Among all vascular diseases, specialists single out one that is not easily treatable, and its consequences are unpredictable. This is thrombophlebitis of the lower extremities. This is what the inflammatory process of the venous walls is called, which entails the formation of a blood clot in the venous lumen. The disease mainly develops in the vessels of the legs. In this article, we will talk in more detail about this ailment, its causes and main methods of treatment.
Disease Description
Thrombophlebitis is an inflammatory process that develops in the walls of veins and is often accompanied by the formation of blood clots. As a rule, the disease develops in the elderly, but recently, more and more often the disease is diagnosed in young people. The main danger of pathology is the formation of a blood clot. This is a relatively small blood clot that can come off at any time. If this happens, the likelihood of clogging of some veins and arteries increases several times, which often leads to death.
Classification
Depending on the localization of the inflammatory process itself, there are:
- Thrombophlebitis of the upper extremities.
- Damage to internal organs.
- Thrombophlebitis of the lower extremities.
The last variant of the disease is recognized as the most common type of pathology. By the nature of the lesion, acute and chronic forms of this disease are distinguished.
In addition, this pathology can affect not only deep / superficial veins, but also arteries.
Main reasons
Various factors influence the development of this disease. In some cases, doctors find it difficult to name the exact causes of this pathological process. For example, a decrease in immune defense and a weakened state of the body as a whole can cause such an unpleasant disease. However, the most common cause is considered to be varicose veins, as well as the so-called chronic venous insufficiency. A gradual change in the structure of the walls of blood vessels, a violation of normal blood flow - all these factors entail inflammation of the walls of the veins and the formation of blood clots.
Other causes of thrombophlebitis are also highlighted:
- Mechanical injuries of the lower extremities.
- Genetic predisposition.
- Taking hormonal drugs.
- Bad habits.
- Oncology.
- Increased blood coagulation.
- Allergy.
- Gynecological operations.
Who is at risk?
Certain categories of people are identified, which doctors rank as the so-called risk group. They are most likely to have thrombophlebitis of the lower extremities. These include the following:
- Inactive people.
- Suffering from varicose veins.
- All those who relatively recently underwent surgery and are forced to observe bed rest for some time.
- Women in an “interesting” position.
- Overweight patients.
- The people of old age.
Symptoms
What signs indicate thrombophlebitis? This disease begins with severe pain in the legs. Its intensity may vary, but in any case, it intensifies when walking. Patients also often note soreness of the skin when touching along the veins.
You may notice that in the affected area, the skin has changed its color to red. After a while, the color turns blue and then brown. The temperature of this site is slightly higher compared to healthy areas.
The skin above the veins in which blood clots form is visibly thickened. Very often, patients note an increase in body temperature, but literally in a week it comes back to normal. A slight swelling of the legs appears. It is at this stage of the development of the disease that patients seek help from a doctor.
Thrombophlebitis and varicose veins
One of the common forms of the disease is the so-called varicose thrombophlebitis. It is accompanied by severe pain and characteristic redness of the skin. With this ailment, a pronounced edema surrounds a vein with a thrombus. The main symptom of this form of the disease is severe painful discomfort during movement, as well as with any touch on the affected area. In some patients, the temperature rises and the general condition worsens, which resembles the signs of the most common cold. Treatment in this case involves the use of anti-inflammatory drugs, hormonal ointments.
Thrombophlebitis in expectant mothers
Pregnancy is such a period in a woman’s life when she has to deal with serious diseases, one of which is thrombophlebitis. The disease is explained by an increase in intrauterine pressure and physiological changes in the composition of the blood. Peak danger of superficial thrombophlebitis of the lower extremities is in the first days after childbirth, since they provoke serious overloads in the work of the vascular system itself. As a result, natural blood flow is disrupted, and blood clots form.
The first harbingers of the disease may appear in the second trimester, when the body weight of the future mother in labor begins to increase actively. First, the appearance of the so-called spider veins is noted, then the veins on the legs increase , and painful discomfort occurs. In the evening, the legs swell more often, even convulsions may appear. All of the above symptoms should be an occasion to contact a phlebologist. After a full diagnostic examination, a specialist can give recommendations on preventing the transformation of the disease into more severe forms.
