are represented by special gloves or sleeves, which are made of special materials. Underwear must be worn at all times to provide mechanical support for the blood vessels and prevent their expansion. Considering the neglect of pathology, the doctor can choose the degree of compression.
Treatment of late varicose veins of the hand
When deep veins are affected, limb function may be impaired. People feel heavy, painful, uncomfortable and unable to perform daily tasks.
Surgical intervention is used in the later stage. Some of the most effective and safest methods are laser correction and sclerotherapy. Their advantages are as follows:
- Painless.
- There are no scars or scars.
- Quick tissue repair.
- Good cosmetic effect.
Sclerotherapy may have positive effects a few weeks after surgery. It only takes a few minutes. The patient is injected into the bulging vein to inject sclerosing agent.
The process is absolutely easy. Venous adhesions occur under the action of drugs and do not require a surgeon to cut the tissue. To prevent recurrence, patients must wear compression clothes.
The advantage of modern methods is that they have no negative impact on the surrounding tissues, eliminate incisions on the skin, and hardly cause complications.
sham treatment
For many vascular diseases, hirudotherapy is popular. Although this is an unconventional treatment, there are still some rules to follow. It is not recommended to put water lee by yourself. For this process, it is only suitable to use healthy worms and can only be used once.
The medicinal secret of water secretions helps strengthen blood vessels and thin the blood. It helps reduce edema, eliminate blood stasis, normalize microcirculation and restore vein structure.
Home Care
Many patients try to cure varicose veins on their hands through folk remedies. As monotherapy, they are only applicable in the initial stages of the disease.
If the varicose veins are severe enough, folk recipes can only be used in addition to the basic plan prescribed by the doctor.
Chestnut-based therapy can well resist varicose veins. Since chestnuts are part of many venotonic ointments, the healing properties of this plant are also recognized by official medicine.
You can make your own cream at home. For this, the chestnut fruit is crushed and mixed with melted pork fat. The agent can be used externally and rubbed gently on the affected area.
Compresses made from cabbage or wormwood leaves have a positive effect on the treatment of varicose veins. Grind them in a blender and add a small amount of oil or kefir to make the beneficial substances penetrate deeper into the skin. The mixture is impregnated with gauze and applied to the dilated area of the vein.
A popular way to get rid of any disease is to take a bath.
Prevent hand varicose veins
To prevent varicose veins in the arm, the doctor recommends:
- Restrict physical activity of the upper limbs. Girls should not lift weights, while male athletes need to wear compression clothes during training.
- Change event type. People in sedentary offices need to take a break, during which they raise their hands and stretch their joints.
- Let's eat. Antioxidants and vitamins can be used to strengthen blood vessels, especially C and PP. In your daily diet, you need to include more fresh vegetables and fruits, and at least 1. 5 liters of clean water.
- Don't forget your hands when taking a contrast shower. Cool water trains the blood vessels, prevents nodules from forming, and allows you to get the vein tone you need.
- Control your weight. The excess body weight creates a constant load on the blood vessels, and their strength decreases over time.
- Minimize negative factors. Alcohol, smoking, stress-all of these have a bad effect on the elasticity of blood vessels and their tone.
Possible complications
Hand veins are not only cosmetic defects, but also dangerous medical conditions.
Blood stasis is formed in the enlarged area, resulting in insufficient nutrition of adjacent tissues.
Poor microcirculation areas eventually become the focus of inflammation and even infection processes.
In the future, this may cause thrombophlebitis or thrombosis to block the vascular cavity.
The blood circulation in the dilated area is slowed down, the blood clotting ability is enhanced, and the structure of the blood vessel wall is disordered to help the formation of blood clots. Thrombosis in the lower limbs is more common, but prolonged squeezing of the hand or uncomfortable posture can lead to the formation of venous arms and blood clots.
If the patient complains of pain and swelling in the hand, it is suspected of thrombophlebitis, which will increase after clenching the fist. Severe interruption of blood flow in a specific area can cause necrosis of adjacent tissues and require amputation.
Because a stronger gender is more emotionally stable, varicose veins are less common in men. However, in addition to stress, other stimulating factors can even cause vein dilation in young men.
The initial symptoms of varicose veins in the upper extremities are a feeling of heaviness in the hands, fatigue at night and the appearance of nodules. Taking care of your health and regular physical examinations will help maintain a healthy and beautiful appearance.