Self-treatment in chronic venous disorders

Chronic Venous Disorders (CVD) present a serious and increasing epidemiological problem. In Poland CVD affects about 50% of women and 40% of men. CVD therapy covers conservative treatment including: lifestyle changes, compression therapy, pharmacotherapy and surgery. Changes of body position during rest and sleep, physical activity and physiotherapy are parts of lifestyle changes. Compression therapy is the most effective and at the same time very rarely used method of CVD self-treatment. It is also the method patients often don't accept even after precise instructions carried out by the physician. A more preferred method of treatment than compression therapy is pharmacotherapy. Drugs used in CVD treatment are Over The Counter (OTC) medicines. The effectiveness of self-treatment increases when the patient is properly instructed on the methods, frequency and duration of use self-treatment by the physician. Education of patients with family history of the disease and in the early CVD stage may delay its progression and decrease the number of patients with advanced stages.