A nurse's handbook of obstetrics, for use in training-schools . tion of varicosities in the veins because ofthe general flabbiness and lack of tone of the tissues. Naturally, the greater the pressure in the abdomen thegreater will be the tendency to this complication, so that intwin pregnancies or in cases of contracted pelvis, where thegravid uterus is relatively much larger than normal, varicesare very frequently seen. Also any occupation which keepsthe woman constantly on her feet in the latter part of preg-nancy causes an increase in abdominal pressure and so actsas an exciting factor. The
A nurse's handbook of obstetrics, for use in training-schools . tion of varicosities in the veins because ofthe general flabbiness and lack of tone of the tissues. Naturally, the greater the pressure in the abdomen thegreater will be the tendency to this complication, so that intwin pregnancies or in cases of contracted pelvis, where thegravid uterus is relatively much larger than normal, varicesare very frequently seen. Also any occupation which keepsthe woman constantly on her feet in the latter part of preg-nancy causes an increase in abdominal pressure and so actsas an exciting factor. The most marked case of varicositiesever seen by the writer was in the case of a woman who kepta small bakery and luncheon-room and attended to her dutiesin the shop up to the hour of her confinement. VARICOSE VEINS. 77 The first symptom of the development of varices is a dull,aching pain in the limbs due to distention of the deep vessels,and inspection will show a fine purple net-work of superficialveins covering the skin like lace. Later, the true varicosities. Fig. 33.—Varicosities of the lower extremities. (Bumm.) appear, usually first under the bend of the knee, in a tangledmass of bluish or purplish veins often as large as a lead-penciland suggesting a strong resemblance to a bunch of fish the condition advances the varicosities extend up and downthe limb along the course of the vessels, and in severe casesaffect the veins of the labia majora, the vagina, and the treatment consists first and chiefly in the prompt 78 A NURSES HANDBOOK OF OBSTETRICS. abandonment, at the beginning of pregnancy, of garters, cor-sets, and all other articles of clothing that can cause pressureat any part of the body. If varicosities develop in spite of thisprecaution, the patient should spend a good part of the time inthe recumbent position, and when she is on her feet the legsshould be bandaged firmly from the ankles to the hips or fittedwith elastic stockings. Where the gen
Size: 904px × 2765px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookidnur, booksubjectobstetrics
