Treat varicose veins with folk remedies

Patients often try to treat varicose veins at home with folk remedies - based on plant extracts, and there are even topical and oral preparations, many of which are positioned as a means of getting rid of venous disease for good.They are widely advertised and sold without a doctor's prescription.But unfortunately, this traditional approach to varicose veins is not entirely correct.

Phlebologists do not consider traditional methods to be the mainstay of treatment for varicose veins in the lower limbs—conventional medicine can effectively deliver complex treatments and only relieve symptoms.

Why don’t herbs cure varicose veins?

Even in the initial stages of the disease, the use of various plant remedies does not relieve the symptoms of patients with varicose veins.This is something that cannot be achieved with medication and other conservative methods recommended by official medicine.

The changes in the vein walls of varicose veins are irreversible.No product of natural or pharmaceutical origin can eliminate these characteristic diseases or at least reliably prevent their progression.Currently, there are no drugs that can cause venous sclerosis to subside and restore the normal structure of the vessel wall.

In many cases, patients have a genetic predisposition to varicose veins in the lower limbs.

Factors that cause varicose veins:

• Genetically determined "weaknesses" in vein walls can actually only withstand normal levels of intravascular pressure without any consequences.
• The presence of a small number of venous valves in the uterus may be a familial or even ethnic trait.

Of course, none of this can be eliminated through herbal medicine or other non-surgical techniques.Therefore, there is no need to talk about curing varicose veins with conservative treatment, no matter what advertisements and publications promise.

Improvement of the condition while taking medications or herbs simply indicates compensation of existing venous insufficiency.The duration of this remission period depends on many factors.Continuing to use herbal remedies simply does not guarantee recovery of symptoms and prevent a lower likelihood of complications.

However, herbal-based products can still be used for the complex treatment of varicose veins in the lower limbs.In addition, some therapeutic extracts form the basis of many modern medicines.Therefore, patients can refuse to prepare oral decoctions and infusions by themselves.Many people prefer standardized medicines that have adjusted dosages, are easy to administer, and have predictable effects.

How effective are herbal and traditional methods?

For varicose veins, chamomile, horse chestnut, aromatic rue, horsetail, dandelion, meadow lancea (sleepweed), bird knotweed (polygonum cuspidatum) and many other plants are most commonly used for medicinal purposes.

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

Dandelion is a common remedy for treating varicose veins.The dried roots and stems can be added to tea or added to a bath.It can relieve minor pain but has no therapeutic effect.

The efficacy of folk remedies

Herbal remedies have limited effect on affected veins:

• Venotononic effect - increases the tone of the veins.But do not forget that with varicose veins, the structure of the affected blood vessels undergoes irreversible changes.In their walls, not only the amount of connective tissue is significantly increased (called venous sclerosis), but also the structure of the muscle layer is destroyed.Therefore, already deformed veins respond insufficiently to venous substances.Their lumen can be narrowed mainly with the help of effective compounds such as ergot alkaloids.But the side effects of this herb can be severe.Therefore, intravenous plants are used more to reduce the severity of venous insufficiency and for preventive purposes.
• The compaction of the vein and therefore its deformation process is limited to a certain extent.This effect could be used for complex prevention in high-risk individuals.But it's still impossible to prevent, let alone reverse, existing varicose veins in this way.
• It has anti-thrombotic and depolymerizing effects, reduces the risk of thrombosis, and has a beneficial effect on microcirculation.But only long-term use of decoctions and infusions can achieve this effect.In addition, blood dilution does not occur locally in varicose veins, but occurs throughout the body.In some patients, this may lead to complications from other illnesses.
• Anti-inflammatory and wound-healing effects, mainly manifested in topical herbal treatments for trophic ulcers and eczematous venous dermatitis.But without eliminating venous stasis, the key cause of these complications, lasting normalization of the skin condition will not be possible.

As you can see, the symptoms of the disease are only temporarily relieved 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.It is common to recommend the use of honey and propolis as dressings for trophic ulcers and visible varicose veins.Some people also use bee venom therapy, deliberately achieving bee stings in the projection of the most affected blood vessels.

Honey and propolis in compress form can be used to relieve swelling and pain.

Apitherapy is a classic folk method of treating varicose veins in the legs. Let's consider the expected effects and the likelihood of their occurrence:

