Tag: ulcers

This is the Science on Why You Must Treat Vein Reflux

Posted on January 22, 2023January 22, 2023 by Texas Endovascular in Sclerotherapy, Vein Disease

Are you worried about vein reflux? Well, if so, the science just may be on your side. But before we can explain why, here’s a quick definition of venous refux.

What is Venous Reflux?

Vein reflux is a symptom of vein disease. You see, when the veins in your leg are healthy, the valves in them allow blood to flow up to your heart, fighting gravity. But when you have vein disease, those valves can’t work properly, and that allows blood to flow back down your legs instead, which is what we call venous reflux. Depending on how long it’s left untreated, vein reflux can leave you with varicose veins, as well as painful, swollen or achy legs. You may experience cramping, itchiness and a heavy feeling or tired legs. The skin on your legs can change or lose colors, or you can even develop venous ulcers. Now, all of these symptoms won’t develop at once. In fact, if you act quickly, you can prevent or reverse many side effects of reflux. Here’s the story:3

When your circulatory system works properly, your veins bring blood back up to your heart from your lower extremities. Along the way, little flaps (called valves) help the blood flow against gravity. (They do so by closing up as the blood travels past them.) But sometimes, those valves stop doing their jobs well. And that’s when venous reflux can set in. Because some of the blood that’s supposed to travel up and away from your legs gets stuck, pooling in your veins while they darken, stretch and bulge.

At that stage of reflux, you may start to notice visible symptoms, like varicose veins. For many people, varicose veins are just a cosmetic concern. But in reality, these unsightly veins can cause serious medical problems. And the study we’ll review shows how important it is to treat even minor cases of venous reflux.

Vein Reflux Linked to Ulcers

The purpose of the study was to explore the effectiveness of different treatment methods for ulcers (hard to heal wounds that often develop on the legs of people with insufficient blood flow in their legs.)

Study author Aleksandra Jaworucka-Kaczorowska discovered that 85% of the ulcer patients she met with also had superficial venous reflux. Furthermore, she found that by treating their reflux with sclerotherapy, a treatment we offer in our Houston area vein clinics, patients’ venous reflux vastly improved and their ulcers healed at a faster rate!

Sclerotherapy is a great treatment option for veins that don’t show signs of serious vein disease.

During the procedure, we will inject a solution into your affected vein, making it shrink and close so that blood flow will be redirected through your other, healthier veins. After this process, your vein will eventually shrink and disappear from view on the surface of your skin.

Before performing sclerotherapy, your vein doctor will conduct a thorough examination and review your history to make sure that your vein issue isn’t a sign of a more serious underlying health issue. But if you are a good candidate for sclerotherapy, it is a fast, minimally invasive treatment that requires no sedation or anesthesia. Most patients can return to work or other activities quickly. It may require more than one session to completely treat your spider veins. But since you’ll enjoy a cosmetic benefit and contribute to the fight against leg ulcers, it’s a treatment option that is certainly worth considering!

Are you ready to deal with minor or major vein problems? We’re here to help you achieve your cosmetic and improved health goals. Simply schedule a consultation with our experts. We can perform diagnostic tests and make suggestions for your best treatment options.

Are there Varicose Vein Complications? 7 Warning Signs to Watch For

Posted on April 7, 2022April 1, 2022 by Texas Endovascular in COVID-19, Spider Veins

Chronic vein conditions can lead to varicose vein complications. That’s why it’s important to treat those varicose veins quickly. Why is that the case? When you have this condition, you may develop varicose veins complications, many of which are serious. And you truly need to worry about these issues if you delay or forego vein treatment.

Are Varicose Veins Complications a Threat to Your Health?

We often hear people saying that varicose veins are unattractive, but no big deal. Which is why we’re here to tell you: that’s just not true!

If you can see those varicose veins, it’s a sign of more serious health problems brewing beneath the surface of your skin. They tell vein specialists like us that the valves in your veins aren’t working properly. As a result, blood is pooling in your veins, and not flowing back up to your heart as it should.

