What is venous leg ulcer?

Venous leg ulcer

Venous skin ulcers or varicose ulcers is a long-lasting condition in which open sores happen on the skin, which allows bacteria to enter the skin and cause infection. It generally has a long healing time. It is a medical condition that can heal either within a few weeks and also can take years. Sometimes it can also cause serious complications if they are not treated on time.

The constantly high blood pressure in the veins can slowly damage the blood vessels in the skin. Venous Ulcer is a medical condition which needs doctors treatment and cannot be treated at home. Mostly with the right medical treatment ulcers can heal in 3-4 months. They can also come back if you don’t take steps to prevent them. Treatment is important and should be done by an expert professional doctor who has training in compression therapy for leg ulcers.

What are the causes of venous ulcers?

Venous ulcers happen after a minor injury if there is any blood circulation problem in the veins of your leg. Due to this, the pressure in the veins increases tremendously. Because of the increase in the pressure, the skin and the blood vessels undergo gradual damage. Venous ulcers happen when the veins from the leg don’t return enough Blood back to the heart.

The veins have valves which prevent the backflow of blood and make sure that the blood keeps flowing upwards to the heart. When the valves get damaged the blood can flow backwards which can create a blood pool. Due to the slow pace of blood flow, the blood can leak out to the surrounding tissues and can make the ulcer even worse.

Due to the increase in blood pressure and blood accumulation, it stops the nutrients and oxygen from reaching all the parts of the body. The lack of important nutrients causes the cells to die and the formation of a wound.

What are the symptoms of venous ulcers?

The first few symptoms of venous ulcers are the following

• Blood leaks out to the skin tissues.
• Itching of the skin, tingling sensation in the skin.
• Continuous leg pain
• Swelling in the legs and heaviness of the legs.
• Frequent cramps in the body.
• Change of skin colour to dark red, purple or brown and hardening of the skin.
• Shiny surrounding skin which is warm and discoloured.
• Pus formation in and around the skin.

High-risk groups

• People who get frequent blood clots.
• Old age people suffering from arthritis.
• People suffering from varicose veins.
• Diabetes patients are at higher risk due to poor circulation of blood in the body.
• People who have suffered any injury to the leg like a broken bone or people who have had surgeries in the leg, hip or joints.
• Obese or overweight people as this increase blood pressure.
• People with a walking disability.

Treatment of venous ulcers

Venous ulcers are by application of strong, continuous compression using a compression bandage and the individual symptoms like leg pain, itching, leg swelling can be treated to provide relief to the patient. Using a compression bandage can heal most of the ulcer within 6 months.

Tips for quick healing of venous ulcers

• Stay active and keep moving, sitting in the same place for a long time can aggravate the symptoms
• Keep the affected leg elevated at all times.
• Be very careful and avoid injuring the affected area.
• Always Wear the compression bandage provided

Prevention of leg ulcers

The people belonging to the high-risk category can follow certain measures to prevent leg ulcers.

The methods include

• You can wear compression stockings
• Regular exercise
• Reduction of weight
• Elevating the affected leg.

If you have any of the above-listed symptoms if you belong to the high risk experienced varicose veins doctors in Jaipur are available, kindly get in touch.