Buerger’s disease could cause pain within the extremities. Today we are going to share the causes, symptoms and treatment of Buerger’s disease.
Buerger’s disease is a rare disease, also called thromboangiitis obliterans. It causes inflammation in certain blood vessels, similar to medium and small arteries and veins. That’s why it is vital to study possible treatments for Buerger’s disease.
In the overwhelming majority of cases, people affected by this disease are smokers. And while we do not know much about its immediate cause, it’s more common in certain geographic areas. For example, we see it more often in Mediterranean and Southeast Asian countries.
The problem is that Buerger’s disease can have very serious consequences. One of them is the necessity to amputate the limb. In today’s article, we are going to talk concerning the causes, symptoms and treatment of Buerger’s disease.
What is Buerger’s disease?
Buerger’s disease is a condition that affects the blood vessels. This can also be called thromboangiitis obliterans. This is since it causes inflammation within the blood vessels. Then they grow to be clogged on account of blood clots.
According to study from Actas Dermo-Sifiliográfiicamost individuals with the condition are young men who smoke. This appears to be the results of an autoimmune mechanism triggered by tobacco.
Although it’s a rare disease, we have now seen that the majority cases occur in Mediterranean or Asian countries. When blood vessels are blocked, tissues stop receiving oxygenated blood.
Therefore, this condition damages tissues and causes necrosis. Usually, this disease affects your hands and feet essentially the most. However, because the disease progresses, it might spread to the legs and arms as well. When your tissues die, you’re at high risk of amputation.
Symptoms of Buerger’s disease
The symptoms related to this disease are the results of damage to the blood vessels. Because it damages each medium and small veins and arteries, problems with the limbs often come first.
Specialists from the Mayo Clinic explain that certainly one of these symptoms is claudication. It causes pain within the feet, hands, arms or legs that happens after using these limbs for a while. For example, you regularly feel whenever you walk. Normally, the feeling subsides at rest.
Then the dearth of blood supply finally ends up damaging the skin. In addition, ulcerations or necrotic areas may appear. It can be attributable to a chilly or stress, along with smoking.
Another common symptom is Raynaud’s phenomenon. In this condition, your fingers and toes turn pale as certain triggers interrupt blood flow. The most superficial veins will suffer from episodes of inflammation, which known as superficial thrombophlebitis.
Tobacco: the major explanation for this disease
Buerger’s disease, as we have now already explained, is related to tobacco use. Smoking or chewing could cause it, but we do not know the precise cause. This appears to be a response of the immune system to the tobacco itself.
Spanish Academy of Dermatology and Venereology conducted a study that explains how there could also be a certain genetic predisposition to the condition. This would explain why only a small percentage of smokers develop the disease.
This theory can also be supported by the undeniable fact that we see a better incidence of this disease in some countries (Asia and the Mediterranean region). Buerger’s disease is more common in individuals with the HLA-A9 haplotype.
Risk aspects
Therefore, as you may have seen, crucial risk factor is tobacco. And you haven’t got to smoke it. Also, the more you eat, the more likely you’re to develop this condition.
Gender can also play a task because it is more common in men than in women. However, it may be because, until recently, men smoked greater than women. Most cases of this disease are seen in young people under 45 years of age.
Diagnosis of Buerger’s disease
According to study published in Integral MedicineThe diagnosis of Buerger’s disease is clinical. If a young patient begins to experience the above-mentioned symptoms and is a smoker with no other risk aspects, she or he should see a health care provider.
In addition, it’s important to rule out other autoimmune diseases or the potential of having a stroke. Some tests possibly help confirm this diagnosis, and a blood test is the first test. This blood test can assist rule out other conditions, similar to scleroderma or bleeding disorders.
Another useful test is angiography. It lets you check the condition of veins and arteries, in the event that they can have been damaged. In addition, Allen’s test allows the doctor to look at arterial blood flow within the hand.
Treatment of Buerger’s disease
Since we do not know the precise explanation for this disease, experts have also been unable to find out the best treatment for Buerger’s disease. The only thing we all know of course is that quitting smoking is important.
In addition, the doctor often prescribes anticoagulant treatment. For example, they may give the patient aspirin, heparin and acenocoumarol. The latter two are frequently prescribed when there’s a venous or arterial thrombosis.
Also, calcium antagonist medications may help, and a few doctors may recommend a sympathectomy. This surgery involves eliminating certain nerves from the sympathetic nervous system to avoid vasoconstriction.
However, if the disease has affected the patient’s blood flow for a very long time and the tissues are damaged, amputation shall be needed. The doctor may have to remove a single finger or the whole hand or foot.
Possible complications
One of essentially the most serious complications of this disease, as you simply read, is amputation. This is frequently needed when the tissues within the hands or feet die and gangrene sets in.
Gangrene occurs when one tissue dies on account of lack of blood supply or on account of a severe bacterial infection. Symptoms often include black or bluish skin, an unpleasant odor, and lack of sensation.
Amputation is needed since the infection can spread to the remaining of the body if the doctor doesn’t amputate. Then, depending on which a part of the body was amputated, the functionality and independence of the patient shall be affected.
Application
The truth is that scientists still have no idea the precise trigger of this disease. However, they do know that certainly one of the major triggers is tobacco. Do you smoke or do you chew tobacco is the largest risk factor.
In addition, tobacco is harmful to many other facets of health. It could cause many cancers, similar to lung or lip cancer. That’s why it is so vital to avoid smoking or quit smoking as soon as possible.
It is frequently very difficult to quit smoking if you may have been smoking tobacco for years. However, today there are numerous methods and ways that may aid you take this step. For example, you may take medication and profit from psychological therapy. In addition, you may at all times ask your doctor for help.
