Treat varicose veins with folk remedies

Patients often try to treat varicose veins with folk remedies at home - based on plant extracts, there are even external and oral preparations, many of which are considered means to completely eliminate venous diseases.They are widely advertised and sold without a doctor's prescription.But unfortunately, this attitude towards traditional methods in 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 relieve symptoms.

Why can't herbal medicine cure varicose veins?

The use of various plant-based treatments failed to reduce the patient's varicose veins even in the early stages of the disease.This cannot be achieved by drug therapy and other conservative methods recommended by official medicine.

Changes in the vein walls caused by varicose veins are irreversible.And no natural or pharmaceutical product can reliably eliminate these characteristic disorders or at least halt their progression.Currently, there is no drug that can reverse venous sclerosis and restore the normal structure of the vessel wall.

In many cases, patients are genetically predisposed to developing varicose veins of the lower extremities.

Factors for the development of varicose veins:

• The genetically determined “weakness” of the vein wall, in fact, can only withstand normal intravascular pressure without consequences.
• A small number of venous valves are present in the uterus, possibly due to familial or even racial characteristics.

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

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

However, herbal products can still be used in the complex treatment of varicose veins of the lower limbs.Furthermore, some medicinal extracts have formed the basis of several modern medicines.Therefore, patients may refuse to prepare their own decoctions and infusions for oral administration.Many people prefer standardized pharmaceutical products with adjustable dosages, ease of use, and predictable effects.

What effects do herbal medicines and traditional methods have?

For varicose veins, chrysanthemum, horse chestnut, sage, horsetail, dandelion, sleeping grass (sleeping grass), polygonum (sleeping grass) and some other plants are often used for medicinal purposes.

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

Dandelion is a popular remedy for varicose veins.The dried roots and stems are added to teas and also to baths.It relieves mild pain, but has no medicinal effect.

Effects of folk remedies

Herbal medicines have limited effects on affected veins:

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

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

Apitherapy for varicose veins

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

Honey and propolis in compress form are used to reduce swelling and pain.

Apitherapy is a classic folk method for treating varicose veins on the legs, let's consider the expected effect and its likelihood:

• Improves tissue nutrition and provides them with vitamins and trace elements contained in honey.In fact, there was no improvement - the penetration of the ingredients through the skin was insignificant to indicate a significant treatment effect.In addition, a dense mass of honey can clog pores and thereby worsen the condition of the dermis.
• When there are trophic ulcers - antibacterial effect of 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 physiological disorders of the skin that occur with varicose veins and due to impaired local immunity.
• Anti-inflammatory effects of compressed honey.Yes, honey can reduce the severity of non-specific inflammation.But in the case of varicose veins, important changes occur in the walls of the vessels under the skin, and biologically active substances through the skin are still not absorbed well enough.Honey is a highly allergenic product;Local allergic reactions similar to inflammation may occur - this will not improve the condition of the legs.
• Antithrombotic (by apitoxin therapy), explained by the presence of hirudin-like substances in bee venom.Trying to take advantage of this effect, therapists often plant bee stings on areas of veins affected by thrombophlebitis.In some cases, this actually triggers thrombolysis (reabsorption of blood clots).But such a rather strong and not completely controlled effect can cause thrombosis and increase the severity of phlebitis.
• Improves microcirculation under the influence of peptides contained in bee venom.Indeed, these biologically active substances contribute to the dilation of capillaries and blood flow to inflamed areas after a bee sting.Bee stinging sessions can improve the condition of soft tissues in the legs affected by varicose veins.But apitoxin therapy is also accompanied by inflammation and swelling, exacerbating existing disorders.The wounds formed after the removal of the sting serve as a gateway for bacterial penetration - the risk of developing erysipelas and other highly undesirable infectious complications.
• Restores vein walls under the influence of bee venom.The peptides and other substances it contains, with repeated stings, change all the tissues in the inflamed area.The skin thickens, subcutaneous tissue becomes rougher, subcutaneous vessel walls thicken, and varicose veins become less noticeable.But this does not mean that uneven venous sclerosis and nodular deformations of veins arising on its background completely disappear.They are only compensated, accompanied by temporary stabilization of the process of chronic venous insufficiency.And valvular sclerosis is not eliminated by apitherapy.