At first, that pooling may just cause your veins to bulge and become more visible. Often, painful cramps go along with varicose veins. That can make it difficult to get around and do your regular activities.

But, if left untreated, your problems won’t stop there. Soon, you may notice other symptoms. Including these 7 complications of untreated varicose veins.

8 Symptoms of Untreated Vein Disease

Left untreated, varicose veins can lead to swelling in your legs, also called edema.
The swelling may be painful, so your legs can hurt, and need rest and elevation to feel better.
You may experience fatigue since this study proves varicose vein complications can lead to restless leg syndrome. And that can disrupt your sleep, leaving you tired the next day. Alternatively, heavy legs can wear you out more throughout the day. Then, as this study shows, your legs may cramp more at night, making it harder to sleep. And the study shows this symptom is worse for women than for men.
Next, you’ll be at a higher risk for blood clots, especially DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis, a clot that forms in your deep leg veins. This situation is an emergency—if the clot breaks free, it can travel to your lungs and may be fatal.)
And that’s not all you’ll face. As your veins bulge, that pressure could damage your skin, leaving you vulnerable to infections and ulcers (these are open wounds that resist healing.)
Your skin can also change in appearance, turning dark and discolored. Over time, the skin may even thicken, and taken on a rough texture.
Additionally, you’ll be more likely to experience bleeding episodes, some of which may be serious and require immediate medical attention.
You’ll increase your risk for restless legs. This refers to a condition where you feel the constant urge to move your legs; it’s uncomfortable and can leave your sleep disturbed. About 30% of people with varicose veins experience restless leg symptoms, especially after bedtime.

Now you know why, even now, you can’t ignore those varicose veins. But we’re not just here to scare you. So, please follow our advice for treating varicose veins during the COVID-19 epidemic.

Treating Varicose Veins in Houston

After diagnosis, we can manage your vein health at home with some lifestyle changes. We can recommend compression garments to improve your blood flow, and reduce pooling and swelling. Plus, we can help you move more, which can also help varicose veins. And we can realistically determine whether you’ll need to schedule an in-office procedure to get rid of your varicose veins.

But we can’t help you if we don’t see you. So please, don’t ignore current health issues. If you notice varicose veins, reach out right away. The sooner we start treatment, the more likely it is that we can successfully manage your condition from the safety of your home.

Sources: Harvard Health

Check out the Gel and Bandage that Could Cure Leg Ulcers

Posted on November 9, 2021December 13, 2022 by Texas Endovascular in Ulcers

If you have untreated vascular disease, you could develop leg ulcers. These open sores often develop just above your ankle, on the inside of your leg. But, what causes them to develop? When your veins aren’t functioning well—as is the case if you’ve got varicose veins —the pressure inside those veins can build up rapidly. And, if that pressure isn’t relieved, it can damage your skin, leaving you with open sores. Plus, once those sores develop, they are slower to heal. Why? The answer lies in your circulation problems.

Without getting enough oxygen-rich blood, the skin on your legs can’t regenerate as well as it should. And this can make it harder for wounds to heal. Which is why, as Houston vein specialists, we’re very excited about a newly developed wound treatment. And a new bandage that can detect wound healing. Want to hear the coolest part? The former is developed from blood! And the latter does its work wirelessly!

Using Blood to Speed Up Wound Healing

According to a study in Advances in Skin and Wound Care, researchers at the University of Manchester have developed a gel, made from blood, that’s speeding up healing times for ulcers. Typically, these ulcers take at least three months to heal but, studies show that for at least 14% of patients, wounds are still a problem one whole year later. And, for others, the wounds just don’t heal, making it necessary to amputate.

For all these reasons, a new, faster wound treatment is a very big deal. So, how does the new gel work? Doctors take a little more than a teaspoon of your own blood and spin it around in a piece of equipment called a centrifuge.

