Causes, symptoms and treatment of varicose veins in men standing

According to statistics, varicose veins in the legs in the stronger sex are about 3 times less common than in women. However, everyone is susceptible to this disease, including men.

According to phlebologists and vascular surgeons, there are no substantial differences between varicose veins in men and women, but unfortunately, the former seek help much later, when the disease has developed and is much less curable. The article will focus on the features of the course of the disease in men, as well as methods of its treatment.

Influence of heredity and bad habits on the development of varicose veins

First of all, it is worth understanding that varicose veins or varicose veins in medical practice is called a pathology, accompanied by deformation of venous vessels. In this case, the latter expand, stretch, their walls become thinner and the valve system ceases to cope with its functions. The consequences of the progression of the pathological process are as follows:

• Stagnation of blood in the veins, respectively, increases venous pressure.
• Violation of blood circulation is accompanied by a deterioration of lymph outflow.
• Vascular nodes, also called spider veins, appear.
• Disruption of blood vessels and the appearance of hematomas.
• Occurrence of trophic ulcers.
• Increased risk of thrombophilia.

Studying the etiology of varicose veins, doctors concluded that the disease is more likely to develop due to a genetic predisposition. However, the hereditary factor is not related to the varicose veins themselves, it is a predisposition for weakness of the valve system, as a result of which the venous valves weaken and consume faster. This process is the cause of impaired blood circulation in the vascular bed and, consequently, the development of congestion, deformation of veins, namely varicose veins.

Moreover, bad habits, in the list of which smoking and alcohol are in the first place, play an important role in the anamnesis of patients. Abuse of tobacco and alcohol products negatively affects the functioning of the cardiovascular system, as well as the condition of blood vessels and even the composition of blood. Again referring to harsh statistics, both habits are more likely to be affected by men, it is this fact that puts smoking and alcohol at the top of the list of causes of varicose veins.

However, the two reasons described are not the only ones, there are several other factors that are considered the most likely in the list of causes of pathology:

1. Excessive walking stress due to professional activities (cooks, surgeons, etc. ), excess weight, excessive physical exertion due to sports or all the same professional activities (loader, builder, etc. );
2. The medal has a downside, varicose veins can be triggered by a lack of strain, or rather a sedentary or simply sedentary lifestyle. If we continue from this point of view, drivers, office workers, as well as people who, for other reasons, move little, including reluctance, are susceptible to the disease;
3. Considering the fact of smoking and inherited predisposition, one of the serious and very common causes are various diseases in which blood coagulation is impaired.

In terms of hormonal disruptions, wearing uncomfortable shoes and similar factors, they are more natural in women, for the same reasons (due to the greater number of causes), the fair sex has morelikely to suffer from varicose veins.

Main symptoms of varicose veins

When it comes to the clinical picture of the disease, much depends on the stage of its progression, as well as on a number of individual factors and the causes of varicose veins. However, there are a number of symptoms that men most often experience:

1. The initial stage of varicose vein development rarely bothers the patient. There may be slight fatigue in the legs, worse in the evening, sensation of pulling or squeezing, slight swelling. In most cases, men do not pay attention to such phenomena and in vain, as the disease progresses and over time the symptoms become more pronounced and cause more trouble.
2. As the pathological process progresses, veins begin to appear under the skin. Initially, these are vascular networks and separately the dilated veins emerge, which are then filled with "stars" of blood vessels. The more the disease develops, the more visible this clinical sign becomes, in the later stages of the disease development, the veins swell under the skin, form nodules and the risk of trophic ulcers increases.
3. Unpleasant sensations of eruption, a feeling of heaviness in the legs, as well as swelling that first appeared in the late afternoon or at the end of the day, are making themselves felt more and more. Over time, the discomfort develops into systemic pain, spreading along the course of vessels affected by varicose veins.
4. In places where varicose veins and vascular networks are clearly visible, itching appears on the skin.
5. Pain, most often involving the leg or calf muscle, can also be bothersome at night.

