subject: Plant Medicines and Chemical Drugs for Varicose Veins [print this page] Plant Medicines and Chemical Drugs for Varicose Veins
Varicose veins are more common in women than in men, and are linked with heredity. Other related factors are pregnancy, obesity, menopause, aging, prolonged standing, leg injury and abdominal straining. Less commonly, but not exceptionally, varicose veins can be due to other causes, as post phlebitic obstruction or incontinence, venous and arteriovenous malformations. Besides cosmetic problems, varicose veins are often painful, especially when standing or walking. Most varicose veins are relatively benign, but severe varicosities can lead to major complications, due to the poor circulation through the affected limb.
Pain, heaviness, inability to walk or stand for long hours thus hinder work. Dermatitis could predispose skin loss. Skin ulcers especially near the ankle, are usually referred to as venous ulcers. Carcinoma or sarcoma in longstanding venous ulcers may develop. There have been cases of malignant transformation. Severe bleeding from minor trauma, are of particular concern in the elderly. Blood clotting within affected veins. Termed superficial thrombophlebitis. These are frequently isolated to the superficial veins, but can extend into deep veins becoming a more serious problem. Acute fat necrosis can occur, especially at the ankle of overweight patients with varicose veins.
The symptoms of varicose veins can be controlled to an extent with the following methods. Elevating the legs often provides temporary symptomatic relief. Advice about regular exercise sounds sensible but is not supported by any evidence. The wearing of graduated compression stockings has been shown to correct the swelling, nutritional exchange, and improve the microcirculation in legs affected by varicose veins. They also often provide relief from the discomfort associated with this disease. Caution should be exercised in their use in patients with concurrent arterial disease.
Anti-inflammatory medication such as ibuprofen or aspirin can be used as part of treatment for superficial thrombophlebitis along with graduated compression hosiery; but there is a risk of intestinal bleeding. In extensive superficial thrombophlebitis, consideration should be given to anti-coagulation, thrombectomy or sclerotherapy of the involved vein. Active medical intervention in varicose veins can be divided into surgical and non-surgical treatments. Some doctors favor traditional open surgery, while others prefer the newer methods.
Newer methods for treating varicose veins such as plant medicine have attached much attention and are well studied. Plant medicines, just as the name imply, are bulk drugs and preparations that take plant primary metabolites such as protein and amylose and secondary metabolites such as alkaloid, phenols and terpene as active ingredient. Traditional Chinese medicines and Chinese patent drugs made from plants in the market are all plant medicines. Plant medicines play a dominant role in natural drugs.
For recent years, plant medicines are considered to be very important because of the unique advantage in the treatment. They are natural and have broad prospects in treating difficult and complicated diseases with insignificant toxicity and side effects. Plant medicines are drugs that are extracted and separated according to the main physicochemical property and material characteristics from roots, stems, flows, skins, leaves, or fruits of plants. Most of the plant medicines are targeted with insignificant toxicity and side effects, which are one of the main sources of clinical drugs.
Chemical drugs such as antibiotic used clinically can cause drug resistance of microorganism and parasite easily, thus reducing the sensibility to drugs. Abuses of antibiotic and other chemical drugs have already cut down the role of these antibiotics severely and produce new viruses consequently. Application of chemical drugs aggravates chemical pollutions in the body, make body over-burdened and immune response wrong, and cause immune hypersensitivity; hence autoimmune diseases and immunodeficiency increases. Thus, in the struggle with disease people pay their attention to safe and more effective natural plant medicines. To learn more, please go to http://www.naturespharma.org.
