Causes, symptoms and treatment of varicose veins in men on the legs

According to statistics, varicose veins on the legs during the stronger sex are about 3 times less common than in women. Even so, everyone, including men, is vulnerable to the disease.

According to phlebologists and vascular surgeons, there is no fundamental difference between varicose veins in men and women, but unfortunately, the first seeks help later, when the disease has developed and is less treatable. The article will focus on the characteristics of the course of the disease in men, as well as methods of dealing with it.

The effect of heredity and bad habits on the development of varicose veins

First of all, it should be understood that varicose veins or varicose veins in medical practice are called pathologies, accompanied by deformation of the venous tract. In this case, the latter expands, stretches, the wall becomes thinner, and the valve system ceases to function. The consequences of the development of pathological processes are as follows:

• Blood stagnation in the veins, respectively, increases venous pressure.
• Circulatory disorders are accompanied by decreased lymph outflow.
• Vascular nodules, also called spider veins, appear.
• Vascular rupture and the appearance of hematomas.
• Occurrence of trophic ulcers.
• Increased risk of thrombophilia.

Studying the etiology of varicose veins, doctors have concluded that the disease tends to develop due to genetic predisposition. However, hereditary factors do not concern the varicose veins themselves, we are talking about the tendency of the weakness of the valve system, as a result of which the venous valve weakens and quickly runs out. This process is the cause of circulatory disorders in the vascular bed and, as a consequence, the development of congestion, deformity of the veins, i. e. varicose veins.

In addition, bad habits, in the first smoking and alcohol list, play an important role in patient history. Abuse of tobacco and alcohol products negatively affects the functioning of the cardiovascular system, as well as the condition of blood vessels as well as blood composition. Again referring to harsh statistics, both habits are more likely to be influenced by men, this fact is what makes smoking and alcohol addiction at the top of the list of causes of varicose veins.

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

1. Excessive pressure on the legs due to professional activities (cooks, surgeons, etc. ), overweight, excessive physical exercise due to sports or all the same professional activities (loaders, builders, etc. );
2. Medals have a weakness, varicose veins can be triggered by a lack of energy, or more precisely by an inactive or just inactive lifestyle. If we continue from this point of view, drivers, office workers, as well as those who, for other reasons, move a little, including reluctance, are prone to the disease;
3. Given the fact of smoking and hereditary predisposition, one of the most serious and very common causes is various diseases in which blood clots are disturbed.

Regarding hormonal disorders, wearing uncomfortable shoes and similar factors, it is more attached to women, for the same reason (due to the greater number of triggers), fair sex is more likely to suffer from varicose veins.

The main symptoms of varicose veins

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

1. The early stages of varicose vein development rarely bother patients. There may be slight fatigue in the legs, worse in the evening, a sensation of tingling 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 clearer and cause more problems.
2. During the pathological process, veins begin to appear under the skin. Initially, these are the vascular network and veins that grow separately, which are then complemented by vascular “asterisks”. The more the disease progresses, the clearer the clinical signs of this, in the final stages of the development of the disease, the veins swell under the skin, form nodules, and the risk of trophic ulcers increases.
3. Unpleasant sensations of rupture, heaviness in the legs, as well as swelling that previously appeared in the late afternoon or at the end of the day, make them feel better. Over time, the unpleasant sensation develops into a systematic pain, spreading throughout the course of the vessel affected by varicose veins.
4. In places where enlarged veins and vascular tissue are clearly visible, itching appears on the skin.
5. Cramps, which most often involve the muscles of the legs or calves, can also interfere at night.

Important to remember!All the clinical signs of varicose veins described tend to increase in the evening, but this is due to fatigue. That is, symptoms become stronger as well with increased physical activity.

Levels of venous disease in men

As mentioned earlier, the symptomatology, and in addition, the patient's state of health and the method of treating varicose veins, are highly dependent on the stage of disease development. In total, there are three stages in the development of pathology:

1. Compensation or mild- in this case, the symptoms are the least severe, and the patient himself practically complains of nothing. Already in the first stage, a slightly prominent vessel may appear on foot, but men do not notice this.

2. Medium- the stage of development of this disease is also called subcompensation. The vein is more clearly visible on the surface of the skin, but its enlargement and deformation can still be considered insignificant, as is the pressure inside the vessel. At this stage, other symptoms increase, edema, fatigue, and painful sensations appear for the first time.
3. Decompensation stage- the worst form, the case when varicose veins reach their peak. There is severe swelling, intense pain that can bother you all day, the veins protrude strongly on the surface of the skin and change. At this stage, vascular knots form, excessive vascular pressure causes damage to the venous wall, and hematomas appear. In very advanced cases, trophic boils and eczema occur. In the third stage, the method of conservative treatment is completely helpless, the patient needs surgical intervention, the specificity of which is chosen by the doctor.

Treatment of varicose veins

As in the case of symptoms, the principle of treatment directly depends on the extent to which the varicose veins have developed. It is important to understand here that conservative therapy yields results especially in the first stage, sometimes the second stage of disease development, otherwise conservative treatment methods primarily suppress the disease, but do not provide an opportunity to completely get rid of varicose veins. Even so, various methods of dealing with pathology should be considered.

Conservative therapy

For treatment with conservative methods, an integrated approach is very important, which mainly implies food adaptation and lifestyle changes.

In terms of nutrition, it is important to limit the consumption of snacks, fatty and fried foods, sweets in large quantities, minimize salty, spicy and acidic foods, as all of these contribute to fluid retention in the body and interfere with lymphatic discharge.

When adjusting your lifestyle, you should try to move as much as possible without burdening your feet. Do light sports, take regular walks, if you often sit at work, do warm-ups every hour. It is also very important to get rid of bad habits, quit smoking and limit alcohol consumption as much as possible.

Drug therapy

Without the use of certain medications, complete treatment is not possible, therefore, when contacting a phlebologist, the specialist may prescribe the following group of drugs:

• Anticoagulant - changes the composition of the blood, reduces its viscosity, which improves blood circulation and prevents the formation of blood and lymph congestion.
• Venotonic - as the name implies, drugs in this group increase vascular tone. On the other hand, it also helps improve blood circulation, but based on different principles of action.
• As a symptomatic treatment, ointments from the NSAID category are prescribed, which reduce painful sensations and stop the inflammatory process, as well as prescribe special ointments for varicose veins, eliminate edema and other symptoms.
• Also, in the framework of conservative treatment, it is necessary to wear compression underwear, it prevents the development of varicose veins and improves the patient's condition in general.

Surgical treatment

If conservative treatment does not give the desired result or the disease has developed too much, a decision is made on surgical intervention, in which case one type of surgery is chosen:

• Sclerotherapy- a substance (usually in the form of foam) injected into a vein, which attaches to the vessel wall, excluding it from circulation. Over time, this vessel disappears, being replaced by connective tissue.
• Phlebectomy- full operation, in which venous anastomosis is pinched and subsequent amputation of the affected area is performed. This method is the most effective and at the same time radical, as it involves cutting, imposition of words and long recovery time.
• Miniflebectomyis ​​a variation of phlebectomy, which is performed mainly on small vessels. A puncture is made in the skin, in which the veins are pulled out using special surgical instruments for further surgery. The operation is painless, the puncture heals quickly, and no recovery is required.
• Laser freezing- a method similar to sclerotherapy, but instead of introducing a special composition into the vessel lumen, a thin catheter equipped with a laser is immersed there. Thermal action causes the effects of sclerosis, as the vessels are also glued together.