According to statistics, women with strong sex have three times fewer varicose veins on their legs than women. However, everyone, including men, is susceptible to this disease.
According to venous biologists and vascular surgeons, there is no fundamental difference between male and female varicose veins, but unfortunately, the former seek help much later when the disease progresses and is difficult to treat. This article will focus on the characteristics and treatment of male diseases.
The influence of heredity and bad habits on the formation of varicose veins
First of all, it is worth understanding that in medical practice, varicose veins or varicose veins are called pathology accompanied by venous vessel deformation. In this case, the latter will expand and stretch, its walls will become thinner, and the valve system will not be able to cope with its function. The consequences of the progression of the pathological process are as follows:
- Blood stagnation in the veins increases venous pressure separately.
- Violation of blood circulation is accompanied by deterioration of lymphatic drainage.
- There are vascular nodules, also called spider veins.
- The appearance of blood vessel rupture and hematoma.
- Nutritional ulcer occurred.
- Increased risk of thrombosis.
By studying the causes of varicose veins, the doctor concluded that the disease is more likely to develop due to genetic predisposition. However, genetic factors have nothing to do with varicose veins per se. We are talking about the tendency of the valve system to become fragile, so the venous valves become weaker and wear faster. This process is the cause of the impaired blood circulation in the vascular bed and therefore leads to the development of congestion, the deformation of veins that are very varicose veins.
In addition, the bad habits of smoking and alcoholism in the first place play an important role in the memory of patients. The abuse of tobacco and alcohol products can negatively affect the function of the cardiovascular system, the state of the blood vessels and even the blood composition. Again referring to the harsh statistics, both habits are more susceptible to men’s influence. It is this fact that makes smoking and drinking addiction the main cause of varicose veins.
However, the two reasons described are not the only ones. In the list of pathological reasons, there are more other factors considered to be the most likely:
- Excessive pressure on the legs due to professional activities (cooks, surgeons, etc. ), excessive weight due to sports or all the same professional activities (loaders, builders, etc. ), excessive physical exertion;
- Medals have a drawback, due to lack of exercise, or a sedentary or sedentary lifestyle, it can trigger varicose veins. From this perspective, drivers, office workers, and people who rarely move (including unwilling to move) for other reasons are susceptible to the disease.
As for hormone disorders, wearing uncomfortable shoes and similar factors, they are more inherent in women. For the same reason (due to the greater number of triggers), women suffer from varicose veins more frequently.
The main symptoms of varicose veins
As far as the clinical situation of the disease is concerned, it largely depends on the progression stage of the disease, as well as many individual factors and causes of varicose veins. However, men most often experience some symptoms:
- The early stages of varicose vein formation rarely bother patients. There may be mild fatigue in the legs, which may be worse at night, a feeling of pulling or squeezing, and slight swelling. In most cases, men will not pay attention to this phenomenon, but it is in vain because the disease develops and over time, the symptoms become more obvious and cause more trouble.
- As the pathological process progresses, veins begin to appear under the skin. Initially, these were vascular networks and individually prominent enlarged veins, which were then supplemented with vascular "asterisks". The more the disease progresses, the more obvious this clinical sign is. In the later stage of the disease development, veins bulge under the skin to form nodules, and the risk of trophic ulcers increases.
- The unpleasant bursting sensation, the feeling of heaviness in the legs, and the swelling that appeared before in the evening or at the end of the working day are increasingly making me feel uncomfortable. Over time, the unpleasant sensation develops into systemic pain and spreads in the blood vessels affected by varicose veins.
- Where the enlarged network of veins and blood vessels is clearly visible, itching may appear on the skin.
- Cramps, which most often involve the muscles of the feet or calves, and may also interfere at night.
Important reminder!All described clinical signs of varicose veins tend to increase at night, but this is entirely due to fatigue. That is, as physical exertion increases, symptoms become more severe.
