Prevention of varicose veins in the legs

The prevention of varicose veins in the legs should be initiated at the first signs of varicose veins. If treatment is neglected, the disease will continue to progress, leading to many serious complications. Lifestyle changes are paramount in preventing the development of varicose veins. The patient has to balance his daily routine, modifying his wardrobe and nutritional system. We will tell you more about all the methods of preventing varicose veins.

Causes of varicose veins

Prevention of varicose veins affects everyone, because each person is exposed to negative factors that provoke the development of the disease. In the first place among them is inactivity. Most modern people spend 80% of their time in the office. Being in a sitting position adversely affects the functioning of the muscular apparatus. Therefore, people who are thinking about how to protect their legs from varicose veins must include daily exercises in their schedule. The reasons for the development of the disease include:

  • abuse of fatty and sweet foods;
  • significant excess body weight;
  • serious leg injury;
  • bad habits;
  • taking hormonal drugs;
  • Excessive load on the legs.

Before you begin to prevent varicose veins, you should determine your level of risk. There are certain groups of people who are most likely to develop this condition. They need to visit a vein doctor 1-2 times a year to prevent the appearance of varicose veins.

Bad habits are the reason for the development of varicose veins

The most vulnerable groups of people

Prevention of varicose veins begins with determining if you are a predisposition to develop this pathology. Only a phlebologist can accurately answer this question after assessing the condition of the veins, but you can try the classification yourself. The following people are at high risk for varicose veins:

  • with a genetic predisposition to vascular diseases;
  • women who have given birth and are pregnant;
  • people who do heavy manual labor and stand on their feet most of the day;
  • women often wear high heels;
  • lovers of spicy and too salty foods;
  • Alcoholics;
  • people who like to take a hot bath, go to a sauna;
  • women with disturbances in body temperature;
  • people with swollen feet.

How to prevent varicose veins

How to get rid of varicose veins 100%, the doctor will not be able to say, tk. there is no such way. You can follow all the recommendations of the doctors, but still face the disease. On the other hand, the implementation of preventive measures contributes to the normalization of body functions and blood flow, significantly slowing down the development of the disease. The most effective means to prevent the progression of varicose veins are:

  • physical education;
  • wear comfortable shoes;
  • balancing diet;
  • normalization of body weight;
  • exercise;
  • wear compression knitwear;
  • perform foot massage;
  • choose jobs with more normal working conditions.

Of course, not all recommendations are immediately applicable, but people can eat less fatty foods and exercise 20 minutes a day. Do not be too fanatical about prevention, because in pursuit of improving the condition of blood vessels, you can seriously harm yourself.

gymnastics for the prevention of varicose veins

Moderate activity

Working with free weights and intense physical activity won't help fight varicose veins. On the contrary, they cause destruction of the valves and stretching of the vessel walls. Prevention of varicose veins involves performing specialized exercises that help to normalize blood flow. The class should be held at a fast pace and without causing you pain. Sports methods to prevent varicose veins include:

  • water aerobics and swimming;
  • walking competition;
  • easy running;
  • lengthen.

Quality shoes

To prevent varicose veins, many doctors recommend wearing orthopedic insoles. They contribute to the even distribution of the load when walking. An important aspect is the shoes. To prevent varicose veins at home, you can wear sneakers with instep support. The type of sole and the height of the increase must be selected by the doctor. Purchased footwear must meet the following characteristics:

  1. No flat soles and heels higher than 6 cm.
  2. Sit on good legs. Shoes that are loose on your feet increase your chances of injuring your ankle, and pressing down will result in poor circulation.
  3. The sole/heel should be stable. Even summer shoes must have an anti-slip coating.
comfortable and uncomfortable shoes to prevent varicose veins

Suitable job

When it comes to the prevention of varicose veins of the legs, doctors recommend normalizing work and rest. For many patients, this is due to a change of job or profession. Not everyone agrees to take such a radical step, but if you're engaged in employment now, when choosing a new job, keep these recommendations in mind:

  1. Work should not be combined with heavy manual labor.
  2. You cannot stay in one position for 7-8 hours. Look for companies where employees are allowed to get up every two to three hours and are allowed to do light warm-ups.
warm up at work to prevent varicose veins

In general, any job can be matched by a warm-up every hour. If you do not want to change your field of activity or major, you can simply participate in physical education in the workplace. The main thing is not to allow an increase in blood volume in the lower part of the leg, which is caused by immobility of the lower leg.

