Top Health Tips on Managing Peripheral Vascular Disease

Avascular necrosis is localised death of the bone. Necrosis can occur due to traumatic injury, side effects of drugs or disease. The dead areas of the bone do not function normally, they weaken and they can collapse. Avascular necrosis eventually leads to the joints attached to the dead bone deteriorating. Avascular necrosis can occur in the knees, shoulder, waist and ankles, but the hip joint is the most commonly affected.

Causes of Avascular Necrosis

1. Traumatic injury to the affected bone, like fractures and dislocation, is a common cause
2. Use of steroid medication
3. Excessive alcohol consumption and smoking
4. Radiation and chemotherapy treatments can lead to avascular necrosis
5. Patients with underlying diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, diabetes mellitus, vasculitis, and inflammatory bowel disease are at risk
6. Patients with blood and bone marrow diseases such as sickle cell disease, leukaemia, Gaucher's disease or thalassemia are also at risk

Symptoms of Avascular Necrosis

1. Necrosis can begin with no pain in the abnormal bone
2. But with time and use, the pain develops
3. When the hip is affected, pain in the groin is common, especially when walking
4. The ball of the hip collapses as necrosis progress which leads to pain whenever the hip is rotated or is to bear weight while walking

Many people know that smoking causes several problems including cancer, heart disease, and respiratory disease. However, there are other diseases occur because of smoking and chewing tobacco. Buerger's Disease is one such disease in which the blood vessels in legs and arms get blocked. This blockage will interfere in blood flow and results in forming blood clots. These clots will affect both legs and
hands.
Buerger's Disease is also known as Thromboangitis Obliterans. It is a type of vasculitis which causes inflammation in the blood vessels including thickening, narrowing, weakening, or scarring.
Buerger's Disease cannot be cured easily. However, by quitting the use of tobacco and smoking, one can limit the symptoms from getting worse. If a person is not able to quit smoking, he/she might end up
suffering from severe tissue damage. One can also even lose toes, fingers, or other parts of the limbs. This is why quitting all type of tobacco or smoking is the only way to treat Buerger's Disease.

What Causes Buerger's Disease?
As discussed earlier, smoking cigarettes or cigars and chewing any form of tobacco is one of the main causes of Buerger's Disease. Still, the exact cause of this disease is unknown, but in most cases of Buerger's Disease, the sufferer has consumed tobacco products. It is an assumption that chemicals present in tobacco, cigarettes, and cigars may affect the lining of blood vessels, causing them to swell. According to experts, the genes in the body may also cause this disease. It is suspected that this disease is caused by an autoimmune response in which the immune system of the body attacks healthy tissues mistakenly. According to this theory, some people are prone to this disease.

Symptoms of Buerger's Disease-
Some of the most common symptoms of Buerger's Disease are:
Pain in the hands and feet while exercising
Stiffness due to reduced blood flow
Pain at Rest
Skin ulcerations
Gangrene of the fingers and toes in severe cases
Numbness, coldness, or tingling of the feet and hand
Pale, reddish, or blue-tinted hands or feet.

Diagnosis of Buerger s Disease-
There is a set of tests that can diagnose Buerger s disease. Doctors first ask a person about his/her lifestyle, use of tobacco, and symptoms. After seeing a few symptoms, doctors may perform a test to check the blood flow. He may also look for other diseases that cause similar symptoms. Some of the common test to diagnose Buerger s Disease are:


Allen Test: The Allen test is a blood flow test. In this type of test, patients squeeze their hand into a firm fist, which pushes out blood from hand. The doctor presses the arteries to slow down the
blood flow of the hand. At this stage, the normal color of the skin gets pale. After that, patients open his/her hand and doctors release the pressure from both sides of the wrist one by one. If it takes a longer time to go back to the normal skin color, it may be an indication of Buerger s disease

Angiogram: It is a type of X-ray that will help to check the blockage of the blood vessels in the legs and arms. In this test, doctor place catheter (thin tube) into an artery to pump the dye. After
that, he takes X-ray images. Doctors may also perform tomography (CT) or MRI scan for clear results.

Blood Tests: The blood tests will help the doctor to check if there is any other disease that causes the same symptoms as most of the vascular diseases mimics the symptoms of Buerger s
Disease. The doctor may also perform tests to check for diseases like lupus, diabetes, and those that cause blood clots.

Treatment of Buerger' Disease-
Quitting smoking and use of tobacco will help a person to lower the symptoms of this disease. Doctors may also prescribe for pain killers or antibiotics to get rid of the pain in affected areas. If a person finds it difficult to quit smoking, doctors help him/her with the right program and rehabilitation techniques.

Take Away-
Buerger's Disease is one of the rare illness caused by intake of tobacco products, this is why quitting smoking is most important to treat this disease. It is also advisable to consult a doctor as soon as a person identify any of the above symptoms.