Mr. Li is 60 years old this year. He is usually in good health. After retiring, he often walks with his wife and occasionally climbs mountains. But since the winter of last year, he has found that he can walk normally. One kilometer, and now I walk two or three hundred meters, I will feel numbness in my calf, sometimes soreness, and pain. My family says, “It’s not a problem to catch a cold and cramp, just wear thicker clothes.” But in the spring of this year, the weather is getting warmer, and the thick clothes on his legs still can’t be taken off. Only then did he think that this may not be a problem that can be solved by keeping warm. After a hospital examination, it was found that Mr. Li had “lower extremity arteriosclerosis obliterans”. Next, the popular science team of Peking Union Medical College Hospital’s Blessing Vascular Health and Vascular Tree of Life will tell you how to “predict the disease” by “seeing, touching, and touching”.
What are the obvious signs of lower extremity arteriosclerosis obliterans?
In our body, the continuous flow of blood supports our life and health. Blood vessels are like water pipes, responsible for transporting blood to various organs and parts of the body. If the blood vessels are blocked, There will be ischemia in the corresponding part. Therefore, if the arteries of the lower extremities are blocked, the legs or feet will have symptoms such as lack of strength, cold, numbness, pain in the legs and feet.
If left untreated, symptoms continue to worsen at night, often referred to as “rest pain”. At this time, the pain can seriously affect a person’s sleep. If the condition drags on for a longer time, the toes may become bruised, the skin becomes black and necrotic. At this time, the necrosis of the feet is irreversible damage.
Therefore, be sure to seek medical attention as soon as possible and receive timely treatment. Common treatment methods include drug therapy for dredging blood vessels, endovascular stent therapy, and vascular bypass surgery.
What are the key points to grasp at “one look, two touches, three touches”?
Do good foot care at home, “one look, two touches, three touches” can “predict” the disease:
Look at: Look at the skin color of the feet, whether it is ruddy (normal), pale (indicating poor blood circulation), bruised or black (indicating that it may have been ischemia).
Two touches: Touch the skin of the legs or feet, whether it is warm (good blood circulation) or cool (poor blood circulation).
Three touches: Touch the foot artery and posterior tibial artery pulse, the arterial pulse is palpable, and the blood supply is good; the arterial pulse is not palpable, indicating poor blood supply.
Do good skin care, pay attention to keeping the lower limbs warm, and avoid skin damage and injury. Otherwise, poor blood supply will slow down wound healing and easily induce infection.
Exercise: Adhere to a proper daily walk, which can increase the establishment of vascular collateral circulation and promote blood flow to the lower extremities.
Diet: A reasonable diet, usually low-salt and low-fat, can improve the condition of blood vessels.
Living habits: Because nicotine in cigarettes can cause vasospasm, increase blood viscosity, and cause ischemic necrosis due to blood circulation disorders, smoking cessation can improve vascular conditions.
Vascular health
Vascular Tree of Life Science Team
Protect the health of blood vessels, you and I are in action. From the perspectives of patients, family members, medical workers, etc., the popular science team of Blessing Vascular Health and Vascular Tree of Life integrates whimsical stories with abstract and complex knowledge of vascular surgery in a vivid, interesting, entertaining and entertaining way Introduce the popular science knowledge of vascular diseases in the form of , let us protect blood vessels together.
Text / Guo Minghua, Wang Lei
Picture/From the Internet
Editor/Wang Jingxia
Chief Editor/Chen Mingyan
Producer/Wu Peixin