Proper nutrition

If you have thoughts on how to avoid varicose veins in the legs, then pay attention to your diet. People who abuse fatty, salty and very sweet foods are very susceptible to this disease, because they are more likely to have high cholesterol and be overweight. To normalize bowel function, you need to eat a lot of vegetables with fiber. If you have practically not eaten raw carrots or cabbage up to this point, then you should not immediately consume them in kilograms. Just eating 300 grams of such vegetables is enough per day.

People with a tendency to varicose veins need to pay attention to maintaining water balance. It is recommended to consume at least 1. 5 liters of clean water per day. Juice, soup, tea are not included in this norm. They are considered by the body as food, so they are quickly eliminated through the kidneys and intestines. Do not use non-carbonated water. If you are prone to varicose veins, carbonated and sugary drinks will have to be ruled out. The same rule applies to drinks with high caffeine content.

Normalize weight

Maintaining a normal body mass index is important for preventing varicose veins. Simple physics works here. The more weight a person has, the greater the pressure on the vessels. Of course, it is necessary to compare your body weight with your own muscle mass, height and physique. With the same height, the weight difference of mesomorph and ectomorph can be up to 15 kg.

Control your weight to prevent varicose veins

If you decide that body fat predominates over muscle, then cut calories in your daily diet. This will allow you to lose weight without feeling hungry. If you change your diet drastically, it will lead to a breakdown and re-gain of mass. To reduce the amount of calories in your daily meal, you should introduce more vegetables that contain fiber. They will not only help you lose weight, but also help normalize the digestive process.

Refuse bad habits

Prevention of varicose veins of the legs affects all areas of human life. Bad habits are also on this list. Smoking, alcohol and a tendency to overeat have a damaging effect on blood vessels. This also includes a state of constant stress. While it's relatively easy to deal with overeating, alcoholism and strong smoking require medical attention. A hobby or group therapy session can help relieve stress.

Loading and unloading gymnastics

For the prevention of varicose veins of the legs, it is imperative to perform exercises that help relieve excessive stress from the muscles of the lower extremities. The maximum workout time is 5-10 minutes. Doctors recommend doing them at least once a day, but preferably 2 times a day. The following physical activities are considered helpful:

  • Exercise bike. Lie on a firm surface, raise your legs, then start doing the same movements as riding a bicycle. If you can't immediately engage each of your legs, simply pull them toward your body in turn.
  • Exercise bike to prevent varicose veins
  • Flexion/extension of the foot. The exercise is performed in a sitting position. It is necessary to do 20 movements with each leg.
  • flex and extend legs to prevent varicose veins
  • Roll from heel to toe. They contribute well to the dispersion of blood if a person is in a sitting position for a long time.
  • Roller exercise to prevent varicose veins
  • Raise the toes. First, the movements are performed with both legs simultaneously, then alternately. At the highest point, you should linger 10-15 seconds, and then lower back to the starting position.
  • Exercise on the toes to prevent varicose veins

Foot massage

If you're unsure about how to prevent varicose veins in your legs, try a gentle massage. By itself, the reflex effect on the skin and blood vessels has a tonic effect on the whole body. Due to short manipulations, blood and lymph flow increases, nutrition of the epithelium is normalized. Foot massage can be done independently or entrusted to a specialist. With a predisposition to varicose veins, pressure and pinch movements should be avoided during surgery. Self-massage is performed as follows:

  1. The sick person should sit on the floor or on a bed/sofa, knees slightly bent.
  2. Do massage movements from toes to shins.
  3. The foot should be wrapped around the toes so that the big toe is on the instep, and all the rest is on the inside.
  4. The wrap around your hand should be gently squeezed, moving slowly towards the top of the leg.
  5. The lateral surface of the heel should be wrapped with your fingers on both sides, then squeezed for a few seconds. Next, you need to move up from the Achilles tendon to the knee.
  6. The procedure ends with stroking the foot.
Self-massage your legs to prevent varicose veins

Compression clothing

Means for the prevention of varicose veins are different. Compression therapy is also one of them. If you wish, you can attend specialized physical therapy procedures, where pressure is performed using specialized equipment, but it is easier to buy medical socks and stockings.

