Question

Vericose veins what it is and what treatment for it to heal

Answer 1

Varicose vein is a condition in which the superficial veins of the extremities of the body, that is the hands and the feet get enlarged or gnarled and can no longer carry out proper vascular circulation of blood. These veins appear as bluish or purplish coloured network of veins on the skin and are sometimes associated with skin rash, inflammation, pain, blood clots and/or bleeding.

Veins are the blood vessels which carry deoxygenated blood from different parts of the body towards the heart to maintain the circulatory system. The veins in our hands and legs have to act against gravity to deliver blood upwards to the heart. To maintain this function, the veins have elastic walls, narrow lumen, and also valves, which prevent the backflow of blood.

In situations such as old age, pregnancy, or due to heavy workload, these veins might lose their elasticity, become wide and also the valves might collapse, causing excess accumulation of deoxygenated blood in these veins and gives the characteristic colour appearance. Oozing out of fluid from these veins might cause swelling and inflammation of legs, and hands and the regions where blood accumulates can cause to form painful clots and itching.

Treatment

Many a time, varicose veins may not lead to any pain or discomfort and such type of varicose veins can be reversed by taking ample rest, avoiding working or standing for too long and eating healthy food and vitamins which maintains the body's systems.

Painful varicose veins needs intervention, and nowadays, many options are available to treat them. Some of these are:

• Ultrasound endoscopic vein surgery: This is the treatment for the most advanced case of varicose veins. In this process, a small camera is inserted inside the legs to view the positions of the varicose veins and then incision is made to remove them.
• Ambulatory phlebectomy: This is a similar procedure, where skin punctures are made in order to remove or close the problematic veins.
• Laser treatment or catheter assisted radiofrequency therapy: This is the treatment for very large varicose veins. In this process, the veins are heated using the catheter and sealed closed.
• Sclerotherapy: This is the common procedure to smaller varicose veins or spider veins. In this process are surfactant or foam type of chemical is injected into the superficial veins which scars and closes them.

It is important to note that, treatment of varicose veins will not affect the general vascular circulation. Because the core deep-seated veins take care of the most bulk of blood circulation from the legs and the hands.