While your blood spins, your plasma gets separated from the other parts of your blood. Plasma is rich in platelets, and platelet are full of ‘growth factors’ that boost your body’s healing. Once your plasma has been isolated, it gets mixed with a few other compounds, and, in about 30 seconds, it takes on a gel form. Your doctor puts that gel on your wound right away, and then covers the area with a bandage to help your wound heal faster.

But, you may be wondering, just how effective is the gel? Forty-eight percent of patients treated with gel had full wound healing, compared to 30% of patients treated with other methods. And, even more exciting news: the healing time was cut in half! Wounds had shrunk by 50% in 21 days for patients using the gel. Patients not using the gel had to wait 42 days to get that same result.

While the gel is still being studied, the results are certainly exciting. We can’t wait to learn more about this therapy, which harnesses your own body’s potential to self-heal!

Detecting Wound Healing with a Wireless Bandage

Scientists at the National University of Singapore just developed a wearable sensor that wirelessly assesses your wound through an app. It can test the temperature, pH, bacteria type and inflammation levels in your ulcer. And it can do so in just 15 minutes, meaning you get fast accurate results. Without disturbing the wound dressing! Or, in many cases, without forcing you to make the long trip into your doctor’s office.

Changing the Game

Wireless wound assessment reflects a major treatment turning point. Right now, we have to visually inspect ulcers, often collecting fluid from your wounds to help decide the most effective treatment options. The process takes a few days. And it means we need to dress and undress your open sore, which can slow the healing process since it disturbs the sensitive tissue.

But with VeCare, this new bandage, we’d dress your ulcer with one layer that touches your wound. Then, a breathable barrier covers that layer, with an electronic chip, a fluid collector and a flexible immunosensor forming the top layer. The combination allows us to quickly track your wound’s healing and drive treatment choices. All without leaving you open to infection.

Currently, this bandage isn’t available for mass distribution. But the research team is working on rolling their bandage out to the public. And our team of Houston vein specialists will keep you posted when it becomes available.

Leg Ulcers care in Houston, TX

For now, know that our team of vein specialists offers the latest in personalized wound care. Even better, we offer preventative vein treatments, so you never develop leg ulcers in the first place. Ready to take control of your vein health? Schedule a consultation at one of our vein centers today, with locations in Houston, Katy, Clear Lake, Sugar Land and the Woodlands!

Learn Your Risk for Leg Ulcers Now

Posted on August 30, 2021August 30, 2021 by Texas Endovascular in Ulcers

Do you know your risk for leg ulcers? Lower-leg ulcers are a serious complication that can develop with untreated vein disease. In order to protect yourself from ulcers, it’s important to understand the risk factors that increase your likelihood of developing this type of wound.

Risk factors for CVD

One of the main reasons people develop ulcers is because of CVD, chronic venous disease. And while we don’t always know why people develop CVD, some contributing factors include:

Aging
Being a woman
Being pregnant
Family history
Obesity
On the job risks, like all day standing or sitting.

Any one of these factors can increase your risk of compromised blood flow, varicose veins, and, eventually, chronic venous disease. This, in turn, can increase your risk for leg ulcers. Which means you’re more likely to develop an ulcer on your lower legs.

Cholesterol, PAD and Risk for Leg Ulcers

When you have high cholesterol, it builds up in your arteries. Then, plaque can narrow your arteries’ lining (this condition is called atherosclerosis. The plaque is made of cholesterol and other fatty substances called triglycerides.)

Because plaque narrows your arteries, and because high cholesterol can trigger plaque buildup, high cholesterol levels increase your risk for peripheral arterial disease (PAD). When you have PAD, your narrowed arteries limit the amount of oxygen-rich blood that reaches your legs and feet. And that’s where your risk for legs ulcers also rises.

When blood flow to your legs is restricted, sores may develop as blood pools and seeps through your skin. Then, the sores that develop are less likely to heal because of your reduced blood flow. That’s why you’ll need immediate medical attention if you develop an ulcer on your legs.

