Varicose veins: which doctor treats, who to contact, description of symptoms and treatment options

A vein doctor is a phlebologist. It treats varicose veins, venous insufficiency, thrombophlebitis. Their symptoms are pain, swelling of the legs, cramps, inflammation and hardening of the veins, and changes in skin color. A neurologist deals with the vessels of the head and neck, and a cardiologist deals with problems with the heart and blood pressure.

Doctors with a broader profile (angiologist and vascular surgeon) also treat patients with pathologies of arteries and lymphatic vessels. If you have doubts about what kind of specialist you need, you should visit a surgeon if you have problems with your limbs or a therapist if you have unclear symptoms.

Features of the disease

Which doctor treats varicose veins? When signs of varicose veins appear, many people are in no hurry to seek help from a phlebologist. You should know that this cosmetic flaw can not only cause discomfort, but also provoke the development of serious complications.

If the disease is not treated, the disease can become chronic. Under such conditions, the appearance of a trophic ulcer or acute venous thrombosis is possible. Quite often the disease occurs due to a genetic factor. If both parents in a family suffer from varicose veins, then the probability of the disease occurring in their descendants reaches 91%.

Cardiologist – specialist in diseases of the heart system

Many people know that a cardiologist treats the heart , so if you experience pain in the heart, shortness of breath, or sweating, it makes sense to contact him for an ECG and a comprehensive examination. The most common problems that this specialist solves are arrhythmia, heart defects, hypertension, myocardial infarction, and angina. He is also involved in the restoration and rehabilitation of the normal functioning of the cardiovascular system.

It is also recommended to see a cardiologist if:

• A person over 35 years of age;
• Pregnancy is planned;
• Someone in the person’s family has suffered from cardiovascular diseases;
• There is a lot of excess weight.
• It is believed that an annual examination by a cardiologist reduces the likelihood of developing cardiovascular diseases several times.

Causes of varicose veins

Which doctor treats varicose veins? If a sign of varicose veins appears, you should visit a phlebologist. The disease appears due to exposure to negative environmental factors, which provoke an increase in pressure inside the vein.

Among them are:

1. Static load. If you sit or stand for a long time, problems in the functioning of blood vessels may arise. When walking, the opposite situation occurs: a muscle pump is activated, which stimulates blood circulation.
2. Obesity. When lipid metabolism is disturbed, varicose veins often develop.
3. Generic activity. During the process of childbirth or carrying a baby, a woman’s body is subject to a double load.
4. Uncomfortable shoes. Due to wearing uncomfortable shoes, the work of the calf muscle is limited. Under such conditions, varicose veins often develop.
5. Chronic constipation. Due to increased intra-abdominal pressure, disease appears.

In frequent cases, the venous valves, which are responsible for the outflow of blood in one direction, from bottom to top, cannot withstand high pressure. If pressure is applied to the vein, the vessels dilate. Under such conditions, varicose veins appear. In these areas, the valves cease to function fully, and venous pressure increases.

Diagnosis: which doctor should I contact?

If one of the signs of varicose veins appears, you need to visit a phlebologist. First of all, the doctor will carry out a thorough diagnosis of the patient.

Namely:

1. Using ultrasound angioscanning, you can visualize blood vessels, examine blood flow and evaluate the functioning of valves. This is the main method for studying varicose veins of the lower extremities. In frequent cases, this diagnostic method is enough for the doctor to make a diagnosis and prescribe therapy.
2. If surgical intervention is necessary, the patient’s veins are examined using radiopaque venography. During such a study, it is necessary to inject a special liquid into the bloodstream that is impenetrable to the X-ray beam.
3. Thanks to computed tomography with contrast and magnetic resonance imaging, the doctor will make an accurate diagnosis.
4. By examining the patient’s blood, the specialist will determine the tendency to form a blood clot.

Which doctor treats varicose veins? Thanks to a general blood test and coagulogram, the phlebologist determines the form of the disease and prescribes therapy.

What is the name of a doctor who specializes in veins and blood vessels?

The circulatory and lymphatic systems entangle our entire body. Sooner or later, every person has problems with certain types of blood vessels. There are a huge number of such diseases, congenital and acquired, and different specialists are needed to treat them.

Which doctors should I contact?

If there are problems with the coronary vessels, you will need the help of a cardiologist. If blood circulation in the brain is impaired, you need to consult a neurologist.

A narrow specialist who deals with pathologies of veins is called a phlebologist, and arteries - an angiologist. Many diseases of the veins, arteries, and lymphatic vessels require the intervention of a vascular surgeon.

Systemic connective tissue diseases, the symptom of which may be inflammation of the vascular wall (vasculitis), are treated by a rheumatologist.

