Causes of development, symptoms and treatment methods for varicocele

Is it possible to treat varicocele without surgery?

By searching for “varicocele medication treatment” you will find many options for getting rid of this disease using conservative methods. However, their use can only be effective in the first two stages. In this case, drug therapy must be combined with:

• Giving up bad habits.
• Moderate physical activity, avoiding carrying heavy objects.
• A special diet excluding smoked, salted, fried and fatty foods.

If stage 1 or 2 varicocele is diagnosed in adolescence, then you can do without surgery using only medications, lifestyle and nutrition changes. Tablets for varicocele in men help to restrain further expansion of veins. The same rules apply to elderly patients - they can also do without surgery.

How to cure varicocele without surgery? To do this, you can use traditional medicine - infusions, decoctions, compresses. The basic rule is the absence of individual intolerance to the components. You can resort to homeopathic remedies that improve the condition of blood vessels, blood flow, and increase immunity.

How to treat varicocele without surgery using tablets? In this case, drugs are prescribed only by a doctor. However, for varicocele in men, conservative treatment is effective only under certain conditions. In most cases, surgery is necessary; without it, full recovery is impossible.

Symptoms

The initial form is asymptomatic and is discovered mainly by chance during examination by a urologist.

The second stage begins to manifest itself with minor pain that goes away in a lying position, discomfort and an increase in the size of the scrotum. Increased sweating and a burning sensation in the scrotum area are increasingly observed, and problems arise during sexual intercourse.

With varicocele of the third stage, the pain is constant and does not depend on the position of the body and the physical activity performed. Significant asymmetry upon visual inspection, swollen dilated veins form a blue cluster. Poor circulation and increased temperature inside the testicle lead to changes in the structure of sperm and their motility. This leads to infertility.

Only surgical intervention is indicated, especially if the man is of childbearing age. If the disease is advanced, the processes may become irreversible, the veins can be removed, but reproductive function cannot always be restored. Only a timely visit to a urologist in St. Petersburg gives effective results.

When is conservative treatment ineffective?

Surgery is the main method of treating varicocele. It is this that will help get rid of varicose veins and return a man to a normal lifestyle. The operation is necessary in the following cases:

• If there is pain in the testicular area.
• If the testicle has decreased in size.
• In the presence of pathological changes in sperm.

Conservative treatment will only help improve blood flow and reduce inflammation in the first stage of development. But surgery will still be required.

At the moment, several types of operations are offered. Microsurgical is considered the most effective - after such an intervention, the rehabilitation period is significantly reduced. However, only a doctor can choose the most optimal option. The following factors are taken into account:

• General health of the patient.
• Age.
• Stage of development of the disease.
• Features of the body's vascular system.

The operation allows you to restore normal blood flow in the testicles and restore spermatogenesis. As a result, discomfort and pain disappear, and the man can lead a normal sex life. However, after the operation there will also be a period of rehabilitation, during which you must follow the recommendations of your attending physician.

Classification

There are primary and idiopathic varicoceles, caused by damage to the venous system; in the supine position, the veins collapse and return to normal. Symptomatic varicocele, or secondary, is provoked by kidney disease and compression of the inferior vena cava due to neoplasms. It may not cause pain; the shape and size of the veins do not decrease when lying down. Depending on the location, there are left-sided, right-sided or bilateral varicoceles. Due to anatomical features, the left testicle is most often affected; right-sided and bilateral ones are less common.

Depending on the degree of damage to the veins, three stages of varicocele are distinguished:

• The first is determined only by palpation at the moment of tension of the abdominal muscles in a standing position.
• The second is that the expansion of the veins is well determined visually, while the testicles retain normal size and consistency.
• The third - cluster-shaped swollen veins in the pampiniform plexus are visible visually, are clearly visible in the photo, and are characterized by a decrease in the size of the testicles and their density.

Varicocele, unfortunately, is not a cosmetic defect, but a threat to become infertile. The dilated veins create an enlarged layer around the testicle, the temperature increases, and the number and mobility of produced sperm decreases. This can happen at any stage of the disease.

Ointments

For varicocele, ointments prepared according to folk recipes are effective. They are based on herbs with anti-inflammatory, capillary-protective effects.

St. John's wort

To prevent blood stagnation in the testicles, an ointment with St. John's wort is used:

• 4 cups of fresh herbs are passed through a meat grinder;
• juice is squeezed through gauze;
• boil in a water bath for 15 minutes;
• mix with 200 ml of melted butter;
• Place the mixed mass in the refrigerator for half an hour.

When treating varicose veins of the scrotum, the ointment is used 4-5 times a day. The therapeutic course takes 6 weeks.

Sagebrush

Folk recipes with wormwood herb are effective in combating the expansion of superficial blood vessels. To get rid of the symptoms of varicocele, use the following ointment:

• dry the grass in the sun;
• grind to powder;
• mix with vegetable oil in a ratio of 1:4;
• leave in a glass container for 2 days.

Apply ointment to the affected area 4-6 times a day. The course of treatment ranges from 2 to 8 weeks.

Why is Varicocele dangerous?

The blood supply and, accordingly, the nutrition of the testicle are disrupted. Edema of the organ develops, its ischemia followed by atrophy. As a result, specific functions of the testicle suffer: the formation of sperm (spermatogenesis) and the production of male sex hormones (androgens). Long-term lack of treatment for varicocele is a serious risk factor for the development of infertility. In addition, in recent years, articles have appeared indicating an increased risk of “early male menopause” in mature men suffering from varicocele.