Warning Signs for Lower Leg Ulcers

Of course, it’s important to remember that not all people who have CVD will develop ulcers. With people who have CVD, you can watch for certain signs that may indicate an ulcer will soon form:

Skin changes: CVD patients with varicose veins, thickened skin or venous eczema (also known as varicose eczema, symptoms include itchy, flaky, dry, crusty and/or swollen skin) are more likely to develop an ulcer. We also call this condition venous eczema. Stasis or gravitational eczema also refer to the same condition. When you have stasis eczema, your skin may also change color. It could tighten or harden, a condition we call lipodermatosclerosis. Also, you may develop atrophie blanche, which leaves small white scars on your skin. And eczema may spread to other areas of your body. Steroid creams may relieve your symptoms, and compression stockings can help. But treating your circulatory issues will offer the best and lasting relief.
Edema: Studies show that edema is present in about 90% of patients with lower leg ulcers. Edema, or swelling, occurs when you form more lymph fluid than can be drained, or when your lymph material doesn’t flow well. This leads to a build-up of the fluid that results in swelling in your lower legs.

How to Prevent Venous Ulcers

Whether or not you’re displaying ulcer warning signs, you can take measures to prevent this devastating complication. These steps include:

Avoiding weight gain
Eating a balanced diet
Regularly moisturizing your skin
Avoid cigarettes or any kind of smoking
Moving every 30 minutes to avoid long periods of sitting or standing
Exercising regularly
Treating varicose veins

If you are concerned about developing ulcers, or already have an ulcer in need of attention, it is important to see your Houston area vein specialist right away. Any delay could pose a serious risk to your limbs, as well as your overall health.

Sources: NHS.uk, Nursing Times, Our Community Now

The 7 Best Exercises for Varicose Veins

Posted on December 10, 2020December 8, 2020 by Texas Endovascular in Health Lifestyle, Varicose Veins, Vein Disease

Varicose veins are veins that become enlarged or stretched out due to blood that pools in the legs. In addition to making your veins bulge, they can cause the following symptoms:

Learn more about
varicose vein
symptoms here.

Tired, Achy Legs
Itching
Burning
Numbness
Nighttime Leg Cramps
Restless Leg Syndrome
Rashes
Swelling
Ulcers or Sores

Since varicose veins are primarily caused by inactivity in the legs over a long period of time, getting out there and doing some exercises can help prevent and alleviate the symptoms associated with varicose veins.

How Does Exercise Help Prevent Varicose Veins?

While there’s no way to completely prevent varicose veins, regular exercise can help reduce the chances that you’ll get them. Simply changing your sitting or standing position regularly can improve your blood circulation, which helps reduce the amount of blood swelling the veins in your legs.

Exercise can increase your body’s ability to pump blood up the leg back toward the heart. It also helps keep your weight down, which further decreases your chances of getting varicose veins. Walking is a good choice, as are low-impact activities, such as swimming and biking.

What Exercises Prevent Varicose Veins?

If you already have varicose veins, exercise can keep them from getting worse and also help alleviate pain and discomfort. Generally, low-impact exercises are best, and include the following:

Walking or Running

Walking just 30 minutes a day for five days a week can yield good benefits. If you run, try to find a grassy surface or synthetic track to minimize the stress on your joints.

Leg Lifts

You need to do this move regularly to see the benefits. But the great news is that this is one of the exercises for varicose veins that require no equipment. To start your leg lifts, sit or lie on your back while sticking your feet straight out. Lift one leg at a time up, holding it in the air. Slowly lower it down and repeat with the other leg.

Bicycling or Bicycle Legs

Riding a bike or stationary bike is also helpful. It strengthens your calf muscles, which helps pump blood out of your legs and keeps it flowing in the right direction. If you don’t have access to any kind of bike, you can try this bicycle legs exercise. While lying on your back, put your legs in the air, bending them at the knee. Pedal them slowly as if you are bicycling. Try both legs at once, or alternate one at a time.

