ONE YOUNG GUYS BLOOD CLOT BLOG HIS PERSONAL ACCOUNT OF DVT WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF DEEP VEIN THROMBOSIS DVT AND WHAT DO YOU DO FOR A BLOOD CLOT

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He started out thinking it was a pulled muscle but when the pain in his left lower leg worsened he wondered if something more sinister was to blame. I have written in healty medical Blog about Economy Class Syndrome where people on long airplane flights develop blood clots (most likely from prolonged immobilization) or as they are called deep vein thrombosis (dvt). I came across an interesting personal account on the Web of one guy's experiences with the diagnosis and treatment of his blood clot. He seemed an unlikely candidate for a blood clot, a young active guy in his twenties and his doctor was skeptical. He didn't seem to fit the bill for a blood clot. As he writes "For ten days I suffered from what I thought was a pulled-muscle in my left calf (fairly normal occurrence), but the on-again, off-again pain became more frequent and I began to wonder if it was something more serious. At night the pain was so bad I couldn't sleep. By 5:00am I abandoned all hope of reprieve and maneuvered myself out of bed. The instant I put my foot down I collapsed. The pain in my calf was overwhelming and the leg wouldn't support my weight".










Symptoms of a blood clot in the leg can be swelling of the leg, warmth and redness of the leg, pain in the leg that is noticeable, or worse when standing or walking or possible tenderness on touching the calf area. Prolonged immobilization such as sitting in a seat for hours on an airplane can increases the risk for blood clots. Recent surgery and a heart beat problem called atrial fibrillation all impact blood clot formation. A blood clot can travel into the lungs and become a pulmonary embolism.

What are Causes of Blood Clots

Prolonged immobilization increases risk for blood clots. Also birth control medicine as well as trauma or recent surgery can be risk factors for blood clots. Anything that tends to make the blood flow slow or stall encourages problems. Damage to the blood vessel walls and anything altering the coagulability of blood. Take for example the case of a twenty something woman who came to see the doctor because of a hard to describe discomfort or pain in her side. It had bothered her for the previous two days and when she had gone to see her regular physician the nurse had done a urine test and sent the woman home. But the woman had felt so bad that she and her husband went to see another physician

LONG FLIGHTS BLOOD CLOTS AND PULMONARY EMBOLISM ECONOMY CLASS SYNDROME

Tim Hentzel's Deep Vein Thrombosis (blood clot)

Click to Read About Warning On Blood Clot and Birth Control Patch




Closer questioning revealed that the woman had been on birth control pills and had injured her leg earlier in the week. Now the doctor was suspicious of a blood clot. Birth control pills and trauma to the extremities are both risk factors for blood clots.The doctor sent her to the hospital where a test called a spiral CT scan demonstrated a blood clot in her lung. This woman had two things that increases chances of a blood clot.

Virchow's Triad for blood clots

Over one hundred years ago a physician name Virchow elucidated Virchow's Triad: three circumstances associated with an increased chance of a blood clot:

increased coagulability of the blood

damage to the walls of the blood vessel

things slowing down the blood flow




In light of this it's easier to understand this list of some of the things associated with an increased chance of blood clots:

long time periods of immobility such as sitting for hours and hours in one position (long flight?)

certain genetic problems such as a genetic defect that may alter the normal formation of a chemical called factor V Leidin that helps the body to form clots so that blood clots are more likely to form. The FDA has approved a DNA test for factor V Leidin and factor II 2 (prothrombin) genetic abnormality as you can read at FDA Approves Lab Tests for Genetic Clotting Risk.

certain kinds of birth control pills

recent surgery

trauma to the body

chronic atrial fibrillation. Atrial fibrillation is a heart condition where the atria (upper chambers of the heart) pump into the lower chambers (the ventricles) in a less coordinated fashion so that the blood may be standing in place longer and thus increase the chance of clotting.