• Improves tissue nutrition and provides it with vitamins and trace elements contained in honey.In fact, there was no improvement - the penetration of the ingredients through the skin was negligible, far from a significant therapeutic effect.In addition, large amounts of honey can clog pores, thereby worsening the condition of the dermis.
• In the presence of trophic ulcers - apply the antibacterial effect of honey compresses.The highly digestible carbohydrates in this beekeeping product may serve as a breeding ground for opportunistic microorganisms.This can lead to exactly the opposite effect, especially in the case of skin dysbiosis caused by varicose veins and a decrease in local immunity.
• Honey compresses have anti-inflammatory properties.Yes, honey can reduce the severity of non-specific inflammation.But in the case of varicose veins, critical changes occur in the subcutaneous vessel wall, and the absorption of bioactive substances through the skin is still not good enough.Honey is a highly allergenic product; local allergic reactions similar to inflammation may occur - this will not improve the condition of the legs.
• Anti-thrombotic (therapy with melittin) due to the presence of hirudin-like substances in bee venom.To take advantage of this effect, bee therapists often plant stinging bees in areas of veins affected by thrombophlebitis.In some cases, this actually activates thrombolysis (resorption of the blood clot).However, this rather aggressive and not fully controlled effect may trigger thromboembolism and increase the severity of phlebitis.
• Improvement of microcirculation under the influence of melittin.In fact, these bioactive substances help with capillary dilation and blood flow to areas that become inflamed after a bee sting.Bee sting treatment may improve the condition of the soft tissues of the legs affected by varicose veins.But apigenin treatment also comes with inflammation and swelling, which can exacerbate existing conditions.The wound formed after the sting is removed is a gateway for bacteria to enter—risking erysipelas and other very undesirable complications of infection.
• Restores vein walls under the influence of bee venom.It contains peptides and other substances that, with repeated bites, can change all the tissues in the inflamed area.The skin thickens, the subcutaneous tissue becomes rough, the walls of subcutaneous blood vessels become thicker, and varicose veins become less obvious.But this does not mean that the heterogeneous venous sclerosis and venous nodular malformations that arise in its background completely disappear.They are only compensated, accompanied by temporary stabilization of the chronic venous insufficiency course.Apitherapy does not eliminate valve hardening.

Apitherapy is indeed a very powerful form of traditional medicine, but when it comes to varicose veins, it is fraught with the development of infectious complications.It is not possible to restore the vein wall with this treatment; only in this way can the course of the disease be stabilized and symptoms relieved.

Can leeches treat varicose veins?

Leeches have long been used to treat blood and vascular diseases.The risk of blood clots is reduced and pain is temporarily relieved.

Leech therapy (leech therapy) is a common method of treating varicose veins and other vascular diseases. It can eliminate symptoms and improve tissue nutrition, but the effect is limited in time:

• Reduces swelling and visible pigmentation.
• Sucking on leeches may reduce the risk of blood clots.This was explained by the antithrombotic effect of several substances in her saliva: the anticoagulant hirudin, collagenase with depolymerizing properties, and apyrase.However, leeches do not act on existing blood clots in the veins, nor do they reduce the likelihood of thromboembolism in thrombophlebitis.In addition, the proteins in her saliva break down quickly, so leech therapy cannot be expected to produce a long-term antithrombotic effect.
• Leeches suck blood to reduce intravascular pressure.This unloading of local blood flow is temporary and does not relieve venous stagnation in patients with varicose veins.
• Certain substances in leech saliva have vasodilatory effects, causing small blood vessels to dilate.In some cases, this can help improve microcirculation.Venous insufficiency caused by varicose veins occurs when the last segment of the venous network becomes overstretched due to stagnant blood.Therefore, additional dilation of small vessels may not have optimal effects on the state of the microvasculature.When it comes to spider veins, the effects of using leeches can even make the situation worse.

Leech therapy currently refers more to physical therapy than traditional methods.But phlebologists are still very cautious about this treatment because of the high possibility of complications from erysipelas.

Venous congestion caused by varicose veins can lead to nutritional destruction of all tissues of the limb, including the skin.The efficiency of local immune factors decreases and the composition of the epidermal surface microbiota changes.All of these are prerequisites for the occurrence of infectious complications.

The suction of leeches further disrupts the function of the skin barrier.Post-detachment clefts may even serve as entry points for pathogenic and opportunistic bacteria.The most likely infectious complication of leech therapy is erysipelas.In addition, the proteins in leech saliva are foreign to the human body and may act as allergens.

Leech therapy does not relieve lower extremity varicose veins or lead to sustainable compensation of venous insufficiency.Increased risk of infectious dermatitis and erysipelas.

How to deal with illness?

Any conservative treatment for varicose veins will only relieve symptoms.The main effect is to reduce the severity of venous stasis and correct complications.No conservative technique can halt further progression of the disease and eliminate the primary cause of chronic venous insufficiency.

Self-medication is dangerous!

Late presentation and self-treatment of varicose veins significantly increases the likelihood of complications:

• Superficial and deep vein thrombosis, thromboembolism may occur.Migrating blood clots can block arteries, leading to myocardial infarction, stroke, and disruption of many organ functions.Pulmonary embolism is one of the most deadly diseases.
• Nutritional ulcers are prone to chronicity and recurrence.
• Venous eczema is a severe persistent dermatitis with an infectious allergic basis.It significantly worsens quality of life and may be complicated by erysipelas.
• Varicose veins rupture spontaneously, with the risk of blood loss.

In the hospital, varicose veins are treated surgically - the entire affected vessel and its major tributaries are removed (or blood flow is completely cut off).As a result, patients eliminate pathological blood drainage, eliminate venous stagnation, and improve tissue nutrition.

Patients now have the opportunity to choose equally effective minimally invasive intravenous interventional treatments instead of traditional surgery.These include:

1. EVLO refers to the occlusion (i.e., the irreversible closing of its lumen) of the affected vein after endovascular laser treatment.
2. RFO is the disappearance caused by exposure to radio frequency waves.
3. Sclerotherapy is the introduction of a special sclerotherapy drug into the lumen of blood vessels, causing venous adhesions and subsequent occlusion.

Treatment is chosen according to the 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 varicose veins can be eliminated with laser technology.Laser treatment of varicose veins can achieve good results at any stage of the disease.