Lunges

Working your leg muscles sends more blood to your heart. That makes your heart work harder, so it’s ready to do the important job of circulating blood through your body. To get into proper lunge position, stand with your legs apart. Step forward slowly, bending your knee and making sure to keep your knee directly above your ankle. Hold it, then slowly straighten your leg and step back to your original position. Repeat with the other leg. While standing with your legs straight, rise up on your tiptoes and then lower back down. Repeat.

Rocking Your Feet

Like calf raises (see below), rocking your feet can strengthen leg muscles that are important for your circulation. Then, as a bonus, it can also help you improve your balance! Ready to give it a try? While you’re sitting or standing, rock your feet back and forth from heel to toe. This can be done at any time and is also helpful if health conditions prevent you from trying other forms of exercise.

Other Vein Health Exercises to Consider

When you suffer from chronic vein disease, you are vulnerable to venous leg ulcers: hard-to-heal sores that develop on your legs due to a combination of damaged capillaries and lymphatic ducts, and lack of oxygen in your lower legs. Once they develop, ulcers are hard to heal because, once again, of the shortage of oxygen reaching your lower limbs.

Fortunately, managing your vein disease with doctor-approved exercise can help protect you from developing ulcers. And, if ulcers have already formed, new evidence suggests that certain exercises may speed up your healing process!

Calf Raises and Venous Leg Ulcers

According to Dr. Laura Bolton, a member of the Wounds advisory board, evidence suggests that structured exercise training (SET) can help speed up the healing process for both venous leg wounds and diabetic foot ulcers. Chief among those exercises included in the SET program? Calf raises, thanks to their ability to get the heart pumping and improve circulation to the lower extremities.

In her study, 77% of patients with venous leg ulcers had completely healed after a 12-week progressive exercise program; only 53% of non-exercisers enjoyed the same result. When it came to diabetic foot wounds, individuals who exercised for just 30 of the 96-day trial window saw a dramatic result in the size of their ulcers.

In revealing her findings, Bolton said: “This suggests that the more patients engage in calf muscle exercise, the more and earlier they improve their chronic VLU or DFU healing…[This could lead to saving] limbs and lives of patients. ”

Calf-Raise Routine for Improved Circulation

While no vein disease patient should engage in a new exercise routine without a doctor’s supervision, it is a good idea to discuss your physical activity once you’ve been diagnosed with vein health issues. Ask your doctor if it is safe to try this calf-raise routine, and you may just enjoy preventative or healing health benefits!

Standing Calf Raises

Position yourself on a staircase, with your hands resting against a wall or a sturdy object for balance and your heels hanging off the back edge of the stair. Raise your heels a few inches above the edge of the step so that you’re on your tiptoes. Hold the position for a moment, and then lower your heels below the platform, feeling a stretch in your calf muscles. That’s one rep; aim for three sets of 10-15 reps each. Please note that you may have to build up to that level of performance.

Seek Varicose Vein Treatment

Exercise can be helpful when dealing with varicose veins, but you may also need treatment to achieve better results. Texas Endovascular offers minimally invasive, in-office procedures that don’t require general anesthesia or sedation. Several different treatment options are available for varicose veins, and each requires little or no recovery time. In fact, most patients are able to return to work the same day. We’ll choose the procedure that will yield the best results in your particular case, improving your comfort level as well as appearance.

Contact Texas Endovascular at (713) 575-3686 today for more information about the best exercises and treatments for varicose veins and to schedule an appointment!

Sources: Bolton, Laura, MD. “Exercise and Chronic Wound Healing.” Azura Vascular Care

5 Easy Ways To Prevent Varicose Veins

Posted on February 18, 2020December 13, 2022 by Texas Endovascular in Varicose Veins

Varicose veins are unsightly, and they can make your legs throb and ache. They typically appear on your legs due to force of gravity and the pressure of our body weight. Our leg veins have the job of moving blood from the bottom of our body up to the heart, and if the valves in those veins malfunction or become weakened, they don’t do their job efficiently. As a result blood can pool in our legs, and the veins become stretched and may leak or protrude.