Thus, the treatment of vascular diseases may require specialists from different branches of medicine. In addition to those listed above, you can also name a dermatologist, immunologist, oncologist, allergist, surgeon.

Which doctor treats varicose veins

Nowadays, vein pathologies are very common, namely varicose veins, chronic venous insufficiency, phlebitis, thrombophlebitis, thrombosis. To treat them, there is a special vein doctor - a phlebologist, and if there is no such doctor, he is replaced by a vascular surgeon or a general surgeon.

What is the competence of a phlebologist?

This is a specialist doctor who deals with:

• diagnosis of vein diseases;
• treatment of venous disorders of any location;
• prevention of venous diseases.

When to contact a specialist

You should contact this specialist if you have symptoms of vascular disorders, which include:

• swelling of the lower extremities;
• heaviness and fatigue of the legs at the end of the day or after walking;
• burning and pain in the legs;
• night cramps of the calf muscles;
• the appearance of a purple network of small vessels under the skin;
• protruding veins in the legs.

All these manifestations may be signs of varicose veins, which are difficult to treat and progress quickly, so you need to see a doctor as early as possible. If there are patients with varicose veins in the family, it is better not to wait for symptoms to appear, but to consult a phlebologist for the purpose of prevention. This disease is often complicated by inflammation of the vascular walls with the formation of blood clots. The same doctor, a phlebologist, treats thrombophlebitis.

Dilatation of the veins of the lower extremities is the most common, but not the only type of varicose veins. The disease can affect the vessels of the pelvis, esophagus, external genitalia, and rectum.

It is especially difficult to diagnose varicose veins of the small pelvis, which mainly affect women from 17 to 45 years old. Symptoms in most cases are not specific and may be characteristic of other diseases. The disease can be suspected based on the following signs:

• pain in the lower abdomen;
• discharge from the genitals;
• severe abdominal pain during menstruation;
• urinary disturbance;
• pain in the genital area;
• enlarged veins in the perineum, thighs and buttocks.

When such symptoms appear, many women attribute them to gynecological problems. Most often, it does not occur to them that it could be pelvic varicose veins and they need the help of a phlebologist.

The main symptom of varicose veins of the pelvis in women is pain in the lower abdomen and abundant causeless discharge from the genitals.

How does a doctor make a diagnosis?

When a patient approaches, he performs a visual examination and prescribes a comprehensive examination, which includes laboratory and instrumental methods. Based on the medical history and these studies, the attending physician makes an accurate diagnosis.

Blood test (coagulogram)

• prothrombin time (activity of clotting factors and blood clotting rate);
• quantity and quality of fibrinogen;
• thrombin time (the rate of conversion of fibrinogen to fibrin);
• prothrombin index (the ratio of the prothrombin time of the patient’s blood and the same indicator of the control plasma sample).

To diagnose varicose veins in the legs, ultrasound is most often prescribed.

Hardware diagnostics

• Ultrasound: Dopplerography of blood vessels, triplex scanning;
• X-ray with the introduction of a contrast agent into the vessel - venography;
• assessment of venous blood flow using an accurate and minimally invasive method - phleboscintigraphy;
• Phlebomanometry is a method that allows you to measure pressure in the veins.

Surgical removal of varicose veins is one of the most effective treatment methods

How a phlebologist treats varicose veins

Treatment depends on many factors: the general condition of the patient, the severity of symptoms, the severity of the disease, and the location of the pathological process.

The following treatment methods for varicose veins are currently used:

Also read: Drug treatment of varicose veins

• Conservative therapy. The patient is prescribed drugs for internal use and local agents in the form of gels and ointments.
• Compression jersey. Special elastic underwear normalizes blood flow, prevents swelling, and alleviates the person’s condition.
• Sclerotherapy. Indicated for sclerosis of small veins. Prescribed only after a thorough examination in the absence of contraindications. A special medicine is injected into the vessel, which glues its walls. The lumen closes and the vein is removed from the circulatory system.
• Operative methods. These include phlebectomy and the less traumatic miniphlebectomy. A phlebologist-surgeon performs the operation. During surgery, the affected section of the vein is removed.
• Laser coagulation. The operation is performed on perforating and superficial veins and is performed without incisions. The method is based on the thermal effect of a laser beam on the inner surface of the vessel, resulting in closure (obliteration) of the vein. This method has contraindications, including severe atherosclerosis, anemia, renal and heart failure, and increased blood clotting.

Conclusion

It’s good that there are special doctors who will help our blood vessels in case of illness. But it is important not to forget that the main responsibility for the health of veins and arteries lies with the patients themselves.

And doctors never tire of repeating that even despite a genetic predisposition to diseases, there are factors that can be corrected. First of all, this relates to lifestyle.

