Varicose veins or varicose veins are a pathological process that many people face. In most cases, the disease affects the vessels of the legs, leading to their lengthening, deformation, thinning the vascular walls. In addition, the valves located inside the veins cease to fully perform their functions, which disrupts the systemic circulation and the blood stagnates in the veins.
Under the influence of the described factors, the vessels increase in size, appear on the surface, showing through the skin. As a result, a whole vascular network is visible on the surface of the skin, often with nodules and trophic ulcers. However, in addition to aesthetic disturbances, the problem is much deeper and very often accompanied by painful sensations.
The nature of pain with varicose veins
First of all, it is important to understand that the concept of "very often" does not mean that pain is accompanied by 100% of cases of varicose veins. Much depends on a number of factors, the individual characteristics of the patient's body, and even at the later stages of the progression of the pathological process, there may be no pain.
If we classify painful sensations, first of all we will consider their localization:
- In most cases, the pain syndrome is localized directly at the site of vascular lesions, their deformation.
- In second place in terms of frequency of localization is the area of the gastrocnemius muscle, while the pains themselves are localized closer to the popliteal region of the leg.
- The lowest probability of localization of pain syndrome goes to the ankle area.
Of course, the likelihood of developing pain in the legs increases as the pathological process progresses. This is due to the aggravating state of blood vessels, their increase, the progression of stagnant processes and, accordingly, an increase in vascular pressure. Ultimately, the pressure may rise so much that the walls of the vessel will not withstand, this threatens with internal hemorrhages, the formation of hematomas and trophic ulcers.
Accordingly, the nature of the pain depends on the degree of development of the disease:
- In the initial stages, painful or rather unpleasant sensations of a pulling or squeezing character are caused by swelling of the legs. It is important to understand that along with disturbances in blood flow, fluid is retained in the legs, which provokes swelling. In the initial stages, edema is periodic, more often appears in the evening, and discomfort is caused by fatigue, walking in shoes during the day, in extreme cases by skin tension.
- The fact of fatigue deserves special attention. With varicose veins, the legs get tired faster. Initially, this is expressed during prolonged physical exertion during the day (if the patient stands for a long time, walks a lot, etc. ). However, as the disease progresses, fatigue makes itself felt more often and more intensely, due to which characteristic painful sensations are felt. In this case, the pains are dull in nature, also pulling or aching.
- At about the second stage of the disease, with a worsening of the condition of the veins, their more serious deformation and dysfunction of the valves of moderate severity, patients complain of the effect of severity. In this case, the pains are characterized as bursting, in some cases they are even called acute. This is due to the increasing pressure in the vessels, and if at first it is enough to lie down and put your feet on a hill so that the pain recedes, in the future you will have to fight them by using medications.
- The most likely is the development of pain syndrome, as well as its increased intensity in the case of the progression of varicose veins to the final, fourth stage. It is at this stage that vascular deformation and vascular pressure reaches a peak.
It is difficult to describe more precisely the characteristics of painful sensations with varicose veins in the legs. This is due to the individual characteristics of the organism of each patient, as well as the characteristics of the course of the disease. However, pain can be felt as:
- Stupid.
- Pulling.
- Aching.
- Bursting.
- Compressive.
- Sharp.
- Similar to rezi.
Also at the second, and even more often the third stage of the development of pathology, pains are accompanied by muscle cramps, which disturb patients mainly during a night's sleep.
Causes of painful sensations
Understanding where the pain of varicose veins comes from can help you more effectively deal with this problem or prevent pain from occurring. So, pains arise under the influence of the following reasons:
- Pathological changes in the vascular bed slow down blood circulation in certain areas of the veins. This leads to a decrease in blood flow, due to which oxygen deprivation begins, and pain occurs.
- The circulation of blood promotes the elimination of waste products, which are constantly produced by the body in small quantities. Due to a decrease in the outflow of blood and its stagnation, decay products are removed slowly, which leads to the appearance of toxins that poison living cells, this process also causes painful sensations.