Acute thrombophlebitis
The signs of the disease are most clearly manifested in the acute form of thrombophlebitis. Initially, patients noted the appearance of pain along the entire direction of blood flow of the affected vein. Then there is a noticeable change in skin color in this area. Against the background of an increase in body temperature, the leg becomes cold. At the first sign of an acute variant of the disease, it is recommended to immediately call a doctor. Before his arrival, you should stay in bed and not resort to self-treatment (rubbing ointments, taking painkillers). The thing is that such an approach can provoke the separation of the smallest fragment of a thrombus and its entry into other systems of internal organs.
What is the danger of acute thrombophlebitis? This disease very quickly becomes complicated (white / blue phlegmasia). It is usually accompanied by increasing pain. The skin first turns pale, then acquire a purple hue. That is why it is so important not to hesitate in obtaining qualified assistance.
Chronic disease
Chronic thrombophlebitis is a pathology that does not have obvious clinical manifestations. Pain in this case is periodic in nature, most often occurs after physical exertion (playing sports, hiking, etc.). At rest, they practically do not remind themselves. That is why with a chronic variant of the disease, patients are in no hurry to seek help from a doctor.
Diagnostics
The disease "thrombophlebitis", as a rule, does not cause special difficulties in diagnosis. Today, the following instrumental research methods are used:
- Doppler ultrasound using color contrast. This study allows you to fully assess the condition of the walls of the veins, to determine the presence of thrombotic masses and the true extent of the disease.
- Reovasography.
It is extremely rare to use laboratory diagnostic methods, since a routine blood test can confirm only mild signs of the inflammatory process.
What should be the therapy?
The main treatment should be aimed at eliminating the inflammatory and thrombotic processes. Thrombophlebitis of superficial veins of the lower extremities in the early stages of development requires the use of a special bandage of elastic bandages. As the symptoms subside, you can switch to a special medical knitwear (compression underwear).
As for drug treatment, the following drugs are considered the most effective in combating this ailment:
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (Diclofenac, Ketoprofen). They reduce the inflammatory process, and also have an analgesic effect. These drugs are available in the form of gels and rectal suppositories.
- Derivatives of routine (Troxerutin, Rutozid, Troxevasin). These drugs not only relieve inflammation, but also protect the walls of blood vessels.
- Enzymes (Wobenzym, Flogenzim). These drugs are responsible for reducing puffiness, stimulate the dissolution of blood clots.
- Disaggregants (Trental, Reopoliglyukin).
Internal thrombophlebitis during pregnancy requires special attention . As you know, expectant mothers are not recommended to take medicines. To avoid drug exposure, doctors strongly recommend using special compression underwear. At the same time, swelling of the legs is significantly reduced, fatigue disappears, and convulsions disappear. In addition, it is important to walk and do specific exercises responsible for improving venous outflow.
Surgery
How else can thrombophlebitis be eliminated? An operation is prescribed only if the disease differs in an ascending form, when there is a threat of the transition of the pathology to deep veins. Such patients are primarily recommended hospitalization, they undergo ultrasound examination of the affected area, and then surgery is prescribed. Surgical treatment in this case involves the ligation of the affected saphenous veins and the removal of all existing varicose veins.
Possible complications
The most dangerous complication of the disease occurs if the thrombus itself is loosely attached to the vascular wall, and its upper part “floats” in the lumen of the vein. At some point, its fragment may come off and, together with blood, penetrate the heart and provoke embolism (blockage of the pulmonary artery). Depending on the attendant circumstances, such a complication can lead to death, shock, heart attack or heart failure.
No less dangerous complication is sepsis. Blood poisoning also often results in death.
If the patient does not pay attention to the disease or prefers to use traditional medicine methods, the inflammatory process can move to the surrounding tissues. In this kind of situation, we are talking about an abscess or phlegmon of tissues.
How to prevent the development of the disease?
Prevention of thrombophlebitis primarily involves the timely and competent treatment of vein pathologies. Here we are talking primarily about the early stages of varicose veins. It is also important to eliminate all foci of infections in the body (caries, purulent processes, sinusitis, tonsillitis).
An active lifestyle, a balanced diet, a complete rejection of bad habits - all these factors are a direct component of the prevention of thrombophlebitis.
If the patient has already had to deal with the disease, it is necessary to make every effort to prevent his relapse. In addition to the main drug therapy, it is important to include physiotherapeutic measures in the standard complex of treatment.
Conclusion
In this article we talked about what constitutes thrombophlebitis of the superficial veins of the lower extremities, what are its main causes of development and related symptoms. This disease should not be ignored, because this increases the risk of developing quite serious complications. An exceptionally qualified approach to treatment allows you to completely overcome this pathology.
We hope that all the information presented here will be really useful for you. Be healthy!