Nothing destroys blood vessels more than smoking and a sedentary lifestyle.

Source: https://icvtormet.ru/prochee/kak-nazyvaetsya-vrach-venam-sosudam

Therapy for venous disease

The doctor should prescribe a treatment regimen depending on the general clinical picture of the patient and the severity of the disease. Varicose veins are treated with the help of venotonics. Ointments and gels are effective only at the initial stage of development of the disease. What remedies help prevent the development of the disease?

A medicine based on purified bioflavonoid and horse chestnut extract is particularly effective. Compression therapy can improve the patient's overall well-being and have a positive effect on blood circulation.

Depending on the stage of the disease, the doctor determines the medical jersey that will help prevent the development of the disease. With the help of tights, stockings or knee socks, you can prevent the appearance of varicose veins. Nowadays, even young people are detecting varicose veins. Which doctor should they see? A phlebologist is a specialist who will prescribe effective therapy for an illness and diagnose the patient.

What other treatment methods will be offered?

In addition to surgery, there are other ways to treat varicose veins. A specialist may suggest you a technique called sclerotherapy. The advantage of this method is that there is no need for anesthesia; after the procedure, the stars and ulcers on the legs disappear without a trace. The technique consists of connecting small vessels using a special liquid. It seems to glue the injured veins together. If large vessels are also affected, local anesthesia is used. In this case, the vessels are sealed with laser beams.

In most cases, phlebologists are not the final authority when choosing a treatment method. They always consult with other doctors - a surgeon, a therapist, an allergist, especially in difficult cases. Such problems include advanced varicose veins, venous insufficiency, thrombosis, ulcers and lesions called thrombophlebitis.

If you have a hereditary predisposition to the occurrence of this disease, then visits to the doctor should become regular so that the specialist can identify the pathology at an early stage. It is the attending physician who performs the initial examinations of patients. At the same time, he does not differentiate by age of patients; increasingly, young girls who develop varicose veins after constantly walking in heels turn to the phlebologist.

Symptoms of varicose veins

There are several symptoms based on which varicose veins can be identified. Which doctor will help identify the disease? At the initial stage of identifying the disease, the signs may be slightly expressed, under such conditions you should visit a phlebologist:

1. If there is swelling of the ankles, feet and legs, you should seek help from a doctor, since such symptoms indicate that there is congestion in the blood vessels. Under such conditions, a feeling of “fullness” in the legs often develops, which is felt in the afternoon.
2. The presence of spider veins or spider veins.
3. Feelings of numbness, burning and tingling in the extremities. If you stand for a long time, such unpleasant symptoms may occur.
4. Cramps at night are one of the signs of the development of varicose veins. Under such conditions, blood circulation and the functioning of blood vessels are disrupted. As a result, varicose veins occur.
5. The fact that vascular disease in the legs is developing is also evidenced by their systematic fatigue. If timely treatment is not carried out, serious complications may arise, which manifest themselves in the form of trophic ulcers, dermatitis, eczema, thrombophlebitis and thromboembolism.

In the process of treating vein disease, it is important to eliminate the symptoms of the disease and correct complications at a late stage in the development of varicose veins.

Who to go to

On the threshold of a medical institution, the first question pops up on its own. Why do varicose veins occur, which doctor treats them? Let's try to give a complete answer to this question.

At the reception desk you can easily find the working hours of the following doctors:

Each doctor has his own narrow specialization, but by combining all the symptoms and examinations, they will be able to provide the highest quality assistance in treating the disease.

Often, in the presence of varicose veins, additional diseases are added to the main disease. It can be:

You can’t do this without the help of dermatologists and physiotherapists. They will familiarize themselves with the primary doctor’s prescriptions and supplement them with their own, which will include ointments to moisturize the skin and procedures to improve blood outflow and circulation in the extremities.

Therapist

It is important to take care of your health and respond to any changes that occur in the body.
When they appear, you need to contact a therapist and get an appointment for urine and blood tests, which can give a more specific picture of the course of the disease. You should rush to see a therapist who can cure the disease if you have the following symptoms:

• the presence of nagging pain in the lower extremities at the end of the day;
• the appearance of the first vascular networks;
• unpleasant pain after physical activity and even walking;
• cramps at night;
• legs in the calf muscle area itch for no apparent reason.

It is important to pay attention to the fact that even if the veins are not yet visible, but the symptoms are already present, you still need to come to see a doctor. After passing all the required number of tests, the therapist refers the patient to a phlebologist for further treatment.

Situations often arise when the disease is at such a stage of progression that conservative treatment methods are no longer able to help. In this situation, a surgeon comes to the aid of the phlebologist.

Phlebologist

The main specialist who deals with varicose veins, but to get to him, you need to visit a therapist.

