Treatment of varicose veins with folk remedies

Patients often try to treat varicose veins with folk remedies at home - based on plant extracts, there are even preparations for external use and oral administration, many of which are positioned as means for completely getting rid of vein diseases.They are widely advertised and sold without a doctor's prescription.But, unfortunately, this attitude towards traditional methods in the case of varicose veins is not entirely correct.

Phlebologists do not consider traditional methods as the main method of treating varicose veins of the lower extremities - traditional medicine can be effective in complex therapy and can only reduce symptoms.

Why does herbal medicine not cure varicose veins?

The use of various plant-based remedies is not able to relieve the patient of varicose veins even in the initial stages of the disease.This cannot be achieved by drug therapy and other conservative methods recommended by official medicine.

Changes in the walls of veins with varicose veins are irreversible.And not a single product of natural or pharmaceutical origin can eliminate these characteristic disorders or at least reliably stop their progression.Currently, there are no drugs that lead to regression of phlebosclerosis and restoration of the normal structure of the vascular wall.

In many cases, patients have a hereditary predisposition to varicose veins of the lower extremities.

Factors for the development of varicose veins:

• Genetically determined “weakness” of the venous walls, which in fact can withstand only a normal level of intravascular pressure without consequences.
• A small number of intravenous valves are present in utero, which may be a family or even racial trait.

Of course, all this cannot be eliminated with the help of herbal remedies or other non-surgical techniques.Therefore, there is no need to talk about curing varicose veins with the help of conservative therapy, no matter what advertising and publications promise.

Improvement in the condition while taking medications or herbal remedies only indicates compensation for existing venous insufficiency.The duration of this remission period depends on many factors.And the continuation of herbal medicine does not at all guarantee a low probability of resumption of symptoms and prevention of the development of complications.

However, herbal-based products can still be used in the complex treatment of varicose veins of the lower extremities.Moreover, some healing extracts formed the basis of a number of modern drugs.So patients can refuse to independently prepare decoctions and infusions for oral administration.Many people prefer standardized pharmaceutical products with adjusted dosage, ease of administration and predictable action.

What is the effect of herbal medicine and traditional methods?

For varicose veins, chamomile, horse chestnut, aromatic rue, horsetail, dandelion, meadow lumbago (sleep grass), bird knotweed (knotweed) and a number of other plants are most often used for medicinal purposes.

Chamomile helps relieve the symptoms of varicose veins in the early stages - it reduces the inflammatory process and the visibility of the affected veins.Chamomile tea and compresses have a minimum of contraindications and can be recommended by specialists in complex therapy.

Dandelion is a popular remedy for varicose veins.Dried roots and stem are added to tea and also when taking a bath.It relieves mild pain, but does not have a therapeutic effect.

The effect of folk remedies

Herbal medicine has a limited effect on affected veins:

• Phlebotonic effect - increasing the tone of the veins.But do not forget that with varicose veins, the structure of the affected vessels irreversibly changes.In their walls, not only does the amount of connective tissue significantly increase (which is called phlebosclerosis), but the structure of the muscle layer is also disrupted.Therefore, already deformed veins will give an insufficient response to phlebotonic substances.Their lumen can be narrowed mainly with the help of potent compounds - for example, ergot alkaloids.But the side effects from such herbal medicine will be significant.Therefore, phlebotonic plants are used rather to reduce the severity of venous insufficiency and for preventive purposes.
• Compaction of the vein, due to which the process of its deformation is somewhat restrained.This effect can be used in complex prevention in individuals at risk.But it will still not be possible to stop, let alone reverse, existing varicose veins in this way.
• Antithrombotic and disaggregation effect, which reduces the risk of thrombosis and has a beneficial effect on microcirculation.But this effect can be expected only with sufficiently long-term use of decoctions and infusions.In addition, blood thinning will not occur locally in the area of varicose veins, but throughout the body.In some patients, this can lead to complications of other diseases.
• Anti-inflammatory and wound-healing effect, manifested mainly in local herbal medicine for trophic ulcers and eczematous venous dermatitis.But without eliminating venostasis (the key cause of these complications), it will not be possible to achieve lasting normalization of the skin condition.

As you can see, the symptoms of the disease will decrease only temporarily, and varicose veins will not completely disappear.

Apitherapy for varicose veins

Apitherapy or “bee therapy” is the use of bee venom and various bee products for medicinal purposes.Recommendations for the use of honey and propolis as compresses for trophic ulcers and the presence of visible varicose veins are quite common.Some also resort to apitoxin therapy sessions, deliberately achieving bee stings in the projection of the most affected vessels.

Honey and propolis in the form of compresses are used to relieve swelling and pain.

Apitherapy is a classic folk method of treating varicose veins of the legs, let’s consider the expected effect and the possibility of its occurrence:

