Diseases of the veins create significant discomfort for a sick person. The most common discomfort with varicose veins is itching of the veins in the legs. According to statistics, 10% of people on our planet suffer from varicose veins. The disease is more often diagnosed in females. Many patients are concerned about why the veins on the legs itch and what to do in this case.
Itchy diseases
Itchy feet can cause various diseases. The most common reason why the veins on the legs itch is varicose veins. Blood stagnation occurs in the vessels, because of this, their elasticity is lost, and they become brittle. As a result, venous insufficiency increases, and blood clots form in the veins.
With thrombophlebitis, blood clots appear in vessels with inflamed walls. The veins become very fragile, so they begin to damage, pulsate. At the same time, the patient feels pain, burning, and the veins are very itchy.on my feet.
Deep vein thrombosis is a disease that does not have any distinctive symptoms. Most often, the disease appears in patients who are forced to lie down. Its symptoms are local hyperthermia, swelling and, of course, quite a strong feeling of itching.
Postphlebitic syndrome - develops after a person has had a thrombosis. Pain, heaviness and itching are felt in the lower limb.
Why does the patient feel itchy
So why do the veins on the legs itch with the above diseases? If the vessels are affected, blood stagnation occurs in them, which ultimately leads to soft tissue dystrophy. The skin, which is located above the dilated veins, is not sufficiently supplied with blood. Toxins and decay products accumulate in the tissues, which causes pathological changes in the skin. They become dry, red, flaky and itchy.
In the lower extremities there is a violation of the outflow of venous blood, the activity of the valvular apparatus worsens, blood clots clog the veins. When they protrude from the surface of the skin, irritation increases, and this becomes the reason why the veins on the legs itch.
As a rule, the shin is itchy in patients. Varicose veins cause very severe itching, which a person cannot endure. Due to intensive scratching, small wounds-ulcers form on the surface of the skin, which hurt and become inflamed from time to time. This phenomenon in medicine is called varicose eczema. Burning and itching keeps a person in constant tension, he is irritated, cannot sleep, eat,rest.
Causes of pathology
Varicose veins occur due to a violation of blood flow, which causes the walls of the veins to expand and the valves of the veins begin to malfunction. As a result, this leads to swelling of the veins, the appearance of edema and a change in the structure of the skin and their peeling. All these factors become the reason why the varicose leg itches, where the vein is located. But this is only the beginning, more serious problems await the patient: venous dermatitis and venous eczema.
Venous insufficiency in the chronic stage and varicose veins have quite a few unpleasant symptoms. The main ones are:
- pain;
- gravity;
- swelling of limbs;
- itching in veins;
- cosmetic skin defects.
Already at the very beginning of the disease, patients feel considerable discomfort. If a person seeks help from a doctor in time, then a correctly diagnosed and high-quality treatment can prevent possible serious complications. But getting rid of the burning and itching that haunt the patient every day is not so easy.
Who is more likely to suffer from varicose veins
Diseases of the legs, which are accompanied by burning and itching of the veins, are quite common in people with a hereditary predisposition, having bad habits and a lot of weight, as well as leading a sedentary lifestyle. For these reasons, the veins become weak, less elastic, often begin to become inflamed. This is the answer to the questionWhy do leg veins itch with varicose veins? Itching indicates the neglect of the disease. As a rule, these sensations appear when the veins have expanded, and “spider veins” can already be seen on the skin.
Usually veins on the lower extremities hurt and itch in people who:
- have a genetic predisposition;
- do heavy physical labor, this also includes athletes;
- have sedentary jobs;
- persons whose work is constantly on their feet (sellers, hairdressers, cooks, surgeons and others);
- lovers of high heels;
- women during pregnancy;
- those who prefer to sit cross-legged for a long time;
- taking oral contraceptives.
What are the complications of itching
The most common complications are:
- Eczema. Foci of scaly skin form over damaged veins. More often, this complication is observed in women with vascular diseases who have a significant excess of weight. To get rid of such a complication, it is necessary to restore the patency of the veins as soon as possible and thereby normalize the passage of venous blood.
- Dermatitis. Due to the fact that with varicose veins the skin is very itchy and the patient begins to comb it, the skin begins to become inflamed. This leads to the appearance of sores, small wounds, as well as pustules. Through them, a bacterial infection enters the body. If proper attention is not paid to this in time, it maydevelop congestive dermatitis, which then will need to be treated for a long time and seriously, otherwise everything can end with a dangerous blood disease.