And varicose veins can cause other problems. Check out what happens when you ignore these veins.

Varicose Veins can Lead to Medical Complications

Left untreated, varicose veins can cause you plenty of problems. Some of the most serious include:

1. Clots. Because your blood sits without circulating, varicose veins increase your risk for blood clots. And blood clots can be dangerous, especially in the deep veins of your legs (deep vein thrombosis, or DVT.) And DVT is a medical emergency, because the clot could break free and make its way into your lungs (pulmonary embolism.)

2. Bleeding episodes. Varicose veins may start bleeding—either with or without an injury. In fact, for older individuals, even a slight bump of your varicose veins could trigger bleeding.

3. Ulcers. When you have varicose veins, your surrounding skin may be inflamed—this happens if your skin’s small blood vessels sustain damage. Once that damage occurs, your reduced circulation brings less oxygen-rich blood to the damaged skin, slowing its healing time. And if months pass without healing, it’s a sign you’ve got an ulcer, a condition which could put your entire limb in danger of amputation.

Fortunately, there are steps you can take to reduce the risk of developing varicose veins. Try incorporating one (or more) of these habits into your daily routine to enjoy maximum protection!

You don’t need to start a major lifting program. Even moderate exercise can help prevent varicose veins!

Get Some Moderate Exercise

Walking, biking, and swimming are excellent ways to improve circulation, especially in the legs. You don’t have to join a gym and lift weights to prevent varicose veins from forming. Even 20 minutes of walking, just twice a week, will make a difference in your leg strength and reduce your chances of developing varicose veins.

Change Up Your Diet

If you are really serious about preventing varicose veins, it’s time to make some changes at each meal. You don’t have to go on a drastic diet, just make adjustments like reducing your salt intake and adding in some high fiber foods. Swap white breads and pastas for whole wheat options. The fiber will help minimize constipation, which can contribute to the development of varicose veins, and lower sodium levels will help reduce swelling in the body. Discontinue or reduce processed sugar products as sugar puts stress on your vascular system.

Fresh fruits like blackberries, apples, apricots and grapes are especially healthy choices. You may also want to consider taking a Vitamin E supplement to help prevent blood clots.

Check Your Wardrobe

Women are 50% more likely to develop varicose veins than men, so they must be especially cautious when it comes to clothing choices. Here are a few ways you can prevent your clothes from impacting your vein health:

Stash the high heels, except for short periods of time.
Wear flats or low heels whenever possible to stimulate your calf muscles and improve blood flow.
Buy compression hosiery to squeeze the legs and encourage blood to move more efficiently. Not only do they help to decrease discomfort and swelling, and help prevent or slow down the development of varicose veins, they also now come in tons of cute colors and patterns to match your individual style!
Avoid tight clothing, especially at the waist, groin, and legs. Skinny jeans and heels might need to be relegated to special occasions if you’re hoping to prevent varicose veins.

Keep Moving

If you sit at a desk all day for work, get up and move regularly. If you stand while you work, shift your weight from one leg to the other. Sitting or standing too long in one position can encourage blood pooling in the legs. Flex and bend your legs regularly to keep the blood circulating.

Other Daily Habits That Prevent Varicose Veins

Sit up straight and void crossing your legs, especially for long periods of time. The National Heart and Lung Institute says that sitting at a desk or anywhere with poor posture, like leaning your head forward (as many do), increases the risk for varicose veins, and many believe that leg crossing is a risk factor for developing varicose veins.

Elevate your legs above your heart when you return home at night, or several times a day if you are more sedentary. Use a few pillows or a larger stuffed object.

And remember: not all varicose veins can be prevented, but you can certainly reduce your chances of developing new ones or making existing veins worse in appearance.

Sources: ABCnews.com