Varicose veins and smoking: are the consequences of the habit so terrible

2023 Author: Alfred Shackley | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 13:14

Men are extremely skeptical about the ban on smoking as one of the causes of varicose veins, while appealing to the fact that women (among whom there are more nonsmokers) this disease occurs 3-4 times more often.

It is possible that smoking is not a direct cause of the development of varicose veins. As a rule, it ranks 10th among all possible negative factors that affect varicose veins.

However, this addiction aggravates an already acquired disease and contributes to multiple complications associated with impaired blood flow. Of course, this primarily applies to heavy smokers.

When a smoker with the first signs of varicose veins seeks a doctor, the recommendation to quit smoking often remains a recommendation.

The postulate that smoking is harmful has already become so commonplace that everyone hears it, knows it, but does not take it seriously.

It is, of course, difficult to argue with statistics. But there are suspicions that the number of men suffering from varicose veins to varying degrees is much greater than medical practice claims. This is explained by the fact that they rarely go to the doctor with this problem or do it when varicose veins have already gone too far.

So, for example, those 7% of the male population in whom varicocele, which struck the veins in the spermatic cord, was recognized by chance, during a routine examination or during an extended examination for infertility. But this was caused by a malfunction of the venous valves, which might not have been if it were not for active smoking.

All according to the same statistics, male varicose veins have a more complex form, and, therefore, the treatment is longer. One of the reasons affecting varicose veins is called late referral to a specialist, and the second is just smoking, which accelerates the process of transition of the disease into a complicated form. Consider how varicose veins and smoking are combined.

How does smoking habit affect varicose veins?

Indeed, there are no serious, convincing data indicating the appearance of varicose veins due to smoking. However, there is evidence that an excess of nicotine really affects the processes of early thrombus formation.

What is the relationship here? The fact is that during smoking, the vessels narrow, while their walls become more permeable due to thinning and fragility. While a person smokes, the capacity of the circulatory system is reduced and blood can flow through the venous valves without effort, despite the fact that the veins are narrowed. But at the same time, the heart works at its maximum. In a heavy smoker, it commits 20 thousand more strokes than a non-smoker.

As soon as nicotine has ceased to enter the body, the veins expand. But the already affected valves are unable to pass such a powerful flow of blood through themselves, and it begins to accumulate in the area of the valves. Just one cigarette can cause the entire vascular system to malfunction for at least 20 minutes. And if you imagine a person who smokes a pack of one and a half a day, then his vessels are constantly subject to narrowing and expansion.

They simply do not have time to recover, they become fragile and brittle. Thus, in places where blood clots accumulate outside, certain tubercles begin to appear - the first signs of varicose veins. Even if they are not yet noticeable, an experienced doctor will be able to grope for the lesion.

It is known that the strongest poison - nicotine affects primarily the arteries. And no matter what kind of cigarettes the smoker prefers, light or stronger, this poisonous stream of substances constantly circulates inside, doing its destructive thing for blood vessels. This does not require any special evidence, it is enough just to look at the appearance of heavy smokers.

They usually have a yellowish-gray skin color, dry, brittle hair. This indicates insufficient tissue nutrition. Until some time, the body tries to fight tobacco poisons, compensating with all its might with a flow of healthy, oxygen-rich blood. However, the forces of the human body are not unlimited.

Varicose veins and nicotine are incompatible in any case, be it smoking cigarettes, cigars, chewing or sniffing tobacco. The main thing is that nicotine still gets into the bloodstream, eventually making the whole body dependent on this habit. And veins are no exception. After all, smoking affects primarily the intima - the inner layer of the venous canal, the building material of which is endothelial cells.

And they, in turn, are part of the endocrine system and supply the body with many vital substances:

• Nitric oxide;
• endothelin-1;
• endothelin-2 and others.

Research has shown the complexity of the chemical composition of cigarette smoke. In fact, it consists not only of nicotine and tar, but also about 4 thousand different harmful components.

It is simply impossible to know absolutely everything, but among them there are:

• hydrogen cyanide;
• carbon monoxide;
• nitrogen;
• carbon monoxide;
• many radioactive components: polonium 210, radium 226 and 228, thorium 228, etc.

Together, they all lead, sooner or later, to damage to the arteries and veins in the form of plaque formation. And this applies not only to the lower extremities, because the circulatory system permeated the entire body. This means that a failure can occur in any area, be it the respiratory system, the brain, the abdominal organs or the cardiovascular system.

This is due to the fact that the toxic substances of cigarette smoke come into conflict with platelets and impair their flow properties.

As a result, sooner or later such complications are inevitable:

• heart attack or stroke;
• arterial hypertension;
• atherosclerosis;
• pulmonary embolism (PE);
• aortic aneurysm (regardless of its location).

Which leads to an increase in the effect of nicotine

At first, the constantly freezing arms and legs testify to the beginning of the violation of blood flow, the expansion of the veins. But if the hands are more often involved in any motor process, then the blood flow in them is somewhat better. That is why the lower extremities suffer from varicose veins in the first place.

Not only veins, but also capillaries are susceptible to the harmful effects of nicotine, therefore, among women who smoke, there are a lot of those who also have a small vascular network on their face, called rosacea. It is known that this problem is also akin to varicose veins and does not add to the beauty of a lovely lady. Unfortunately, this flaw is very difficult to hide under foundation. In hot weather, redness will appear through the foundation, and in frost, delicate patterns become suspiciously blue.

Studies in recent years have confirmed that smoking has a detrimental effect on blood vessels if it is also combined with the use of hormonal contraceptives. Alas, this is fraught with negative consequences for women too. Such a duet definitely leads to the formation of blood clots.

How quickly the pathology begins to manifest itself depends on heredity, general health and lifestyle. Not wanting to change their habit, some cigarette lovers found it possible to switch to the electronic version. However, experts question the liquids that fill the electronic invention.

To smoke or not to smoke?

Everyone decides for himself how important vascular health is to him.

Someone quickly makes the decision to part with the addiction, while the other, even knowing about the terrible consequences of smoking, will not strain himself to give it up.

However, medical statistics claim that the harm from smoking is incomparable with anything, and every year the number of vascular diseases grows significantly among people under 35 years of age. The arguments that our grandfathers and great-grandfathers smoked makhorka all their lives and did not get sick with anything like that do not work today, because the ecological situation on the globe was different and the immunity of our ancestors was much higher.

Today, however, the benefits of civilization continue to aggravate the already unhappy picture of the nation's health. The same modern technologies offer many means of fighting smoking: hypnosis, self-hypnosis, special nicotine patches, coding.

But without the desire of the person himself, all these methods are powerless. By answering yourself frankly to a few questions, you can assign yourself to a certain risk group and assume what this may lead to. For example, someone who smokes 6 cigarettes a day, even if he is about 30 years old, risks getting varicose veins, thrombophlebitis or obliterating endarteritis soon.

If you continue to smoke the same amount at the age of 40, then ischemia and heart attack will be added to all of the above.