- Hemorrhage under the skin. When diseased vessels burst, red spots form on the skin of the legs. At first they are small in size, but over time they begin to merge and become large. In this case, patients feel, in addition to itching, a strong burning sensation.
- Trophic ulcer. This is another complication of varicose veins, which is expressed in deep damage to the skin and muscles. Ulcers can be both young and more mature, in the singular or multiple, dry or seropurulent. Usually the disease is treated conservatively. But there are times when surgical treatment is used.
Treatment of varicose veins
If the treatment of varicose veins is not started in time, then atrophy of the venous walls occurs. The connective scar tissue begins to grow, the inner vascular layer thickens, the lumen of the veins becomes much narrower, the valve apparatus does not work at full strength. All of these factors lead to impaired blood circulation. As a result, internal organs and tissues receive less oxygen and nutrients, which leads to their dystrophy and dysfunction.
This suggests that if there is an itch in the veins, you should immediately go to a medical facility for help from a phlebologist. The doctor will conduct a thorough diagnosis of the entire vascular system, and then prescribe the necessary treatment that will help to avoidsurgery.
Medicated treatment
Often patients turn to a phlebologist with the following problem: the veins on the legs itch. How to treat, the doctor will tell after the examination.
He prescribes drugs to relieve this problem:
- Anticoagulants "Heparin", "Varfanin" - do not allow the formation of blood clots.
- Thrombolytics "Fibronolysin", "Streptokinase" - dissolve blood clots.
- Desensitizing agents "Cetrin", "Diazolin" - fight the main symptoms of the inflammatory process.
- Multivitamins "Undevit", "Supradin" - are intended for general strengthening of the body.
- Sedatives Tenoten, Novopassit.
- Creams "Panthenol", "Bepanthen" - have an antimicrobial and wound healing effect.
- Hormonal ointments "Prednisolone", "Lorinden", "Cinacort" - soothe the skin, relieve itching.
Physiotherapy treatments
Physiotherapy in the early stages of the disease helps relieve pain, burning and itching on the legs, stop the further development of the pathology, turn on the protective effect of the patient's body.
The following physiotherapy procedures are used in the treatment of varicose veins:
- electrophoresis;
- laser;
- darsonval;
- galvanization;
- lymphatic drainage;
- UFO;
- UHF.
Such treatment is symptomatic, it helps relieve itching, but cannot eliminate the cause of this phenomenon - varicose veins.
General recommendations
To alleviate the condition of a patient with varicose veins and reduce itching, you must adhere to the following recommendations:
- shoes should be comfortable and light, no high heels, loose clothing;
- lose excess weight, if any;
- use compression stockings or elastic bandages;
- take a contrast shower before bed;
- do baths using herbal decoctions;
- do not use alkaline soap for washing;
- do not go to the steam room;
- hiking.
Diet therapy for varicose veins
Dietitians recommend that people who suffer from varicose veins eat more vegetables and fruits, legumes, and beef liver. It will be quite useful to include egg whites, walnuts, dishes that include grape leaves in the patient's diet.
It is not recommended to eat s alty and spicy foods, canned vegetables and meat, alcoholic drinks, coffee, fatty and fried foods. If there are no contraindications, the patient should drink at least one and a half liters of pure water per day.
Surgical treatment method
If conservative treatment does not give the desired result, surgical removal of the affected vein is performed. Recently, surgical treatment has changed significantly. But still, the ultimate goal, as before, remains the removal of the affected blood vessel.
Unlikeclassical phlebectomy, which requires large incisions along the veins, thanks to innovative methods, minimal skin incisions are made. This technique is called stripping. During a surgical operation, only two small incisions are made on the patient's leg, at the beginning and at the end of the removed vein. Then, in these places, the vein is cut and a specially designed probe with a metal tip is inserted into its lumen. If it is not available, the extractor is fixed to the vein wall with a thread and the vessel is pulled to the surface, tied up and cut off.
Prevention
It's no secret that any disease is much easier to prevent than to treat later. In order to prevent varicose veins, you should lead a he althy lifestyle: eat right, do not eat harmful foods, move more, exercise. It is recommended to give up bad habits (smoking, drinking alcohol), if any. Sound he althy sleep and a positive outlook on life are useful for the general condition.
