Chronic venous insufficiency

In chro­nic venous insuf­fi­ci­en­cy the return of blood from the legs is per­ma­nent­ly impai­red. Blood pools in the veins, pres­su­re in the tis­sue rises and the skin is dama­ged. The con­di­ti­on deve­lo­ps over years and pro­gres­ses in stages.

Cau­ses

Long-stan­ding vari­co­se veins or a pre­vious deep vein throm­bo­sis that has des­troy­ed the venous val­ves usual­ly pre­ce­de it. Lack of exer­cise, stan­ding occu­pa­ti­ons, excess weight and a fami­li­al weak­ne­ss of con­nec­ti­ve tis­sue increase the strain on the venous system.

Sym­ptoms

Initi­al­ly, evening swel­ling and a fee­ling of hea­vi­ness and ten­si­on domi­na­te. Later, brown dis­co­lou­ra­ti­on from depo­si­ted blood pig­ment, whitish scar are­as, har­den­ed skin on the lower leg and ecze­ma are added. In the final stage a venous leg ulcer develops.

Tre­at­ment

The most important mea­su­re is con­sis­tent com­pres­si­on the­ra­py, sup­ple­men­ted by exer­cise, ele­vat­ing the legs and weight reduc­tion. Under­ly­ing vari­co­se veins should be trea­ted to redu­ce the pres­su­re. The dama­ged skin needs careful care, as it is pro­ne to ecze­ma and poor­ly heal­ing wounds.