Apitherapy is truly a very powerful means of traditional medicine, but with varicose veins it carries a high risk of developing infectious complications.It will be impossible to restore the vein walls by such treatment;can only stabilize the course of the disease and reduce symptoms.

Can leeches cure varicose veins?

Leeches have long been used in the treatment of diseases of the blood and vessels.The risk of blood clots is reduced and pain is temporarily reduced.

Treatment with leeches (hirudotherapy) is a popular method to treat varicose veins and other vascular diseases, helping to eliminate symptoms and improve the nutritional status of tissues, but the effectiveness is limited in time:

• Visibly reduces swelling and pigmentation.
• Leeching reduces the risk of blood clots.This is explained by the antithrombotic effect of certain substances in her saliva: anticoagulant hirudin, collagenase and apyrase enzymes with disintegrating properties.But the leech cannot act on blood clots that already exist in the veins, and it does not reduce the likelihood of thrombosis in thrombophlebitis.In addition, the proteins from her saliva break down quite quickly, so one cannot expect a long-term antithrombotic effect from hirudotherapy.
• Leeches suck blood and reduce intravascular pressure.This reduction in local blood flow is only temporary and cannot help the patient get rid of varicose veins.
• Certain substances in the saliva of leeches have a vasodilating effect and dilate small blood vessels.In some cases, this helps improve microcirculation.Venous insufficiency due to varicose veins is accompanied by excessive tension of the ends of the venous network due to blood stagnation.Therefore, further expansion of small blood vessels may not have the best effect on the state of the microvasculature.With spider veins, this effect of using leeches can even make the situation worse.

Hirudo therapy today refers more to physical therapy methods than traditional methods.But phlebologists are still very wary of such treatment due to the high likelihood of a complication - erysipelas.

Venous congestion that develops with varicose veins leads to nutritional disorders of all tissues of the limbs, including the skin.The effectiveness of local immune factors decreases, the composition of the microflora on the epidermal surface changes.All this is a prerequisite for the development of infectious complications.

Leeching also disrupts the functioning of the skin's protective barrier.And the open wound after separation can even become a gateway for pathogenic and opportunistic bacteria to enter.And the most likely infectious complication of hirudotherapy would be erysipelas.In addition, proteins from leech saliva are foreign to the human body and are capable of acting as allergens.

Hirudo therapy cannot reduce lower extremity varicose veins or lead to sustained compensation of venous insufficiency.Increased risk of infectious dermatitis and erysipelas.

How to deal with this disease?

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

Self-medication is very dangerous!

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

• Superficial and deep venous thrombosis with possible development of thromboembolism.Moving blood clots clog arteries, which can lead to heart attacks, strokes, and disruption of many organs.Pulmonary embolism is one of the most dangerous conditions.
• Nutritional ulcers, prone to chronicity and recurrence.
• Venous eczema is a severe persistent inflammatory skin disease with an infectious-allergic basis.It significantly worsens quality of life and can cause erysipelas.
• Spontaneous varicose veins carry a risk of blood loss.

In the hospital, varicose veins are treated surgically - the entire affected vessel and its main branches are removed (or completely shut off from the bloodstream).Thanks to this, the patient gets rid of pathological blood discharge, eliminates venous stasis and improves tissue nutrition.

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

1. EVLO is the occlusion of the affected vein (i.e., irreversible closure of the vein lumen) after endovenous laser treatment.
2. RFO is a loss of signal due to exposure to radio frequency waves.
3. Sclerotherapy is the introduction of a special sclerosing drug into the blood vessel, causing adhesion and subsequent occlusion of the vein.

Treatment is selected according to indications, taking into account the stage of varicose veins and the presence of accompanying diseases.Uncomplicated varicose veins are often removed with sclerotherapy or RFO, while advanced ones can be removed with laser technology. Laser treatment of varicose veins gives excellent results at any stage of the disease.