Varicose veins are a disease that is becoming more and more common. So people have a lot of questions about it. One of the topics that is being actively discussed is whether a bath will damage varicose veins. Consider which spa you can visit with varicose veins, what rules apply and what the tradition of visiting the steam room can lead to.
Is it possible to take a bath with varicose veins?
Varicose veins in the legs is a disease that imposes many restrictions on a person. As for visiting the baths, in the early stages of the disease they are allowed to visit. In addition, the washing procedure in the steam room can be useful.
If the disease has progressed to the stage of thrombophlebitis, you will have to abandon the bath, this stage is characterized by the formation of spider veins and the expansion of veins.
Being in a room with extremely high temperature conditions worsens the patient's condition. Therefore, it is better to abandon the bath in favor of a contrast shower or a visit to the pool.
The benefits of bathing for varicose veins
Visiting the bath under certain conditions becomes one of the measures used to treat varicose veins.
The beneficial effects of high temperatures in vascular diseases are associated with such positive effects:
- elimination of blood stasis by normalizing blood circulation;
- blockage of inflammatory foci;
- stimulation of the venous tissue regeneration process;
- elimination of unpleasant sensations - heaviness and fatigue in the legs.
Baths are useful for thinning the veins. The effect of temperature strengthens blood vessels, improves their tone. Water procedures, when used properly, cleanse and heal the body. They become one of the preventive measures to reduce the risk of complications of varicose diseases if the disease is in the first stage.
Using heating pads, steaming the feet with hot water and high temperature baths can lead to thrombophlebitis.
Rules for visiting the bath with varicose veins
Baths will not harm varicose veins of the lower extremities if you follow the rules for visiting them.
They are as follows:
- take water procedures on an empty stomach;
- you should refuse to visit the bathroom if the disease has worsened;
- care must be taken to ensure that dishes are not crushed - in the bathroom you can stand or lie down, but in no case do not sit cross-legged;
- a beneficial effect on the condition of the vessels has a massage of the lower extremities with a pre-steamed broom, it is better if it is collected from juniper or oak leaves;
- to finish the trip to the bathroom, you need a shower with fresh water and rest in a lying position.
With varicose veins, the legs should be washed using the steam method. It consists in rubbing them with a wet cloth. After that, you need to go to a dry room and wait until the water evaporates. This procedure helps to eliminate swelling and heaviness in the legs. Thanks to it, the risk of repeated deterioration of varicose veins is reduced.
Bath visits are prohibited if moderate or severe varicose veins are diagnosed. Contraindications for this type of water procedures are also thrombophlebitis, the rehabilitation period after surgery and varicose veins complicated by chronic or inflammatory diseases.
Rules for visiting the steam room
It is not necessary to refuse to visit the steam room with varicose veins of the lower extremities. It is enough to follow the rules, thanks to which it is possible to prevent damage caused to the ship by elevated temperatures.
To return the habit of steam not to harm, but to benefit, the following recommendations will help:
- for the first time you need to enter the steam room for no more than 2-3 minutes, this approach allows the dishes to adapt to the high temperature;
- it is possible to use a broom, peeling and other procedures aimed at healing in those areas where varicose veins do not have a pronounced manifestation;
- a visit to the bath means no more than 5 visits to the steam room, in case of more pronounced symptoms of varicose veins, they should be reduced to 3;
- visiting the steam room, you should monitor how the legs are placed - they should be at the same level as the body.
High temperatures can cause discomfort in the legs where the signs of varicose veins are more pronounced. To get rid of such a manifestation, it is worth covering the affected areas with a wet cloth.
The benefits and harms of the sauna for varicose veins
When visiting a sauna during varicose veins, you should weigh the possible risks. This procedure can affect negatively and positively. Among the beneficial effects of a visit to the sauna, there is an increase in vascular tone, stimulation of blood flow in the tissues and removal of fatigue and heaviness in the legs. By improving blood circulation, more oxygen and nutrients are delivered to the tissues.
The negative effects of water procedures in the sauna include excessive stress on the blood vessels, blood stasis and the possible progression of the disease. The mechanism of the formation of complications begins with excessive blood flow to the tissues.
With a hereditary predisposition to varicose veins, but in the absence of symptoms, a visit to the spa will be an excellent prevention.
Due to the disease, the vessels do not tolerate a large load. Blood gets stuck in them and blood clots form. Therefore, before you decide to visit the sauna, you should consult your doctor.
The benefits and harms of a contrast shower
A contrast shower is used to prevent varicose veins. It is also included in the complex therapy of the initial stage of the disease. Its positive effect is aimed at improving blood circulation and increasing vascular tone.
A contrast shower will not hurt if you follow these rules:
- the procedure must be performed regularly;
- you need to monitor the choice of the water temperature regime - it should be average, not leading to hypothermia or overheating;
- you need to get used to the contrast shower, starting with warm water and lowering its temperature by 1 degree every day;
- the first attempts to adopt the procedure start with a 2-minute shower, gradually increasing it to 5 minutes;
- every 10 seconds you need to change the water temperature;
- you cannot hold the water stream in one place for more than 2 seconds, you must move it from the lower back to the legs.
In the initial stages of the disease, the contrast shower should be treated with caution. Sudden changes in temperature can lead to pain.
Prolonged exposure to heat will lead to varicose veins.
The blood in them can flow very quickly and unevenly. As a result, edema is formed. Thus, varicose veins become a contraindication for using a contrast shower with hot water. The procedure should be abandoned if there is an average or severe stage of the disease.
The benefits and harms of heat loads for varicose veins
If there is a pronounced varicose vein, it is strictly forbidden to resort to thermal stress. This also applies to foot steaming, hot baths. The negative impact of thermal procedures is associated with dry air in the sauna.
It leads to a deterioration of the structure of blood vessels, to their fragility. Due to high temperatures, the area affected by varicose veins increases. The vessels cannot cope with ensuring normal blood flow due to an increase in the volume of blood circulation.
If, after the consultation, the doctor prescribes a visit to the bathroom and a contrast shower as an addition to the main methods of treating varicose veins in the initial stage, you must follow the rules for the procedures. Only in this case will they benefit.