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 a way to completely get rid of venous diseases.They are widely advertised and sold without a medical prescription.Unfortunately, this attitude towards traditional methods in case of varicose veins is not entirely correct.

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

Why doesn't herbal medicine cure varicose veins?

The use of various herbal remedies is not able to relieve the patient of varicose veins even in the early stages of the disease.This cannot be achieved by drug treatment or other conservative methods recommended by official medicine.

The changes in the walls of the veins associated with varicose veins are irreversible.And no product of natural or pharmaceutical origin can eliminate these characteristic disorders or at least reliably stop their progression.Currently, there are no drugs leading to the regression of phlebosclerosis and the 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 in the development of varicose veins:

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

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

Improvement in the condition when taking medications or medicinal plants indicates only compensation for existing venous insufficiency.The length 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 products can still be used in the complex treatment of varicose veins of the lower extremities.Additionally, certain healing extracts form the basis of a number of modern medicines.Therefore, patients may refuse to independently prepare decoctions and infusions for oral administration.Many people prefer standardized pharmaceutical products with adjusted dosage, easy 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 (sleeping 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.The dried roots and stems are added to tea and also during bathing.It relieves mild pain, but has no 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 changes irreversibly.In their walls, not only the amount of connective tissue increases significantly (the so-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 light can be reduced mainly with the help of powerful compounds, for example ergot alkaloids.But the side effects of such herbal medicine will be significant.Phlebotonic plants are therefore rather used 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 restricted.This effect can be used in complex prevention in individuals at risk.But it still won't be possible to stop, let alone reverse, existing varicose veins in this way.
• Antithrombotic and disaggregating effect, which reduces the risk of thrombosis and has a beneficial effect on microcirculation.But this effect can be expected only with sufficiently long use of decoctions and infusions.In addition, blood thinning will not occur locally at the level of varicose veins, but throughout the body.In some patients, this can lead to complications of other diseases.
• Anti-inflammatory and healing effect, manifested mainly in local herbal medicine for trophic ulcers and eczematous venous dermatitis.But without eliminating venostasis (the main 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 only temporarily decrease, and the varicose veins will not completely disappear.

Apitherapy for varicose veins

Apitherapy or “beekeeping therapy” is the use of bee venom and various hive 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 carrying out 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 popular method for treating varicose veins of the legs, let's consider the expected effect and the possibility of its appearance:

• Improve tissue trophism and provide them with the vitamins and microelements contained in honey.In reality, there is no improvement at all - 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 thus 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 bee product can become a breeding ground for opportunistic microorganisms.This can lead to exactly the opposite effect, especially in conditions of skin dysbiosis that occur 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, significant 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 will develop - this will not improve the condition of the legs.
• Combat thrombosis (with apitoxin therapy), which is explained by the presence of a hirudin-type substance in bee venom.Trying to use this effect, apitherapists often plant stinging bees on areas of veins affected by thrombophlebitis.In some cases, this even activates thrombolysis (resorption of the blood clot).But such an aggressive and not completely controlled effect can cause thromboembolism and increase the severity of phlebitis.
• Improve 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 inflamed areas after bee stings.Bee sting sessions can potentially improve the condition of the soft tissues of the legs affected by varicose veins.But apitoxin treatment is also accompanied by inflammation and swelling, which aggravates existing disorders.Wounds formed after removal of the bite serve as entry points for bacteria - there is a risk of developing erysipelas and other very undesirable infectious complications.
• Restoration of vein walls under the influence of bee venom.Peptides and other substances contained in it, with repeated punctures, 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 visible.But this does not mean that the patchy phlebosclerosis and nodular deformations of the veins that appear 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 in the case of varicose veins it leads to 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 the 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 present in its saliva: the anticoagulant hirudin, the enzymes collagenase and apyrase with disaggregating properties.But the leech cannot act on blood clots already existing in the veins and it does not reduce the risk of thromboembolism in cases of thrombophlebitis.In addition, proteins from its saliva break down quite quickly, so a long-term antithrombotic effect from hirudotherapy cannot be expected.
• Sucking blood from a leech reduces intravascular pressure.This unloading of local blood flow is temporary and is not able to relieve the patient of venous stagnation due to varicose veins.
• Certain substances present in leech saliva have a vasodilator effect and cause dilation of small vessels.In some cases, this helps improve microcirculation.Venous insufficiency caused by varicose veins is accompanied by excessive extension of the last sections of the venous network due to blood stagnation.Thus, further expansion of small vessels may not have the best effect on the state of the microvascular system.In the case of spider veins, this effect of using leeches can even make the situation worse.

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

Venous congestion that develops with varicose veins leads to disruption of the nutrition of all tissues of the limb, including the skin.The effectiveness 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 entry point for pathogenic and opportunistic bacteria.And the most likely infectious complication of hirudotherapy will be erysipelas.Additionally, proteins from leech saliva are foreign to the human body and can potentially act as allergens.

Hirudotherapy cannot relieve varicose veins of the lower limbs nor lead to lasting compensation for venous insufficiency.Increases the risk of infectious dermatitis and erysipelas.

How to deal with illness?

Any conservative treatment of 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 the progression of the disease and eliminate the main cause of chronic venous insufficiency.

Self-medication is dangerous!

A late visit to the doctor and self-medication for varicose veins significantly increase the risk of complications:

• Thrombosis of superficial and deep veins with 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 deadliest conditions.
• Trophic ulcer, prone to chronicity and recurrence.
• Venous eczema is a serious and prolonged dermatitis caused by infectious allergies.This significantly deteriorates quality of life and can be complicated by erysipelas.
• Spontaneous rupture of varicose veins with risk of blood loss.

In hospitals, varicose veins are treated surgically: the entire affected vessel and its main tributaries are removed (or completely cut off from blood circulation).As a result, the patient eliminates pathological blood discharge, eliminates venous stagnation and improves tissue nutrition.

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

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

The method of treatment is chosen based on indications, taking into account the stage of varicose veins and the presence of concomitant diseases.Simple varicose veins are usually removed by sclerotherapy or RFO, while advanced varicose veins can be removed by laser technology. Laser treatment of varicose veins gives excellent results at any stage of the disease.