Varicose veins are a disease that is becoming more and more common. So people have a lot of questions about that. One of the topics that is being actively discussed is whether bathing harms varicose veins. Consider which bathhouse you can visit with varicose veins, what rules apply and what the tradition of visiting a steam room can lead to.
Is it possible to bathe in the bath with varicose veins
Varicose veins on the legs is a disease that imposes a lot of restrictions on a person. As for visiting the baths, then in the early stages of the disease they can visit. In addition, the procedure for bathing in a steam room can be beneficial.
If the disease has passed into the stage of thrombophlebitis, then you will have to abandon the bath, a stage characterized by the formation of spider veins and dilation of veins.
Being in a room with excessively high temperature conditions aggravates the patient's condition. Therefore, it is better to abandon the shower in favor of a contrast shower or a trip to the pool.
The benefits of a bath for varicose veins
Going to the bath under certain conditions becomes one of the measures used to treat varicose veins.
The beneficial effects of high temperatures on vascular disease are associated with such positive effects:
- elimination of blood stagnation by normalizing blood circulation;
- blocking of inflammatory foci;
- stimulation of the venous tissue regeneration process;
- elimination of uncomfortable 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 correctly, cleanse and heal the body. They become one of the preventive measures to reduce the risk of complications from varicose conditions if the disease is in the 1st 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 limbs if you follow the rules for visiting them.
They are as follows:
- take water procedures on an empty stomach;
- you need to refuse to go to the bath if the disease worsens;
- care must be taken that the vessels are not compressed - in the bath you can stand or lie down, but in no case sit cross-legged;
- a beneficial effect on the state 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 complete the trip to the bath, a bath with cold water and rest in a supine position is necessary.
With varicose veins, the legs must be washed by the evaporation method. It consists of rubbing them with a damp cloth. After that, you need to go to a dry room and wait until the water evaporates. This procedure helps to get rid of swelling and heaviness in the legs. Thanks to this, the risk of recurrence of exacerbations of varicose veins is reduced.
It is forbidden to go to the bathhouse 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. Just follow the rules, thanks to which it is possible to prevent damage to vessels caused by high temperatures.
To reverse the habit of steaming 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 vessels to adapt to high temperature;
- it is possible to use a broom, peeling and other procedures aimed at healing in areas where varicose veins do not have a pronounced manifestation;
- a trip to the bath does not imply more than 5 trips to the Turkish bath, in the case of more pronounced symptoms of varicose veins, they should be reduced to 3;
- visiting the sauna, you need to monitor how the legs are located - they should be at the same level with the body.
High temperatures can cause discomfort in the legs where the signs of varicose veins are most pronounced. To get rid of such a manifestation, it is worth covering the affected areas with a damp cloth.
The benefits and harms of the sauna for varicose veins
When visiting a sauna with varicose veins, you must weigh the possible risks. This procedure can affect both negatively and positively. Among the beneficial effects of visiting the sauna, an increase in vascular tone, stimulation of blood flow to tissues and the elimination of tiredness and heaviness in the legs can be noted. 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 blood vessels, blood stagnation and possible progression of the disease. The mechanism of formation of complications begins with excessive blood flow to tissues.
With a hereditary predisposition to varicose veins, but in the absence of symptoms, a trip to the bath will be an excellent prevention.
Due to the disease, the vessels do not tolerate a large load. Blood stagnates in them and blood clots form. Therefore, before deciding to go to the sauna, you should consult with your doctor.
The benefits and harms of a contrast shower
A contrast shower is used as a prevention of 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 carried out regularly;
- you need to monitor the choice of water temperature regime - it should be average, not leading to hypothermia or overheating;
- you must 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 to 5 minutes;
- every 10 seconds you need to change the water temperature;
- you cannot hold the stream of water in one place for more than 2 seconds, you need to move it from the lower back to the legs.
In the early stages of the disease, a contrast shower should be approached with caution. Sudden temperature changes can lead to the onset of pain.
Prolonged exposure to heat will lead to varicose veins.
Blood in them can flow very quickly and unevenly. As a result, edema is formed. So, 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 are pronounced varicose veins, it is strictly forbidden to resort to heat stress. This also applies to steaming your legs, hot baths. The negative impact of thermal procedures is associated with dry air in saunas.
It leads to a deterioration in the structure of blood vessels, to their fragility. Due to high temperatures, the area affected by varicose veins increases. Vessels are unable to ensure normal blood flow due to increased volume of blood circulation.
If, after consulting, the doctor prescribed a trip to the baths and a contrast shower as an addition to the main methods of treating varicose veins at the initial stage, then you should follow the rules for procedures. Only in this case will they benefit.