Deep vein thrombosis is a condition wherein a blood clot forms in a vein that is located in a deep and inaccessible location of the body. More than 50% of the time, this blood clot develops in a deep vein of the leg. Herein, we discuss what one must do when addressing the early warning signs and symptoms of deep vein thrombosis.

Early warning signs and symptoms of deep vein thrombosis
One needs to call their doctor right away if one has one or more of these early warning signs and symptoms of deep vein thrombosis, especially if they have come around suddenly:

• Veins which are tender, hard, red, or swollen to the touch that one can see
• Red or discolored skin on one’s leg
• Warm skin on one’s leg
• Pain or tenderness in one’s arm, foot, ankle, or leg. It might feel like a charley horse or cramp which one can’t get rid of. Foot and leg pain could only happen when one walks or stands.
• Swelling in one or both legs

One needs to either go to the emergency room or call 911 right away if one notices any leg swelling or pain, along with

• Fast heartbeat
• Severe lightheadedness
• Pain when one breathes
• Rapid breathing or shortness of breath
• Pain in one’s shoulder, arm, back, or jaw
• Sharp chest pain or chest tightness
• Sudden coughing, which may bring up blood

Self-diagnosis and tests
If you have identified the early warning signs and want to eliminate any kind of risks, then this is what one needs to do.

• Head to a doctor for an exam
  The doctor will ask about one’s symptoms, medical history, and health before conducting a physical exam. They will then decide if one possesses a low or high risk of DVT, which will help them decide which tests to perform.
• D-dimer test
  This one looks for the protein known as D-dimer, which shows up in one’s blood when a clot begins breaking down. If one has a clot, then the test will show high levels of the protein.
• Duplex ultrasound
  This test involves warm gel being spread on one’s skin, and then a wand is rubbed over the area where one thinks the clot could possibly be located. This wand sends sound waves within one’s body before relaying echoes of the same to a computer. The PC then constructs images of one’s blood vessels and sometimes even the blood clots. This test works well for finding superficial blood clots, but not the ones deeper within the body.
• Venography
  This special kind of X-ray sees patients injected with a radioactive dye into the veins of their foot. This enables doctors to see the patient’s veins and determine if there’s a clot.
• MRI
  This test can figure out clots in the deepest recesses of one’s body. Patients need to lie still on the table while a strong magnetic field and radio waves construct detailed images of the inside of one’s body on a computer.

One must be prompt when dealing with the early warning signs and symptoms of deep vein thrombosis so that treatment can successful.