Venous insufficiency symptoms, diagnosis and treatment
Table of contents
What veins are?
Veins are, in short, all of the blood vessels that return the blood to the heart. Arteries are transported in contrast, the share of the fresh blood from the heart to the body. The blood gives oxygen and nutrients into the tissue, and then it flows through tiny blood vessels, the capillaries, into the Venules. These blood vessels are also small and combine to form the larger veins. Smaller, on the surface, closer to the veins lead the blood into the deeper veins with a large diameter.
The two largest veins hot lower and upper hollow vein. This pumps the blood without oxygen to the heart, the heart pumps it into the lungs. There, it fills with oxygen and flows back to the heart. The arteries carry it to the organs.
When the venous valves fail
How can the blood flow in the direction of the heart? The veins provide flaps. These act as a valve. They are closed, can not flow the blood in the wrong direction.
A venous insufficiency begins when these venous valves weaken. They no longer close properly, and it may happen that you includes. The blood flows now only partially up to the heart, and accumulates instead at the upstream sections of the veins. Then the vein at the venous wall is expanded by the pressure of the accumulated blood. On the skin such dilated veins manifest themselves as small spider veins or larger blue varicose veins.
Risk: Chronic Venous Insufficiency
Advanced venous insufficiency can develop into chronic venous insufficiency, short-CVI. In the case of a chronic weakness of the skin changes and the tissue swells as much as painful. In the case of a CVI in the legs and the walking is difficult and the Affected are easily exhausted.
How to develop a venous insufficiency?
A malfunction of the veins is tricky because it progresses slowly and causes no symptoms. Among the early complaints of leg pain, a feeling of heaviness or swelling, so-called “big calves”. However, these symptoms are non-specific, you can also have many other triggers, for example, overexerted muscles.
The Symptoms
What are the symptoms of an insufficiency of the veins are? To swollen, tired and aching legs the following symptoms:
- Small, reddish-bluish venous pattern in the Form of spider webs. Doctors refer to them as spider veins.
- Clearly visible veins, especially on the calf, knee and thigh.
- Varicose veins; while spider veins form when small veins are varicose veins is an expression of larger veins. This show is obvious in the lower leg and calf – curl, thicken and “meander”.
- The skin color changes to brownish in the area of the ankles, the legs, the skin dry, desquamates, and itchy, it is eczema and/or open skin. This usually happens only when weakness has become chronic.
Weak Veins – Risk Factors
Venous insufficiency is often genetic. This is evident in the fact that often several people in a family suffer. The age also plays a role. So a weakening of the vein rarely occurs before the 30. The age of a. Women suffer significantly more often to weak vein as well as the visible spider veins and varicose veins than men. Here are the structures of the female connective tissue are involved, as well as the female sex hormones, especially Estrogen. The connective tissue of women is generally looser than that of men, and thus the risk of a venous insufficiency. Particularly, Pregnant women, the estrogen level rises, often develop venous insufficiency. This is in addition to the fact that the belly of the Pregnant woman presses on the pelvic veins and the leg veins.
Generally speaking, a risk Obesity factor for these complaints. Also earlier suffered thrombosis in the veins promote venous weakness. Come to be Overweight, and the past blood clots activities, connected with long Standing or Sitting, increases the risk of venous insufficiency is enormous.
Diagnosis
A doctor may suspect a venous weakness, safely diagnose you can phlebologists, so medical specialists for vascular and venous diseases. It must first be clarified whether or not your family have already been cases of venous insufficiency occur, or if you have a history of thrombosis. Then the doctors see the leg skin and pay attention to swelling, skin lesions, spider veins or varicose veins. Ultrasound images can detect whether the venous valves are damaged. The Doppler ultrasound shows how blood flows in the vein, where the flow is disturbed, and whether blood clots have formed.
Treatment
The treatment for venous insufficiency. Rather, different therapies come into consideration, depending on how far the weakness has progressed. First of all, it is to support the flow of blood or to restore. This works with tools from the outside, i.e. stockings, compression or press associations. The pressure can no longer afford the vein itself, coming now from the outside, and it prevents the blood to pool back.
Have tightened the veins complaints, for example, with water retention, diuretic medication to help. The eczema on the skin is treated with creams or ointments that relieve moisture and inflammation. Spider veins are medically not a Problem, a lot of people but find it unaesthetic. You can easily be obliteration by injection of a chemical substance. This also works in the case of superficial varicose veins. Deep need to be seated varicose veins but surgery. The vein is removed and the blood to a healthy vein is redirected or the vessel with the Laser locked.
How can you prevent venous insufficiency?
If your weak veins are genes created the table, let the problems in a bad prevent. After all of course the weakness is the brakes, by the connective tissue, the veins and the blood flow strengths:
- It is primarily movement helps. The need to be a performance sport, but Hiking, Swimming, Cycling. You ride a bike instead of driving to work, climb stairs instead in the Elevator. Swimming is best, the cold water pushes on the veins and also ensures that this cool.
- Insert Fußgymnastik, if you have to sit at work often, or a standing work. Move the tips of the toes in the exchange to the tibia and to the ground or you, shift the weight from the heels to the tips of the toes. You can also clawing the toes or the foot “shaking”.
- You are eating low in calories and reduce the weight, because excessive weight promotes and enhances venous insufficiency.
- Do without you, so beautiful you will find this on high heels, because they weaken the veins. Ideal Flip Flops or sandals. The flatter, more open and more comfortable the shoes are, the better.
- Especially in the summer, you should drink at venous insufficiency much. This compensates for the loss of fluid through sweating, because the more viscous the blood is, the better it can flow.
Course and prognosis
A the beginning of the end of venous insufficiency can usually be stopped. It progresses and to form varicose veins, grows the risk of diseases such as, for example, a vein thrombosis.
Compression stockings against thrombosis
Compression stockings help even with advanced venous insufficiency and reduce the risk of thrombosis. Medical compression stockings, today, there are also anti-bacterial and breathable, so that you can be good on a hot summer day. The medical specialist trading on fits those stockings individually in the morning during off woollen legs. There are you as knee-high socks, thigh stockings or tights. (Dr. Utz Anhalt)