You should not refuse medical examination if you feel a pain in your legs. The reason may be very serious – symptoms of deep vein thrombosis (picture 1). The condition demands particular regimen and treatment. We are going to describe signs of DVT in leg (picture 3) so that everybody can take measures as soon as possible.
Deep vein thrombosis pictures
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) (picture 2) happens when thrombus appears. These are blood clots, which can develop in deep veins all over the body, but more commonly it affects legs and causes swelling and pain in them. Sometimes it is followed with no symptoms. One must distinguish between phlebitis (images below) and DVT. The former one is an inflation of a vein caused by various disorders. How does phlebitis look like? It causes the redness of the skin in a damaged area resembling the path along the vein, which can be warm, itchy and swollen. Moreover, this place can throb and it burns rather often.
All the mentioned things are getting worse in the mornings. The infection can lead to fever and pain. Compared to phlebitis the signs of blood clot in arm, for example, are often hardly discovered. It is difficult to diagnose the disease though it can look familiar. The touched place can be also swelling, warm, reddish or bluish, but the patient can find out the exact diagnose only after ultrasound investigation. If the legs are affected, the cramping pain may appear in a calf, DVT symptoms (images in the gallery) are not observed sometimes and the condition is revealed only when a life-threatening complication develops.
DVT in leg symptoms pictures
If there is a trauma, material change in blood pressure, DVT in leg (picture 3) may occur. In general the risk is high when a vessel is damaged due to any reason like continuous sitting, immobility, surgery, obesity, even birth control pills. You should understand that phlebitis is not a preceding stage of the disease. The common leg thrombosis signs are connected with swelling in one leg and rather rare in both. The skin may become red or discolored and warm by touch. It is difficult to determine the reason for severe pain developing in feet.
Do remember that DVT behind knee (pictures below) or at any other area can develop without any changes. So you should be very attentive to your body and with slightest discomfort connected with the above features, you should turn to a physician. You should be aware of that fact that the blood clot in foot is a serious problem, which can be life-threatening. It does not matter what area is affected foot, ankle or thigh DVT symptoms are the same.
What does phlebitis look like
Speaking about phlebitis (picture 4) in detail, we should emphasize once again that this condition is not directly connected with DVT though the symptoms of deep vein thrombosis have much in common. The phlebitis can be diagnosed by a physician without additional investigation. It looks like a swelling red skin being warm and tender. But in order to know it for sure, the highly reliable ultrasound is needed, because there are a range of conditions, which can be confused with the inflammation of vein like lymphangitis.
Sometimes the patients suffer from phlebitis rash (pics at the bottom). There are the complications including abscess and clot formation, which is also connected with varicose veins but as we said already this consequence does not always happen and if it does, the DVT develops. By the way, for this condition there is a post-phlebitic syndrome with chronic swelling of the initially damaged part of the body and even ulcers are possible.
Signs of DVT in leg images
The first sign of DVT in leg is pain without any apparent cause that can be compared with discomfort related to the pulled muscle. Such warning signs of DVT in leg (image 5) can be enough for turning to a doctor in order to prevent serious health consequences. For instance, forming a blood clot in leg vein, the disease can cause death. If this clot is left untreated and in the long run it breaks off, it can block the blood flow and result in the lethal outcome of a patient.
The signs of DVT in leg (pics below) can be rather severe with chronic pain, dry skin and even cracking in it, which can be complicated with infection penetrating through the injury. If you have phlebitis in the leg, do not leave it untreated and turn to a physician immediately after you find the signs. The visit to a clinic is needed when you feel discomfort in leg DVT symptoms are not necessarily manifested to the full extent.
Deep vein thrombosis symptoms photos
When you try to find symptoms of deep vein thrombosis (photo 6) the first thing you are expected to do is examination of legs because they suffer most. Then, turn your attention to all other parts of the body. The skin must be of natural color without any uneven and red areas. If you feel pain and the skin in that place is swallow and burns, it is high probability of deep vein thrombosis. The signs of thrombosis can also include cramping pain.
There is also a very dangerous condition pulmonary embolism happening due to ignorance of signs of deep vein thrombosis (images in the gal.), which requires immediate medical assistance. DVT blood clot symptoms can get worse from time to time. Of course, the risk factors should be taken into account serving as an additional reason for going to see a doctor. When disease affects leg deep vein thrombosis symptoms can be spotted with a particular blood test showing if there are the blood clots broken up.
Thrombophlebitis symptoms pictures
Classically DVT looks like red or discolored and swollen skin accompanied with pain of various severity. All those signs of thrombophlebitis (picture 7) are common but not always seen at the initial stage that is why it is easy to neglect the disorder. While as we said phlebitis in the arm will be with inflammation of the skin and can be easily cured at home following the recommendation of a doctor.
If it is untreated, thrombophlebitis can develop into venous reflux disease or so called venous insufficiency. The disease is more common in women than man. When you notice any signs of DVT in lower leg, try to elevate them as often as you can insufficiency, do not cross legs, exercise all the time during the year and so on.
