What Causes Leg Ulcers?

A leg ulcer is a condition where open wounds or sores that develop on an individual's leg that may be chronic and causes the ulcers to develop frequently. An individual affected by leg ulcers may experience symptoms such as pus in at the ulcer site, increasing wound size, enlarged veins, pain at the ulcer site, heaviness in the legs, and swelling in the legs. Medical history, physical examination, CT scan, MRI scan, vascular ultrasound, and x-rays may be used to diagnose leg ulcers. The main concern when it comes to leg ulcers is the risk of developing an infection in the wound that progresses to a life-threatening blood infection. Treatment of leg ulcers includes the use of antibiotics, compression bandages, topical ointments, orthotics or braces, circulation-improving medications, acetylsalicylic acid, diet changes, and other measures that help prevent complications.

There are numerous causes of leg ulcers. Get the details on this now.

Venous Insufficiency

An individual affected by venous insufficiency can develop leg ulcers as a complication. Chronic venous insufficiency is a condition where an individual's venous valves in the legs do not function well enough. The valves in the veins of the legs function to move blood back to the heart so it can be reoxygenated. However, chronic venous insufficiency patients tend to experience pooling of the blood in the legs because it gets backed up. When the blood pools in an individual's legs, fluid in the blood is forced into the surrounding tissues, causing edema. Edema left untreated can compress the capillaries responsible for blood delivery to the skin and its underlying fatty tissues. When these tissues become deprived of oxygen, the skin cells begin to die and form a sore or an ulcer. The ulcers caused by venous insufficiency can also be relatively painless due to the lack of nerve cell function in the affected area, which results in delayed treatment and infection of the leg ulcers.

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