Stages of male venous disease
As mentioned earlier, the symptoms and the health of the patient and the way to treat varicose veins depend largely on the progression of the disease. In total, pathology development is divided into three stages:
- Compensatory or mild-In this case, the symptoms are the least severe and the patient hardly complains. In the first stage, some slightly protruding blood vessels may appear on the legs, but men do not pay attention to this.
- Moderate-This stage of the disease is also called the compensatory period. Veins are more clearly visible on the surface of the skin, but their expansion and deformation are still negligible, as is the pressure inside the blood vessels. At this stage, other symptoms such as edema, fatigue and pain appear for the first time.
- Decompensation stage-the most severe form, when varicose veins reach their peak. During the day, there will be severe swelling, severe pain, and veins protruding and changing strongly on the skin surface. At this stage, vascular knots are formed, excessively increased vascular pressure causes damage to the vein wall, and hematomas appear. In particularly advanced cases, trophic ulcers and eczema can occur. In the third stage, conservative treatment is absolutely powerless, and patients need surgical intervention, which is chosen by the doctor.
Treatment of varicose veins
Like symptoms, the principle of treatment directly depends on the degree of progression of varicose veins. It is important to understand that conservative treatment mainly achieves results in the first stage of disease development, and sometimes the second stage. Otherwise, the method of conservative treatment is mainly to suppress the disease, but does not provide the opportunity to completely get rid of varicose veins. However, it is worth considering multiple methods to deal with pathology.
Conservative therapy
For conservative treatment, a comprehensive approach is very important, which mainly means dietary adjustments and lifestyle changes.
In terms of nutrition, it is important to limit the massive use of junk food, fat and fried foods, sweets, and minimize salty, spicy and acidic foods, because all of these can cause water retention in the body and damage lymphatic drainage.
When adjusting your lifestyle, you should exercise as much as possible without overloading your legs. Do some light exercise, take regular walks, and if you have to sit for a lot of work, warm up every hour. It is also important to eliminate bad habits, quit smoking and limit alcohol consumption as much as possible.
Medications
If certain drugs are not used, comprehensive treatment is impossible. Therefore, when contacting the intravenous physician, the specialist can prescribe the following categories of drugs:
- Anticoagulants-change the composition of blood and reduce its viscosity, thereby helping to improve blood circulation and prevent blood and lymph from stagnation.
- Venotonics-As the name suggests, this group of drugs can improve vascular tone. In turn, it also helps to improve blood circulation, but it is based on a different principle of action.
- As a symptomatic treatment, ointments in the category of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are prescribed. These ointments can relieve pain and stop the inflammatory process. Special ointments for varicose veins are also prescribed to eliminate edema and other symptoms.
- In addition, in the framework of conservative treatment, it is necessary to wear compression underwear, which can prevent the development of varicose veins and improve the patient's condition as a whole.
Surgical treatment
If conservative treatment fails to achieve the desired result or the disease progresses too much, surgical intervention is decided. In this case, choose one of the following types of surgery:
- Sclerotherapy-Inject a substance (usually in the form of a foam) into a vein that glues the walls of the blood vessels to keep it out of the circulatory system. Over time, this blood vessel will move out of its own accord and be replaced by connective tissue.
- Venectomy-A fully mature operation in which the vein anastomosis is clamped and the affected area is subsequently removed. This method is the most effective and radical, because it involves incisions, spelling words and long-term rehabilitation.
- Cerebellarectomyis a variant of phlebectomy, which is mainly performed on small blood vessels. A puncture is performed on the skin, and a part of the vein is pulled out with a special surgical instrument for subsequent dissection. The operation is painless, the puncture heals quickly, and no rehabilitation is required.
- Laser Coagulation-A method similar to sclerotherapy, except that a thin catheter equipped with a laser is immersed in the blood vessel instead of introducing special ingredients into the blood vessel cavity. Heat produces hardening, so blood vessels are also stuck together.