Burger's disease also called Smoker's disease, is a disease that cause blockages in the blood vessels of your feet and hands. The blood vessels become inflamed, which reduces blood flow causing formation of blood clots that further clog blood vessels. This can lead to pain, tissue damage and in severe cases tissue death (gangrene).
Causes of Burger's Disease-
The cause of Burger's disease isn't always known. Some sufferers of this condition may be genetically predisposed to developing it.
Burger's disease begins by causing the arteries to swell and blood clots to form in your blood vessels. This restricts normal blood flow and prevents blood from fully circulating through your tissues. This results in tissue death because the tissues are starved of nutrients and oxygen.
Almost everyone with Burger's Disease smokes cigarettes. However, Burger's Disease can also occur in people who use other forms of tobacco; like chewing tobacco. People who smoke one and a half pack per day or more are most likely to develops Burger's disease.
Scientists are not certain of why tobacco smoke increases the risk, but the relationship between the two is well documented. One idea is that chemicals in tobacco irritate the lining of blood vessels and cause their inflammation.
Symptoms of Burger's Disease
The initial symptoms of Burger's disease often includes Claudication (pain induced by insufficient blood flow during exercise ) in the feet and /or hands, or pain in these areas at rest. The pain typically begins in the extremities but may radiate to other (more central) parts of the body.
Other signs and symptoms of this disease may include
- Numbness and/or tingling in the limbs and
- Raynaud's phenomenon (a condition in which the distal extremities---fingers. toes. hands,feet--turn white upon exposure to cold
- Skin ulcerations and gangrene-of the digits (fingers and toes) are common in Burger's disease
- Pain may be very intense in the affected regions
- Pale, red or bluish hand/feet
- Cold hands or feet
- Pain in hands and feet or your legs and arms ( this pain comes while walking and goes when patient takes rest, patient is able to walk a certain distance after that pain arises and he/she has to take rest)
Treatment Options
Unfortunately there is not a cure for the Burger's disease. It is essential that patients with this disease stop smoking immediately and completely. This is the only treatment known to be effective in this. Patients who continue to smoke are generally the ones who require amputation of fingers and toes.
Despite the clear presence of inflammation in this disorder, anti inflammatory agents such as steroids have not been shown to be beneficial. Similarly strategies of anti-coagulation ( thinning of blood with aspirin or other agents to prevent clots) have not proven effective. The only way to prevent the progression of the disease is to abstain from all tobacco products.
However, the symptoms of this condition can be controlled through increasing your circulation, quitting use of tobacco products, avoiding cold weather, and in some cases, having the affected nerves cut. The nerves are cut to eliminate pain, and this is done through a surgical procedure (sympathectomy).
You can increase your circulation by drinking plenty of fluids and staying active.
Preventing Burger's Disease
Prevent the worsening of your symptoms by quitting smoking and staying away from secondhand smoke. If you are diagnosed with Raynaud's disease, avoid using tobacco products to decrease your risk of developing Burger's Disease.
How Ayurveda Can help these patients?
These patients can be benefited by Leech therapy or jalouka avcharana, a para surgical procedure mentioned in ayurvedic texts. Leech application on the affected part can help in improving the blood supply to that part.
The use of leeches in Ayurvedic Medicinal Practice in India is very ancient. There are records of use of leeches for blood letting in early Greek Medicine. In Europe Hirudinea medicinalis was commonly used for phlebotomy in olden times. The procedure was called as leechery.
Leech therapy has a long history. Records indicate that Egyptian used leech therapy about 3,500 years ago. Leech treatment was very popular during the middle ages.
In the 1980, medicinal leech therapy got a big boost by plastic surgeons who used leeches for venous congestion especially in transplant surgery. Detailed description on this therapy is available in Sushruta Samhita. It is used in the management of various diseases in almost all systems of body, ears, head and eyes. According to Ayurveda these diseases are caused by vitiation of three doshas.
Leech Application (Jalouka Avcharana); a type of blood letting therapy helps to eliminate vitiated dosha and toxins that accumulate in the body. Bio active substances present in Leech saliva also exerts a therapeutic effect in several ailments.
Similarly, the patients with Burger's disease get relief by leech therapy as when leech is applied on the affected part, with its bite a salivary secretion containing the anti coagulant and Histamine floods that area. the saliva also has a local vasodilator and anesthetic affect.
Here therapeutic affect is not only by suction of blood but also by secretions which the leech injects in the lesion. Leech saliva helps to establish blood flow to the body parts by means of vasodilation, produces a numbing effect by anesthetic action. These substances allow continued flow of blood normally up to 10 hours after it is detached.
Earlier research indicates that after about 3-5 days formation of small new blood vessels occur. But it is important that treatment is not terminated that soon. The bite of leech is painless.
For this patients of Burger's Disease should consult an Ayurvedic surgeon.