- Also contributing to the appearance of pain are trophic disorders that appear in the late stages of the development of varicose veins and with the progression of the disease only intensify, provoking more and more acute pain.
The pain increases with physical exertion, leg fatigue, in most cases they become especially intense in the afternoon or in the evening.
Methods of dealing with pathology
For the complete elimination of pain, it is necessary to direct all forces to the treatment of the pathological process. To do this, you need to consult a doctor who will conduct a diagnosis, on the basis of which he will prescribe a treatment that is most suitable for a particular patient.
Treatment will take a certain amount of time, during which the patient will be tormented by pain. Therefore, it is important to understand not only how to deal with varicose veins, but also know the methods of relieving pain.
First aid in the fight against pain
Elimination of pain is only a symptomatic part of the treatment, in most cases it does not affect the solution of the main problem - varicose veins.
Nevertheless, it is very important to eliminate pain, consider the main methods of dealing with unpleasant and painful sensations:
- At the initial stages of the development of the disease, pains are unstable, their intensity is rather low and they occur mainly in the evening. In such cases, it is enough to take a recumbent position and lay your feet on a pillow or simply rest them against the wall so that the feet are above the level of the body. This position facilitates blood flow, thereby reducing pain and swelling.
- It is also very useful to do a light massage, kneading the lower limbs with massaging and rubbing movements. Remember, you can stretch your legs during the day, which is very useful in the later stages of the development of the disease.
Traditional methods of pain relief
In case of intense pain that bothers you constantly, as well as in cases where there is no way to massage yourself or relax, you should resort to the help of medications. Of course, only a doctor should prescribe a medicine, but in most cases the following drugs are used:
- Special means in the form of gels - mainly we are talking about non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that effectively relieve pain, as well as have a pronounced anti-inflammatory and moderate antipyretic effect.
- In some cases, you can resort to pain relievers, but with varicose veins, their effect is insignificant and short-lived. These are mainly analgesics and antispasmodics.
- If the painful sensations are accompanied or aggravated by convulsions, it is worth talking to your doctor about the use of muscle relaxants, which help reduce muscle spasms.
- Also, the traditional methods of dealing with painful sensations with varicose veins in the legs include wearing special compression socks, stockings or tights. This method is considered the most effective in terms of pain relief, and its effect is the longest. The mentioned underwear must be bought only in pharmacies, and since it has different degrees of compression, consult your doctor first.
Folk remedies
In folk medicine, there are also many ways to eliminate or prevent pain caused by the development of varicose veins. Consider a few of the most effective methods and recipes:
- Horse chestnut - an alcoholic tincture must be prepared from the fruit of this tree. To do this, grind 100 grams of peeled chestnut, place in a glass dish and pour 500 milliliters of vodka. Place the container in a dark place and leave for 7-8 days at room temperature, stirring once a day. After that, the tincture is filtered and the legs are rubbed with it before going to bed or even during the day if the pains bother during daylight hours.
- Products based on beeswax or propolis show high efficiency in the fight against pain with varicose veins. To prepare the medicine, take 80-90 grams of propolis, grind it and pour 300 milliliters of medical alcohol in a glass container. The agent is infused for 30 days or until the propolis is completely dissolved, all this time it is also kept in a dark place, shaking it periodically. Once the medicine is ready, you can rub your feet or apply lotions.
Prevention of pain
It is also important to understand that in the initial stages of the disease, when the pain is not intense or bothers rarely, but treatment has been started, it will be enough to follow the recommendations that reduce the likelihood of painful sensations:
- Avoid wearing high-heeled shoes.
- Make sure your shoes are comfortable.
- In the cold season, when working indoors, it is important to change from boots to lighter and more comfortable shoes.
- Try to minimize stress on your legs.
- It is impossible to maintain a static position for a long time. If you stand a lot, try to sit more, but if you sit a lot, it is important to periodically take walks or at least warm up.
- During the day, try to massage the lower extremities, 5 minutes of light massage will protect you from pain during the day.
- It is also important to lead a healthy lifestyle, start doing light sports, eat right, give up bad habits, etc.