Important to remember!All the described clinical signs of varicose veins tend to increase in the evening, but this is precisely due to fatigue. That is, the symptoms become more intense even with increased physical exertion.

Stages of venous disease in men

As mentioned earlier, the symptomatology, and in addition, the patient's health condition and the methods of treating varicose veins, depend greatly on the degree of disease progression. In total, there are three stages in the development of pathology:

1. Compensatory or gentle- in this case, the symptoms are less severe, and the patient himself complains of practically nothing. Already in the first stage, slightly protruding vessels may appear on the feet, but men do not pay attention to this.

2. Moderate- this stage of the disease is also called undercompensation. The veins are more clearly visible on the surface of the skin, but their enlargement and deformation can still be considered insignificant, such as the pressure inside the vessel. At this stage, other symptoms intensify, edema, fatigue and painful sensations appear for the first time.
3. Decompensation phase- the most severe form, the case when varicose veins reach a peak. There is strong swelling, strong pain that can bother you throughout the day, the veins come out firmly on the surface of the skin and change. At this stage, vascular nodes are formed, a large pressure of blood vessels leads to damage to the walls of the veins and hematomas appear. In particularly advanced cases, trophic ulcers and eczema occur. In the third stage, conservative methods of treatment are absolutely powerless, the patient needs surgery, the specificity of which is chosen by the doctor.

Treatment of varicose veins

As in the case of symptoms, the principles of treatment depend directly on how advanced the varicose veins are. Importers It is important to understand here that conservative therapy bears fruit mainly in the first, sometimes second stage of disease development, otherwise conservative treatment methods mainly inhibit the disease but do not provide an opportunity to get rid of varicose veins. However, it is worth considering a wide range of methods for treating pathology.

Conservative therapy

For conservative treatment, an integrated approach is very important, which mainly means dietary adjustments and lifestyle changes.

In terms of nutrition, it is important to limit the use of junk food, fatty and fried foods, sweets in large quantities, to minimize salty, spicy and acidic foods, as all this contributes tofluid retention in the body and impairs lymph drainage.

When it comes to adjusting your lifestyle, you should try to move as much as possible without overloading your legs. Do light sports, take regular walks, if you have to sit down a lot at work, do a warm-up every hour. It is also very important to rule out bad habits, quit smoking and limit alcohol consumption as much as possible.

Drug therapy

Without the use of some medicines, complete treatment is impossible, therefore, when contacting a phlebologist, a specialist may prescribe medicines of the following groups:

• Anticoagulants - change the composition of the blood, reducing its viscosity, which improves blood circulation and prevents the formation of blood and lymph stagnation.
• Venotonics - as the name suggests, drugs in this group improve vascular tone. On the other hand, it also helps improve blood circulation, but is based on a different principle of action.
• As a symptomatic treatment, oils from the category of NSAIDs are prescribed, which reduce painful sensations and stop the inflammatory process, and also prescribe special oils for varicose veins, eliminating edema and other symptoms.
• Also, as part of conservative treatment, it is necessary to wear compression underwear, prevents the progression of varicose veins and improves the patient's condition in general.

Surgical treatments

If conservative treatment does not give the desired results or the disease has progressed a lot, a decision is made for surgical intervention, in which case one of the types of operations is chosen:

• Scleotherapy- a substance (usually in the form of foam) is injected into a vein, which sticks to the walls of the vessel, removing it from circulation. Over time, this vessel removes itself, is replaced by connective tissue.
• Phlebectomy- a complete operation, during which the anastomosis of a vein is captured and the subsequent incision of its affected area is performed. This method is more effective and at the same time radical, as it involves cutting, imposing words and a long period of rehabilitation.
• Miniflebectomyis ​​a variation of phlebectomy, which is performed mainly on small vessels. A puncture is made in the skin, through which a portion of the vein is removed using 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, but instead of inserting a special compound into the lumen of a vessel, a thin catheter equipped with a laser is inserted. Thermal action creates a sclerosis effect, due to which the vessel is also glued together.