Compression knitwear should be selected individually. In the absence of inclination, it is enough to simply wear underwear with initial compression. If you have symptoms of varicose veins, then your doctor must address it by choosing a shirt. Recommendations for choosing medical linen are as follows:

  1. It must be comfortable. If you feel uncomfortable the first time you wear it, then this panty is not right for you.
  2. The compression layer should be in accordance with the recommendations of the doctor. If you are required to wear compression stockings of the first class, then you cannot buy zero knee high socks.
  3. The product must be of high quality. It is better to buy compression knitwear in specialized stores, not at the market or any other department store, because the chances are high that you come across fakes, which will stretch over time and notIt also has a therapeutic effect on the legs.

Additional recommendations

Measures to prevent varicose veins include external use of specialized cosmetic products (gels, creams, etc. ). They cool the surface of the legs, which contributes to the natural contraction of blood vessels. People with a tendency to varicose veins should avoid overworking the muscles of the lower extremities. Hygiene is important to prevent the onset of illness. Not only should you clean the skin of your feet, but you should also shower with a contrast shower. It also has a local irritating effect on blood vessels, which improves skin tone.

How to prevent varicose veins

Prevention and treatment of varicose veins are closely related. The spread of the disease can be prevented in the early stages with the help of drugs and alternative therapies, but with the disease progressing rapidly, only surgery can help. Venous physicians should develop a treatment plan for patients with varicose veins. It is not possible to independently choose drugs and participate in any oriental medicine methods. Any rash act can aggravate the condition of blood vessels.

Drug treatment

The drug is able to prevent the development of varicose veins in the early stages. As a rule, disease begins to form because the vessels do not have enough nutrients to keep the walls elastic. In this case, an increased accumulation of blood in the extremities is often observed. Venotonics / phlebotonics - drugs that improve the flow of fluid out of the legs. They also help restore blood vessel walls. They are:

  • nature;
  • merge;
  • synthetic;
  • based on rutosides.

With high blood viscosity, the patient is prescribed drugs with heparin. They help improve blood flow, but are contraindicated in people with a tendency to bleed.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs help relieve pain in the second stage of varicose veins. They also help relieve the itching and burning sensation that often accompanies this disease. External measures promote skin healing. The duration of the drug is prescribed by the doctor, but usually the standard course of treatment is 6-8 months, so you should not expect that all symptoms of the disease will go away within 2 weeks of taking it. drug use.

Traditional therapy

In its early stages, the disease is not considered life-threatening, but neither should it be allowed to drift. Sclerotherapy is a traditional minimally invasive approach to prevent further development of varicose veins. It can be used to remove stars and small circuits. Traditional therapies include:

  • echotherapy;
  • micro treatment;
  • thermal coagulation;
  • electroacupuncture therapy;
  • darsonvalization;
  • Electrical stimulation;
  • manual lymphatic drainage;
  • the use of elastic compression of the foot;
  • hydrotherapy;
  • therapeutic therapy;
  • compression therapy.

All these techniques help to prevent further development of the disease. They trigger the natural regeneration of blood vessels.

Unique methods

You can improve the condition of your legs with the help of mud therapy. The patient must remember that the wrap should only be cold. Heating the varicose veins is very harmful to the body. Ayurveda helps to get rid of chronic stress that causes blood vessel dilation. This is one of the alternative medicine, built on the philosophical system of the Hindus. Various plants are used there as medicine. Non-traditional treatments for varicose veins include:

  • yoga;
  • homeopathy;
  • natural diseases;
  • Tibetan gymnastics.

