How to identify veins diseases
Introduction
Veins are the blood vessels that carry blood from the body to the heart. These veins contain valves that assist in overcoming the force of gravity by preventing reflux of the blood to the body. When these valves are not functioning properly or the veins are damaged, blood pools up in the veins hence veins diseases. Some veins diseases can be seen by looking at the skin color and size of the veins while others are found deeper in the body and require more attention to the occurring symptoms to be diagnosed. The most common risk factors for the veins diseases are family history of the diseases and pregnancy.
Types of veins diseases
There are two main types of veins diseases that are very common. They are as follows;
- Spider veins diseases: occur as the small, fine purple or blue threadlike veins that are seen at the surface of the skin. Spider veins can cause a lot of discomfort to the affected person and hence, it requires therapy. Most people tend to seek treatment for this veins disease due to cosmetics reasons.
- Varicose veins diseases: appear as large one-fourth inch rope like veins. Varicose grow in size with time and can be very painful and disturbing if not treated. The bulging appearance in the veins is as a result of blood back flow into the legs when the valves in the veins fail to work properly. It can result from pregnancy, age and family history of varicose. If not treated on time, it results to ulceration which is very complicated to treat.
Symptoms of veins diseases
The symptoms of veins diseases tend to become severe during menstruation and when a person is on the feet for long. These symptoms occur gradually as the valves fail.
- Bulging veins around the vagina, groin, scrotum and the legs.
- The bulges tend to disappear or reduce when lying down.
- Aching of the legs after standing for long.
- Lower legs skin discoloration and warmth.
- Itching of the lower legs skin or the ankle.
- Flairs of small veins around the ankle.
- Swelling of the lower leg and ankle that worsens after standing.
- Sudden appearance of a hard lump on the legs.
- Ulcers of the legs.
- Tender and tired legs.
- Rapid heartbeats, chest pains and sweating during deep breathing.
- Coughing blood.
- Unexplained breath shortness and breathing difficulty.
- Veins rise above the skin surface.
- The veins appear cord like and twisted or bulging and are mainly located at the back of the legs.
- Tingling and burning sensation in the legs.
- Darkening of the leg skin.
- Scaly itchy rashes and the thickening of the skin.
Prevention of veins diseases
As we all know that prevention is better than cure, it is important to prevent all sorts of diseases including veins diseases so as to avoid the expensive medical procedure and the pain that accompanies them. The following are ways in which veins diseases can be prevented.
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- Quitting smoking.
- Eating a balanced and nutritious diet that does not have high cholesterol levels.
- Doing exercise regularly to help in maintaining a healthy weight.
- Avoiding birth control pills that contain estrogen.
- Avoid the hormonal replacement therapy during menopause.
- If you have a family history of veins diseases, always go for regular checkups.
- Prevent blood clots through leg exercise.
- Drink plenty of water and observe proper leg hygiene.
