UNAIR NEWS – Universitas Airlangga Hospital (RSUA) held a webinar entitled ‘Beauty and Health in Pandemic Times’ on Saturday, January 30, 2021. In the webinar, one of the issues discussed was foot health and beauty, which is related to varicose veins.
dr. Danang H. Limanto, Sp.BTKV, one of the thoracic and cardiovascular surgeons at RSUA explained that varicose veins in general are a condition where the veins become so visible on the skin. Due to the dilation of these veins, the valves in the veins cannot close completely so that the blood that should go to the heart stays in place and causes the blood vessels to expand so that they are visible on the skin.
“Generally, varicose veins are not a congenital disease, but because there is a degenerative process, aging, so that collagen of lysed blood vessels cannot regenerate so that their elasticity is reduced,” he explained.
Dr. Danang also explained that there are various wrong myths about varicose veins, such as bending the legs after doing sports or strenuous activities causing varicose veins, varicose veins are only experienced by women, it is okay to leave varicose veins as long as they don’t cause pain, and treatment of varicose veins is painful.
In fact, bending the legs does not cause varicose veins, but it is better after exercise not to bend the legs immediately so that blood flow is smooth and does not cramp. Varicose veins can also be experienced by men. However, because women pay more attention to the beauty of their legs, when the symptoms of varicose veins appear they tend to seek treatment more quickly than men, who often wait until the varicose veins are severe and then get treatment.
“Varicose veins have levels of disease progression from level one to level six, so if they are not treated immediately, varicose veins can get worse,” explained dr. Danang.
Varicose veins in stage one are when the veins enlarge and appear on the skin. If left untreated, it will get worse to grade two, when the veins begin to bulge in the skin. In stage three progressive swelling begins, that is, when the person walk it will swell and when it is rested it will get better. In stage four, the skin pigments turn black, while in stages five and six, spontaneous sores start to happen.
“If varicose veins are not treated properly, they can cause injury. So it is better, from stage one, to have it treated so that you do not enter into level two or higher, “he explained.
The treatment of varicose veins cannot be done by only taking drugs. The lightest therapy is to wear medical stockings that have been specially designed. The use of these stockings can only be used for varicose veins at a low severity.
Varicose veins treatment can also be done with varicose veins injections which only doctors can do. Varicose veins injections are performed if new varicose veins are in stages one and two. If varicose veins are already in stages three to six, then it is necessary to use a laser.
“The recovery of varicose veins using laser is quite fast, usually, the second day after the intervention, the patient can go home,” said dr. Danang. (*)
Author: Galuh Mega Kurnia
Editor : Binti Q. Masruroh
