Obliterating endarteritis/Buerger’s disease: Pathology Nature, Symptoms and Treatment
Obliterating endarteritis is an infrequently met condition affecting the extremities arteries and veins. With the pathology, vessels inflammation and swelling occur; they can be blocked by blood clots. Pathology harms or breaks the skin tissues and provokes infection’s development. Disease affects arms and legs areas if left untreated.
Causes of obliterating endarteritis occurrence and development
Preferably, patients suffering from Buerger’s disease smoke cigarettes or chew tobacco. Quitting tobacco products contributes to stopping disease development. Anyone continuing to smoke can suffer from a dangerous pathology stage, threatening with complete or partial limb amputation. Other reasons may be as follows.
- Chronic exposure to and poisoning with certain substances, f. e., lead, causing spasms.
- Excessive cold affection – frostbite.
- Chronic neuritis.
- Limbs harm.
- Infections, in particular, typhoid fever, syphilis and others.
Negative factors.
- Tobacco use. Smoking greatly increases Buerger’s diseases risk. People using large tobacco doses per day are most susceptible to pathology.
- Chronic gum illness – infection developing in gums for a long time.
- Gender – pathologies are more frequently diagnosed in males.
- Age – initially pathology manifests itself under 45 years-old.
Obliterating endarteritis symptoms
- Limbs tingling or numbness.
- Paleness, redness, or blue spots on limbs.
- Variable pain in the feet or in hands. Ache increases with movement and calms down in calm position.
- Inflammation along a vein affected by thrombus.
- Fingers become pale in cold temperatures.
- Painful ulcers on the fingers.
Obliterating endarteritis diagnosis and treatment
Diagnosis is based on preliminary determination of characteristic physical features and marks. Specialist may need the following:
- angiography or other non-invasive tests methods – dye introduced into the vessels shows their condition on X-ray;
- external examination when exposed to cold vessels;
- ultrasound diagnostics.
Timely Buerger’s disease treatment helps alleviating general organism condition and getting away from surgical intervention. Considering obliterating endarteritis severity, clinical therapy methods may include various techniques. Obliterating endarteritis treatment is determined in complex, combining different options.
- Non-surgical intervention – lifestyle changes, proper nutrition, drug treatment and physiotherapy. It’s important to stop smoking, make up your diet from healthy foods, etc. If a person doesn’t stop consuming tobacco, Buerger’s disease treatment won’t work. Treatment goal is infection prevention in other artery parts. Specialists prescribe vasodilators – drugs for reducing blood viscosity and improving ischemic tissue condition; doctors can prescribe analgesics for pain elimination.
- Vascular surgery. If the above mentioned methods don’t help, surgery is mandatory. Operation is necessary in serious cases of pathology development. In particular, surgery reduces tissue ischemia.