• Improving tissue trophism and providing them with vitamins and microelements contained in honey.In reality, there is no improvement - the penetration of components through the skin is insignificant to speak of a significant therapeutic effect.In addition, a dense mass of honey can clog pores and thereby worsen the condition of the dermis.
• In the presence of a trophic ulcer - the antimicrobial effect of applying honey compresses.The highly digestible carbohydrates of this beekeeping product can become a breeding ground for opportunistic microorganisms.This can lead to the exact opposite effect, especially in the conditions of skin dysbiosis that occurs with varicose veins and against the background of a decrease in local immunity.
• Anti-inflammatory effect of honey compresses.Yes, honey can reduce the severity of nonspecific inflammation.But in the case of varicose veins, key changes occur in the wall of the subcutaneous vessel, and biologically active substances through the skin are still not absorbed well enough.Honey is a highly allergenic product; it is possible that local allergic reactions similar to inflammation may develop - this will not improve the condition of the legs.
• Fighting thrombosis (with apitoxin therapy), which is explained by the presence of a hirudin-like substance in bee venom.Trying to use this effect, apitherapists often plant stinging bees on areas of the veins affected by thrombophlebitis.In some cases, this actually activates thrombolysis (resorption of the blood clot).But such a rather aggressive and not completely controlled effect can provoke thromboembolism and increase the severity of phlebitis.
• Improving microcirculation under the influence of peptides contained in bee venom.Indeed, these biologically active substances contribute to the expansion of capillaries and blood flow to the areas inflamed after bee stings.Bee sting sessions can potentially improve the condition of the soft tissues of the legs affected by varicose veins.But apitoxin therapy is also accompanied by inflammation and swelling, which aggravates existing disorders.The wounds formed after the removal of the sting serve as entry gates for bacteria - the risk of developing erysipelas and other very undesirable infectious complications.
• Restoration of venous walls under the influence of bee venom.The peptides and other substances it contains, with repeated stings, change all tissues in the area of developing inflammation.The skin thickens, the subcutaneous tissue becomes coarser, the walls of the subcutaneous vessels thicken, and varicose veins become less noticeable.But this does not mean that uneven phlebosclerosis and the nodular deformities of veins that arise against its background completely disappear.They are only compensated, which is accompanied by a temporary stabilization of the course of chronic venous insufficiency.And valvular sclerosis is not eliminated by apitherapy.

Apitherapy is indeed a very powerful means of traditional medicine, but with varicose veins it is fraught with the development of infectious complications.It will not be possible to restore the walls of the veins with such treatment; it is only possible to stabilize the course of the disease and relieve symptoms.

Do leeches treat varicose veins?

Leeches have long been used in the treatment of blood and vascular diseases.The risk of thrombosis is reduced, and pain is temporarily reduced.

Treatment with leeches (hirudotherapy) is a popular method of treating varicose veins and other vascular diseases, eliminates symptoms, improves tissue trophism, but the effect is limited in time:

• Reduced swelling and visible pigmentation.
• Sucking a leech reduces the risk of thrombosis.This is explained by the antithrombotic effect of several substances in her saliva: the anticoagulant hirudin, the enzymes collagenase and apyrase with disaggregation properties.But the leech cannot act on blood clots already existing in the veins, and it does not reduce the likelihood of thromboembolism in thrombophlebitis.In addition, the proteins coming from her saliva decompose quite quickly, so one cannot expect a long-term antithrombotic effect from hirudotherapy.
• Sucking blood by a leech reduces intravascular pressure.This unloading of local blood flow is temporary and is not able to relieve the patient from venous stagnation with varicose veins.
• Some substances in leech saliva have a vasodilating effect and lead to dilation of small vessels.In some cases, this helps improve microcirculation.Venous insufficiency caused by varicose veins is accompanied by overextension of the final sections of the venous network due to blood stagnation.So additional expansion of small vessels may not have the best effect on the state of the microvasculature.With spider veins, this effect from the use of leeches can even worsen the situation.

Hirudotherapy currently refers more to physiotherapeutic methods than traditional ones.But phlebologists are still very wary of such treatment due to the high likelihood of complications - erysipelas.

Venous congestion that develops with varicose veins leads to disruption of nutrition of all tissues of the limb, including the skin.The efficiency of local immune factors decreases, the composition of the microflora on the surface of the epidermis changes.All this is a prerequisite for the development of infectious complications.

The suction of leeches further disrupts the functioning of the skin barrier.And the gaping wound after its separation can even become an entrance gate for pathogenic and opportunistic bacteria.And the most likely infectious complication of hirudotherapy will be erysipelas.In addition, the proteins coming from leech saliva are foreign to the human body and can potentially act as allergens.

Hirudotherapy cannot relieve varicose veins of the lower extremities or lead to sustainable compensation for venous insufficiency.Increases the risk of infectious dermatitis and erysipelas.

How to cope with the disease?

Any conservative therapy for varicose veins is only symptomatic relief.The main effect is aimed at reducing the severity of venous stagnation and correcting complications.No conservative technique can prevent further progression of the disease and eliminate the main cause of chronic venous insufficiency.

Self-medication is dangerous!

Late visit to the doctor and self-medication for varicose veins significantly increase the likelihood of complications:

• Thrombosis of superficial and deep veins with the possible development of thromboembolism.Migrating blood clots close the arteries, which can lead to myocardial infarction, stroke, and disruption of the functioning of many organs.Pulmonary embolism is one of the most lethal conditions.
• Trophic ulcer, prone to chronicity and recurrence.
• Venous eczema is a severe protracted dermatitis with an infectious-allergic basis.It significantly worsens the quality of life and can be complicated by erysipelas.
• Spontaneous ruptures of varicose veins with risks of blood loss.

In hospitals, varicose veins are treated surgically - the entire affected vessel and its key tributaries are removed (or completely switched off from the bloodstream).As a result, the patient eliminates pathological blood discharges, eliminates venous stagnation, and improves tissue nutrition.

Currently, patients have the opportunity to choose equally effective minimally invasive intravenous interventions instead of classical operations.These include:

1. EVLO is obliteration of the affected vein (that is, irreversible closure of its lumen) after intravascular laser treatment.
2. RFO is an obliteration caused by exposure to radio frequency waves.
3. Sclerotherapy is the introduction into the lumen of a vessel of a special sclerosant drug, which provokes adhesion and subsequent obliteration of the vein.

The method of treatment is selected according to indications, taking into account the stage of varicose veins and the presence of concomitant diseases.Uncomplicated varicose veins are usually eliminated with sclerotherapy or RFO, while advanced ones can be eliminated with laser technologies. Laser treatment of varicose veins gives excellent results at any stage of the disease.