Obliterating endarteritis of the lower extremities: causes, symptoms and treatment

Obliterating endarteritis of the lower extremities is a rather dangerous disease, which is manifested by inflammation of the arteries. As the disease develops, the lumen of the vessels narrows, which leads to a violation of blood flow and insufficient supply of tissues with blood, and hence oxygen and nutrients.

Obliterating endarteritis of the lower extremities: causes

According to statistics, this disease is most often diagnosed in men of mature age. Unfortunately, it was not possible to fully study the causes of inflammation development. The risk factors include smoking, alcohol abuse, persistent hypothermia of the lower extremities, as well as excessive consumption of fatty foods. In some cases, the disease develops against a background of chronic poisoning of the body with poisons and toxins. The cause may be a nervous overexertion.

As a rule, the obliterating endarteritis of the vessels of the lower limbs begins with a persistent spasm of the vascular wall, which subsequently leads to the development of an inflammatory process. There is an opinion that there is an autoimmune mechanism of the disease development, in which immune cells begin to damage healthy tissues of their own organism.

Obliterating endarteritis of the lower extremities: the main symptoms

As a rule, the disease develops gradually. First there is a heaviness in the legs, a man complains of quick fatigue. As the normal blood flow is disturbed, the skin becomes pale, dry and cool to the touch. Symptoms can also be attributed to excessive sweating of the feet.

Nevertheless, the main symptom of the disease is pain (sometimes quite strong) in the gastrocnemius muscles, which occur periodically during physical exertion, for example, during walking. In some cases, patients even complain of convulsions, which can be explained by the lack of oxygen and nutrients. Patients also talk about temporary loss of sensation, numbness of fingers.

As the inflammation progresses, non-healing ulcers may appear on the skin. Nails become brittle and deformed.

Obliterating endarteritis of the lower extremities: treatment

If you have such health problems, you should consult your doctor. The point is that the obliterating endarteritis of the lower extremities is an extremely dangerous disease. Long spasm of blood vessels and disruption of normal blood circulation lead to a gradual necrosis of the tissues, and sometimes to the development of gangrene.

Treatment depends on the stage of development of inflammation. In the early stages, conservative methods are used, which are aimed at eliminating vasospasm and normalizing blood circulation. For this purpose, anti-spasmolytic drugs, vitamins, corticosteroids, preparations that slow blood clotting are used. Some methods of physiotherapy will also be useful.

When conservative therapy is ineffective, surgical methods are used. If the damage area is small, it can be removed. In some cases, vessels are shunted and laser therapy is performed. With the development of gangrene, an amputation of the foot (foot, shin or entire limb) is indicated.