Thrombosis that sows fear: doctors named its first signs

– Thrombosis is a process shrouded in various myths. One of them is that any swelling and pain is a thrombosis. It’s true?

– Certainly not. Not all swelling is a thrombosis. Local swelling is usually associated with completely different causes, such as trauma, inflammation, and the like. When a thrombosis occurs, especially in the veins, the swelling does not cover a particular segment.

– The next question is how to recognize thrombosis? Is it a swelling that covers the leg, arm, limb on all sides?

– Yes, it covers all over the place. If it is a venous thrombosis, the pain is tight and stretched in nature, usually not sharp for someone to pierce. My whole leg hurts. Rarely does a person rate pain with a score of 10 because they shower more. The swelling is “not squeezing”, the whole leg appears to be enlarged, it is not watery.

– And very rarely, almost never is a reciprocal process. We are talking about an arm or a leg.

– Very rarely, unless there are critically ill patients with varicose vein thrombosis in the abdomen, both legs may be swollen, but they are certainly very rare and are often associated with serious diseases such as oncological diseases.

– But if there is a blockage in a blood vessel, must there be a problem with the blood circulation? Shouldn’t wounds, ulcers, and the like happen?

– Thrombosis can occur not only in the veins but also in the arteries. If the veins are blocked for a long time, this is called chronic venous disease, over time, skin changes and ulcers can appear. If we talk about arterial thrombosis, we must remember that the artery goes from the heart to some organ, the limb. In this case, the organ does not receive enough nutrition and can hurt. The pain is different, there is usually no swelling, and wounds can form over time. If it is an acute condition, severe pain occurs and the person goes to the hospital for pain.

– In principle, it is a heart attack in that place, which makes it difficult to confuse this pain with a sprain or bruise.

– Yes, it is difficult to confuse. Not that I tripped over something and a thrombosis occurred. These are very rare unless bone injury occurs and the bone presses on an artery.

– One of the scariest things is the idea that if you have thrombosis, you are doomed. So so?

– No. If a venous thrombosis has occurred in the leg, we are not afraid of the thrombosis itself, but we are afraid that a piece of the clot will break off and go to the lungs. Then acute respiratory failure may develop. But it certainly does not happen to all patients and it is not a fatal disease. If it is the journey of a very large clot to the pulmonary artery, then sudden death occurs and in that case it will do nothing. Arterial thrombosis is also not a life-threatening disease, but amputation can occur if it is very severe and a doctor is referred too late. But if applied in time, deadly and terrible complications can be avoided.

– Therefore, if someone is swollen, you really should not panic: it is better to calmly consult a family doctor and get detailed information. Perhaps if we are so afraid of a thrombus, is it worth taking aspirin before a vaccine or other procedure?

– The question of how many vaccines are really to blame for thrombosis due to the lack of scientific data in this regard. As far as I was interested, people with blood diseases should consult with hematologists and discuss the risks and possible prevention. Additional measures are not recommended for patients with heart disease and their suitability is unclear. You should only take the medications that are always taken. If a person has a fever after the vaccine, they should drink more fluids and move around as much as possible.

– Fever, fluid loss and immobility are probably the factors that most contribute to venous thrombosis. But there are other factors. For example, contraception. How is this related?

– Certainly, there is a lot of scientific evidence to support this fear. The smallest number that science says is that contraception increases the risk of deep vein thrombosis at least 4 times. Some authors say that it can increase this risk up to 40 times. It has been estimated that the use of hormonal contraceptives in a completely healthy population of young women can cause 300 to 400 deaths per year in the United States alone. This is the risk, it has been proven, and women who choose these drugs should consider their health. Especially those who have an increased risk of blood diseases, thrombosis. It may be better to take other methods of birth control. Implants have the lowest risk of causing thrombosis.

– Other medicines – Anti-inflammatory painkillers, do they also increase the risk of thrombosis?

– It increases slightly, but from practice we could not say that much. These drugs increase the risk of bleeding in internal organs.

– If contraception is enough once to increase risk, mix painkillers, prepare cocktails and use them for a longer period of time. As a result, if you are considering pain relief with these medications, it may be better not to take birth control. But medications alone do not cause blood clots. And the lifestyle? For example, obesity.

– Obesity really increases the risk of thrombosis because the blood stops and all kinds of discomfort occur. It is a sedentary lifestyle, it increases the risk of obesity.

– Does smoking also increase the risk of thrombosis?

– When it comes to smoking, we should talk about arterial thrombosis and atherosclerosis, called plaque formation in the arteries. Smoking actually promotes atherosclerosis, narrows the lumen of the blood vessels, and tends to form clots there. If a person drinks, does not drink enough fluids, the blood “thickens” and in the place where the disease was already present, a narrowing of the blood vessels, the formation of a fresh clot, which interferes with the blood flow to the organs .

– And finally the thickness of the blood. Our citizens call blood pressure a lot: it can be high cholesterol or too much hemoglobin. That is, if the blood is “thick”, it can be vaccinated, right?

– Contraindications as they do not exist, if you have high cholesterol, you only need to take medications that lower cholesterol and balance your diet. The situation is different with blood diseases where there are a large number of erythrocytes. Therefore, you should consult your hematologists, who have routinely given you some treatment, and ask if your treatment will interact with the vaccine in any way. Because it has been read that some medications for blood diseases can interact with vaccines.

– Also, the increase in hemoglobin may not be due to illness, but rather to lack of physical activity, lower oxygen levels due to smoking, and water shortage. Thanks for the conversation.