Gangrene legs - symptoms, development and treatment of the disease

The fact that the gangrene of the legs remains the most likely option for the development of this life-threatening complication of many diseases is clear to no one.

The development of gangrene of this localization is explained by the fact that these parts of the body are blood supplying the worst - only one or two main arterial vessels go to the extremities, therefore the possibility of developing collateral blood flow is limited. Thrombosis, embolism, and combinations of these conditions can develop in large arterial trunks almost simultaneously, so the possibility of a full-fledged spontaneous recovery of blood flow is minimal, and necrotic process( gangrene of the extremities) gets the possibility of progression, but the rate of onset of blood flow disorders explains the likelihood of developing dry and moist gangrene.

How the gangrene develops

The starting point for the onset of the pathological process in the peripheral tissues of the limb is a significant restriction or complete cessation of an adequate influx of arterial blood and oxygen supply. That is why when answering the question - how gangrene starts it is possible to distinguish:

• the stage of disturbance of blood flow of a reversible character, in the event of its elimination, the state of tissues can be restored;
• stage of irreversible changes, after which even adequate and complete restoration of blood flow will not only not reduce the manifestations of the disease, but will also burden the patient's condition due to the active entry into the blood of decay products of tissues and toxins.

If there is gangrene of the legs - the initial stage of the disease manifests itself with pain, whereas color changes and innervation disorders appear somewhat later, and their severity will depend on the type of circulatory disturbance. With dry gangrene, the color of the affected tissues very quickly becomes black and dehydration arises in them. For the patient, this variant of the development of events is more predictable, because the organism forms a demarcation line between non-viable and healthy tissues, and minimal toxins enter the systemic bloodstream.

Wet gangrene of the toes or foot occurs when the blood flow is limited, but does not stop completely, and by retaining residual blood flow, the decay products enter the systemic circulation. With the development of moist gangrene, venous outflow is often hampered, due to which the swelling of the affected tissues arises and they become bluish purple, and the opening wounds begin to produce an unpleasant odor.

Signs and symptoms of the disease

Answering the question - what gangrene looks like, physicians indicate that the affected tissues differ from healthy ones visually( the color changes, their volume increases or decreases), there are disturbances of innervation, but the first sign of the disease becomes. The pain with gangrene is so severe and painful that the patient rushes, trying to find relief of his condition, but this does not happen - the intensity of pain sensations only increases and the pain will persist until the complete necrosis of nerve fibers in the affected part of the lower limb.

Change in color of the affected area is typical for any type of gangrene - with a primary impairment of blood circulation, whitening occurs due to insufficient inflow of arterial blood. Then, depending on the situation, there is either a clear delineation of healthy and damaged tissues( mummification of the affected tissue) and a classic dry gangrene of the legs is formed, with the development of which the tissues turn black and diminish in volume, or, if infection occurs, bacterial inflammation and moist gangrene form.

In this case, in the condition of insufficient circulation, the affected area of ​​the limb and all of its tissues become an ideal breeding ground for microorganisms, and a large number of toxins( bacterial and tissue) enter the systemic bloodstream, which explains the rapid development of common manifestations of the disease. In the case when there is a moist gangrene of the legs, the pathological process is able to spread to the limb sites located above the original site of circulatory disturbance.

If any variant of the gangrene of the feet arises, one should remember that the circulatory process becomes the cause of the development of the pathological process, therefore any local treatment, including the gangrene ointment, is only its auxiliary component. Its goal is to limit the multiplication of microorganisms in the affected segment of the limb, but effective such therapy will only be when in gangrene the treatment is directed to the restoration of arterial blood flow, reduction of intoxication phenomena, systemic suppression of infection in the wound.

For dressings with gangrene, any ointments containing antiseptic( anti-infectious agents) can be used, whereas ointments with antibiotics do not have any therapeutic effect, because they do not influence the cause of the pathological process. In addition, adequate anesthesia is important, because severe pain becomes an additional stress factor that worsens blood circulation in tissues, systemic detoxification therapy, maintenance of the vital vital functions of the body and the state of its organs and systems.