Surgeon

This doctor is consulted for surgical treatment of varicose veins. He prescribes additional tests and studies that will show the possibility of surgery.

It is not an ordinary surgeon who begins the surgical intervention, but an angiosurgeon. He works with veins, arteries, lymph nodes and performs operations on them. Their responsibilities include not only carrying out planned interventions, but also providing assistance in cases of injuries in which blood vessels are damaged.

After a certain period of time that the patient spends in the hospital, it is necessary to return to the clinic and see a phlebologist. The doctor is obliged to evaluate the work done and tell the person about the necessary measures to prevent the disease, which may include medication support and the use of various procedures.

Angiologist

In our country, an angiologist (a doctor who treats blood vessels) is extremely rare, but in the United States this position is very popular. Their main task is medicinal and conservative treatment of varicose veins.

Medications

Which doctor treats varicose veins? A phlebologist is a specialist who can help cure a disease. There are many medications for the treatment of varicose veins. Only a doctor should prescribe medications depending on the specific clinical picture and severity of the disease. The drug must have tonic, angioprotective, and antiplatelet effects. Among the most effective drugs are:

1. "Detralex." The medicine contains flavonoids, diosmin and hesperidin. The medicine has a positive effect on the functioning of blood vessels and has a tonic effect on the veins. Available in tablet form. You need to take one tablet twice a day. The duration of treatment is determined strictly by the doctor depending on the severity of the disease.
2. To treat varicose veins, doctors often prescribe Venarus. The drug contains diosmin and hesperidin. Available in tablet form, take 1-2 tablets per day (with meals). The duration of treatment is determined by the doctor. On average, the course of therapy is 3-11 months.
3. "Troxevasin". The medicine contains troxerutin - this substance helps eliminate leg fatigue and improve the general well-being of the patient; The drug in capsules is taken several times a day. The daily dose is 600-900 mg.

It is prohibited to use medications if you have serious diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

Note to the patient

If there is a similar disease in the family, then it is necessary to regularly visit a phlebologist - this will help prevent the development of pathology. In the process of treating the disease, it is important to carefully follow all the doctor’s recommendations and not self-medicate. There are many medications that can help relieve soreness and fatigue. Only a doctor who treats varicose veins can prescribe a truly effective remedy that will help get rid of the disease.

At the initial stage of development of the pathology, therapy is carried out using tablets and ointments. If treatment is not timely, the problem can only be solved surgically. As medical practice shows, this does not guarantee that a person is free of the disease forever, since a relapse is possible.

If blood vessels are a secondary disease

There are pathologies in which vascular diseases of the brain are caused not by the vessels themselves, but by the primary factors that led to brain pathologies of a vascular nature. For example, a brain tumor. As the tumor grows, it can compress the artery, thereby reducing the lumen of the vessel. This will lead to insufficient blood flow, ischemia and possible necrosis of brain tissue. In such diseases, the root cause should be identified and contacted by an appropriate specialist. In the case of tumors, this is an oncologist.

Recommendations from phlebologists

To achieve the most positive effect after therapy, it is important to wear comfortable shoes, not sit in one place for a long time, and perform physical exercises without putting too much emphasis on your feet. Walking is something that will help improve blood circulation and prevent the development of varicose veins. It is equally important to lead a healthy lifestyle.

You should not abuse alcohol or smoke tobacco products. Nowadays, many people experience varicose veins in their legs. Doctors advise not to self-medicate with such a diagnosis, otherwise complications may arise.

How does a phlebologist make a diagnosis?

In most cases, the doctor collaborates with a diagnostician, whose task is to perform an ultrasound examination of the patient. While the ultrasound specialist (called ultrasound for short) performs his procedure, leg vein doctors visually check the condition of the vessels, interview the patient and collect the necessary information.

For a complete picture and a high-quality diagnosis, the phlebologist also turns to a specialist called an angiographist. He examines veins using x-rays. During the examination, he, together with the phlebologist, may prescribe the injection of a radiocontrast substance to the patient. If this procedure does not help to give an accurate diagnosis, the doctor turns to the following procedures:

• phlebography;
• phlebomanometry;
• duplex study;
• Phleboscintigraphy.

If you do not follow all the doctor’s recommendations regarding blood vessels, received after all diagnostic procedures, the treatment will be unsuccessful. First of all, you should give up taking hot baths, visiting a sauna or bathhouse, smoking and drinking alcohol, dousing yourself with cold water, overeating, uncomfortable shoes and too tight underwear. Excess weight, which doctors call obesity, affects the progression of varicose veins the most. The fact is that extra pounds prevent blood from flowing to your extremities and place more stress on your legs. For the same reason, doctors strongly do not recommend sitting on a chair or sofa with your legs crossed.