Swelling of the legs is a fairly common occurrence for most people, especially in the evenings after a long day at work. Often they disappear by morning, but if this phenomenon is repeated every day, it may indicate a problem with the veins, and further lead to varicose veins or thrombophlebitis. If the swelling does not go down in the morning, most likely, your diagnosis is lymphostasis of the lower extremities. Treatment of this disease is recommended to start as early as possible, while the lymphatic system copes with its tasks at least partially.
Causes and symptoms of the three stages of lymphostasis
Lymphostasis is a disease that occurs in women 5 times more often than in men. Why this is happening, doctors cannot answer unequivocally, but the main reasons for its occurrence have already been identified:
- Diseasesvarious organs and systems.
- Changes in veins or lymphatic vessels.
- Low protein.
- The presence of microorganisms in the body, such as streptococci.
- Congenital anomaly of the lymphatic system.
Lymphostasis has several stages of development, each of them has its own symptoms:
- Lymphedema (reversible swelling) affects the ankle, toes and foot. In this case, the edema is palpable, even visible visually, but is not accompanied by pain. The skin in this area becomes pale, slightly flabby, forms a fold. After rest, the swelling disappears or decreases significantly.
- Fibredema (irreversible swelling) extends to almost the entire limb, accompanied by pain, heaviness, and sometimes convulsions. After pressing in the area of edema, a trace in the form of a dent remains for a long time, and it does not go away even after rest.
- Elephantiasis is an extensive growth of subcutaneous tissue and connective tissue, which leads to an incredible increase in the limb. The name of the stage comes from the similarity of the limb of a sick person with the foot of an elephant. The stage is accompanied by pain, inflammation and ulcers of the skin.
Diagnosis and staging of lymphostasis
The correctness of the diagnosis depends on how to deal with swelling in the extremities in the future. If phlebologists or lymphologists have established that there is lymphostasis of the lower extremities, treatment with folk remedies, medicines and massages should be started without delay. Howis the diagnosis being made? Comprehensive approach includes:
- visual inspection;
- biochemical analysis of urine and blood;
- duplex vein scan;
- Ultrasound of vessels and tissues;
- lymphography.
Only after diagnosis and determination of the severity of the disease can treatment be carried out.
Treatment of lymphedema with medication
So, your diagnosis is lymphostasis of the lower extremities. Treatment with folk remedies is not in your rules? In this case, you will be prescribed medication, and only according to an individual schedule - depending on the characteristics of the body, the stage of the disease, and possible individual intolerance to the drugs. Basically, the following drugs are prescribed for treatment:
- Phlebotonics to improve microcirculation and lymph outflow.
- Enzyme therapy drugs that relieve inflammation and swelling.
- Diuretics are diuretics.
- Antibacterial agents.
Most often, these drugs are used in combination and only with prolonged use effectively treat lymphostasis of the lower extremities.
Treatment with folk remedies
At the initial stage of lymphostasis, folk remedies will be quite effective. For example, a compress of onions and tar has proven itself well. To prepare the mixture, one onion is baked (it is not necessary to clean it first), cooled, cleaned and chopped. To this porridge you need to add a tablespoon of tar and mix everything thoroughly. The resulting product is evenly applied to the fabric andwrap it around the sore spot, then fix it and leave it overnight. If you have lymphedema of the lower extremities, treatment with folk remedies may include decoctions, infusions and mixtures taken orally:
-
lymphostasis of the lower extremities treatment with folk remedies An infusion of 250 g minced garlic and 350 ml honey is prepared for a week and taken three times a day before meals.
- Helps decoction of plantain, dandelion leaves and immortelle flowers. All components are taken in equal proportions, poured with boiling water (0.5 l) and infused for 5-7 hours. You need to take a decoction of half a cup 4 r. per day.
- Apple cider vinegar and honey (1 tsp each) diluted in a glass of water will greatly alleviate the patient's condition.
Massage treatment
Massage for lymphostasis of the lower extremities is one of the ways to improve the patient's condition. This is not about home self-massage, but about professional procedures that are effective only in the first two stages. The action of the massage is aimed at activating the outflow of lymph and reducing blood vessels. This leads to a significant reduction in the volume of the limbs. In medicine, hardware massage (pneumocompression) and manual lymphatic drainage are used. The procedure ends with bandaging - bandaging using an elastic bandage.
