Varicose veins are characterized by unequal expansion of leg veins lumen, the appearance of the nodes and an increase in their length.The disease develops gradually, characterized by a chronic course.
Women suffer from varicose veins three times more often than men.And among the strongest sex representatives, the faces are prone to this disease that loves sports with the maximum distribution of the load legs: soccer, tennis, basketball.
Why the expansion of the veins
There are three types of veins in the leg tissues: superficial, deep, superficial and deep connected veins.Each vein is a hollow tube along which blood flows from the tissues from the legs to the heart.There are no muscle cells on the walls of the veins so that the vein cannot contract to push the blood up.This task is performed by the skeletal muscles of the legs.And the valves are located inside the veins - they close the track at the time of reducing skeletal muscles, avoiding reverse blood flow.Each muscle contraction "pushes" the blood above.
When the flashes valves are closed loosely, part of the blood flows back, stagnant in Vienna, presses its walls, stretching it gradually.The veins lumen expands, its wall extends.This is the beginning of varicose veins.
Factors that cause the disease:
- Heredity - With an innate lack of collagen fibers, the vein wall is less elastic and prone to lengthening.
- Blood stagnation in the veins of the legs with overweight and obesity, wearing shoes with a leap of over 3-4 centimeters, extended in a place of people from certain adults and salespeople, cooks, speakers or a long seated with office staff.
- Changes in the hormonal background: Increased progesterone content in the blood of a pregnant woman makes the walls soft and stretched, so that the danger of varicose veins during the child's size period increases markedly.
The first signs of varicose veins - as not to lose
The alarm on the onset of varicose veins is considered the moment when vascular stars or vascular nets - reticular varicose veins appear on the skin of the legs.This is not a cosmetic defect, but the beginning of the disease!
At the same time or after a while, the second group of signals joins - a feeling of heavy legs, bursting in the legs after prolonging standing or sitting in a chair.When a person begins to walk, the feeling of gravity decreases: skeletal muscles spill over the highest stagnant blood and the stretching of the vein walls decreases.
The additional development of the disease manifests itself by edema in the legs - these are traces of socks, a thickening of one leg compared to the second with visual examination.
Subsequently, pain in the leg muscles is observed, fatigue when walking, dry skin and pigmentation, protruding varicose veins and the formation of trophic ulcers.
When to contact a vascular surgeon?
When the first vascular networks and stars appear, you should consult a specialist and, if necessary, conduct an ultrasound study of the veins of the lower extremities and conduct varickers in the veins.The sooner the diagnosis of varicose veins is diagnosed, the more likely to prevent it in the early stage.