Prevention

Any disease is easier to prevent than to treat. Simple physical exercises aimed at improving blood circulation and relieving congestion in the pelvic organs, avoiding heavy physical activity, and regular sexual relations can stop the development of the disease. Normalization of stool, avoidance of alcoholic beverages, and consumption of fortified foods or vitamin preparations prevent the appearance of varicocele.

A healthy lifestyle and good nutrition help get rid of many problems, including preventing varicocele.

Sitz baths

As part of the traditional treatment of varicose veins of the pelvic veins, belt or sitz baths are used. They stimulate blood circulation in the testicles and prevent blood clots.

Angelica

The medicinal angelica (angelica) has antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory and venotonic activity. To treat varicocele, a herbal decoction is used:

• 200 g of raw materials are boiled in 2 liters of water for 5 minutes;
• the filtered broth is poured into the bath;
• mix with warm water (45-50°C);
• The bath is taken daily for 25-30 minutes for 2 weeks.

Before using traditional methods of treatment, consult your doctor. Baths are contraindicated for bacterial proctitis and hemorrhoids.

Willow

In folk therapy, baths with white willow bark are considered especially useful:

• 5 tbsp. l. boil the crushed bark in 3 liters of water for 10 minutes;
• the cooled broth is mixed with warm water;
• The bath is taken for 15-20 minutes once a day.

The duration of treatment depends on the severity of varicocele symptoms. In 2/3 of patients, the heaviness in the scrotum goes away after 4-5 procedures.

Calendula

Calendula leaves and flowers have vascular strengthening, anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties. They are used to treat varicocele for any degree of varicose veins.

Traditional recipe with calendula:

• a glass of leaves and flowers of the plant is soaked in 1 bucket of hot water for half an hour;
• the strained infusion is heated to 50°C;
• poured into the bath.

The course of treatment is 2-4 weeks. Belt baths are taken for 15-20 minutes once a day.

Why does varicocele occur?

• Genetic predisposition to varicose veins - congenital weakness of the vascular wall - is a disease factor almost independent of a person’s lifestyle. It is worth paying attention if relatives had phimosis, flat feet, heart defects, manifestations of connective tissue insufficiency, or varicose veins of the extremities.
• Anatomical features of the body: when the left testicular vein flows into the left renal vein at an angle of 90° or when the left testicular vein is longer than the right one.
• Constant heavy physical activity, puberty and excessive sexual activity affect intra-abdominal pressure and increase blood flow in the scrotum. There is a difficulty in the outflow of venous blood from the spermatic cord and the veins expand, not allowing blood to pass through properly. Blood flow becomes retrograde (from the renal vein to the testicular vein).
• Hormonal imbalance that occurs against the background of testosterone surges.
• Tumors in the abdominal cavity, kidney diseases.
• Scrotal injuries.
• Long bike rides, long periods of standing.

Aromatherapy

Treatment with aromas is one of the components of traditional medicine, which uses the therapeutic properties of essential oil plants. Essential oils of medicinal herbs contain about 200 bioactive substances that affect the condition of the skin and superficial blood vessels. Essential oils are especially useful in folk treatment:

• sandalwood;
• juniper;
• sage;
• tea tree;
• marjoram;
• peppermint;
• lemongrass;
• lemon balm.

For varicocele, massage with essential oils is recommended. They are added to massage oil in a ratio of 1:10. The finished product is rubbed into the groin area and scrotum. The procedure is performed daily half an hour before bedtime.

In case of severe asymmetry of the scrotum and grade 3 varicose veins, massage is used only on the recommendation of a doctor.

Complications

The most important complication of varicose veins in the spermatic cord is infertility. It occurs against the background of impaired thermoregulation of the testicles, which leads to the cessation of sperm production.

Other dangerous consequences of varicicole are:

• heart valve malfunction;
• phimosis or flat feet.

When to see a doctor

Often varicose veins are one of the signs of the presence of malignant tumors. That is why it is not recommended to postpone visiting a doctor for a preventive examination when symptoms of the disease appear.

The slightest signs of pathology of the veins of the spermatic cord should be a reason for an unscheduled visit to the doctor. It is recommended to visit a urologist or phlebologist for varicicol.

JSC “Medicine” (academician Roitberg’s clinic) employs doctors from 66 specialties, trained at the highest level. You can make an appointment and choose a doctor on the website, by phone or from the administrators at the clinic at the address: Moscow, 2nd Tverskoy-Yamskaya Lane, 10, in the immediate vicinity are the Novoslobodskaya, Belorusskaya, Chekhovskaya, Tverskaya metro stations.

Is it possible to treat varicocele at home?

In the first and second stages, varicocele can be treated with traditional methods. You need to take the process responsibly in order to prevent the development and transition of the disease to stages 3-4. In such a condition, surgical intervention is required.

Annual preventative examinations should not be neglected. The doctor will detect the disease before its symptoms begin to cause trouble.

Diagnostics

Modern equipment makes it possible to detect the disease even at the zero stage, when nothing is felt externally or upon palpation. Ultrasound of the scrotum and Dopplerography of blood vessels are necessary when the veins are not visually dilated and it is difficult to make a diagnosis using palpation. At the second and third stages of the disease, the doctor can make a diagnosis based on an external examination; additional examination is prescribed as necessary.

In any case, it is necessary to conduct a study of sperm quality. The spermogram is done twice, with a break of several days; before taking it, you must abstain from sexual intercourse for two to seven days.