Surgery

With varicose veins of the lower extremities, the most effective way to normalize blood flow is specialist surgery. The perfect surgical method to treat the disease is characterized by minimally invasive and helps patients quickly return to normal activities and life. They allow you to completely remove the affected veins, slow down the development of the disease. Modern surgical methods to treat varicose veins include:

  • short stripping;
  • laparoscopic surgery video;
  • microscopic ablation;
  • laser coagulation;
  • surgery to remove the spinal cord;
  • safe surgical excision.

These methods are commonly used to treat varicose veins. Angioplasty is chosen by your doctor based on the size of the vein and its general condition. Sometimes only part of the vessel needs to be removed, and sometimes it is necessary to remove it completely and create an alternative channel for blood flow.

Folk method

Folk remedies for improving the condition of veins are divided into external and internal. If you are not sure that the cause of the development of varicose veins is a high platelet count, then the use of various tinctures should be postponed, because they contain a decoction of the plant that helps to diluteblood. Effective external remedies for varicose veins:

  • Coniferous salt bath. 300 grams of dry matter is added to hot water and then soaked there. If pine salt isn't sold in your area, you can substitute it with baking soda. It is recommended to shower like this 2-3 times / week.
  • Compressed Apple Cider Vinegar. The product is diluted with water in a ratio of 1-1 and then applied to the skin. From above the legs are wrapped with tape, and then everything is fixed with plastic wrap. You can simply apply apple cider vinegar 2-3 times a day. It irritates the veins.
  • items to apply to prevent varicose veins
  • Rub with horse chestnut. You can buy ready-made tinctures from this plant at the pharmacy, or you can make your own. In the second case, you will need a kernel with the bark of the tree. 400 grams of dry product is poured with 1. 5 liters of vodka, and then soaked for a week in a dark place. After the tincture was ready, they began to clean the leg parts damaged by varicose veins.
  • horse chestnut to prevent varicose veins

Preventive forecast

In women with a low tendency to develop the disease, during the prevention of varicose veins of the legs develops only in 5% of cases. The disease is mild, so it can be treated quickly. With a moderate tendency to disease, the disease occurs in 30% of patients. Usually, it is a mild to moderate form of the disease. With a pronounced tendency to varicose veins, the disease rapidly progresses to a moderate form. Without preventive measures, the disease quickly worsens, which is very complicated to treat later.

Clinical examination of the population

All citizens can have a free medical check-up. In general, not all physical exams are important, but just need to visit the surgeon and get the results of a general blood test. Your surgeon may first notice changes in your pulse and then refer you to a phlebologist. Also, you should be on the lookout if platelets predominate in the printout of a general blood test, you should see a veniologist. This may indicate vascular thrombosis.

How to avoid varicose veins during pregnancy

During pregnancy, the load on a woman's internal organs increases greatly. During pregnancy, the risk of varicose veins of the legs, small pelvis, and external genitalia increases. Especially the danger increases in the second and third trimesters, when the fetus begins to develop actively. The phlebologist can tell you in detail how to prevent varicose veins in the legs in pregnant women. All precautions should be started with a consultation with him. Doctors recommend that the woman be in the position:

  • wear comfortable shoes with low heels (completely flat soles are also harmful);
  • try not to drink too much liquid;
  • go to water aerobics for pregnant women;
  • I put my feet more often during the day;
  • Wear compression and supportive clothing.

Why is prevention important?

Thinking about how to prevent varicose veins in the legs is much easier than treating an already established disease. Many people with this condition have a genetic predisposition to developing it. The main objective of the preventive measures is to maintain the normal state of the ship. This can be done in many different ways. All preventive measures can be divided into 2 categories:

  • aimed at people with a genetic predisposition to the disease or facing unfavorable working conditions;
  • aimed at patients with varicose veins of any stage.

About 80% of phlebologists believe that prevention is easier than treatment, so all conscientious people should spend at least 10-20 minutes a day taking care of their feet.