Buerger Disease is a rare disease related to arteries and veins in an individual’s arms and legs. It is also commonly known as thromboangiitis obliterans. It is a condition wherein blood vessels get inflamed and swollen by being blocked by blood clots, preventing blood from flowing around the body. It all together affects the arteries in one’s body. The phenomenon of blockage eventually damages the skin tissues and destroys them, leading to infection and gangrene. This disease shows up in your hands and feet at first and finally starts to affect the more significant areas like arms and legs.
Signs and Symptoms
The symptoms of this disease may include:
Numbness and tingling.
- The hands and feet start to turn pale, blue-tinted, or even red.
- A rhythmic pain that comes and goes may occur in your arms and hands. This pain may arise while you use your hand and feet in an activity and may go away when you relax them and ease them from the task they are performing.
- Due to blood clots, you may notice inflammation in veins just below the skin’s surface.
- When you expose your fingers and toes to the cold, they may start to turn pale.
- Open sores may appear on the fingers and toes and may be very painful.
Causes of Buerger Disease
If we try to mention the causes of Buerger’s disease, then the answer would be unknown to everyone because nothing has proven to be the root cause. Let’s take a closer look at each of the risk factors for this condition as they each contribute to its development.
1. Tobacco
Tobacco plays a very significant role in contributing to the development of Buerger’s disease. According to popular belief, the chemicals of tobacco aggravate the blood vessel lining. Cigarette smoking highly increases the risk of Buerger’s disease developing. The only way to prevent Burton’s illness may be to give up all tobacco products altogether. Amputation of a part or entire limb is necessary for people who don’t quit tobacco usage.
2. Chronic Gum Disease
It is a state of severe gum infection that leads to tooth loss and other complications that can seriously damage human health. Any person suffering from a long-term illness related to the gums is very much prone to developing Buerger’s disease. However, the reasons for this are not clear yet.
3. Sex & Age
This disease is prevalent in males as compared to females. However, this can be due to the smoking ratios of both genders. The likelihood of developing this condition is higher in those under 45 than in those over 45.
Complications
When Buerger’s disease worsens, the blood flow in the legs and arms tends to decrease because of the blockages that make it extremely hard for the blood to reach the extremities and ends of your fingers and toes. This blockage causes a deficiency of oxygen in the tissues that don’t receive blood and start to lack the nutrients required to survive. When this condition has prolonged, the skin and tissues on the ends of the fingers and toes begin to die, called gangrene.
The areas of skin that are affected this way start to become black or blue and lose the feeling of sensing anything on them. A foul smell from the affected area also starts coming. If this disease worsens even further, the cure may only lead to amputation of the affected area.
Prevention of Buerger Disease
If you start to see and experience the symptoms and signs mentioned in Buerger’s disease, you should consult a doctor. It would be best if you also quit using tobacco in any form. Research has shown that everyone experiencing Buerger’s disease has used some form of smoking. Hence, to prevent such a disease, you should eliminate tobacco use from your life. Quitting its use may be difficult for people; therefore, a doctor may be consulted for strategies to help quit smoking.
