Symptoms
The most common form of thrombosis is in the leg veins (see: Thrombosis in the leg). The typical signs of thrombosis are a reddened, overheated, swollen lower leg or foot with taut, shiny skin. The calf is often very painful under pressure.
Pain also often occurs when running. These can resemble sore muscles. A feeling of heaviness in the affected leg is also typical.
Depending on the exact location of the thrombosis, the whole leg can be affected. If the tip of the foot is pulled upwards, i.e. towards the nose, there is usually pulling calf pain (see: thrombosis pain). The pain usually gets worse when the patient is standing and improves when lying down or when the leg is elevated.
However, thrombosis can also cause very few or no symptoms. It depends mainly on the degree of severity. Various diagnostic procedures are available to rule out thrombosis caused by the pill.
First of all, the doctor will have the patient’s symptoms described to him or herself and will perform a physical examination. Various tests indicate a possible thrombosis. For example, a difference in circumference between the two lower legs.
To do this, the doctor measures the circumference of the lower leg with a measuring tape just below the kneecap. In a healthy person, the circumference of both lower legs should not differ by more than 3cm. The doctor will then compress the leg with his hands and check for pressure pain.
He will also press on the sole of the foot and ask the patient to pull the tips of her toes towards her nose.If these tests (Meyer, Payr and Homans signs) cause pain, it could be a thrombosis. Further diagnostics in case of suspected thrombosis caused by the pill is finally an ultrasound of the veins. This allows the doctor to see directly whether blood vessels are blocked.
If this examination method is not sufficient to make a diagnosis, other imaging methods can be used, for example computer tomography to rule out pulmonary embolism. In the blood, the so-called D-dimers can be determined, which are usually elevated in thrombosis. These are degradation products from the coagulation system that indicate that blood clotting has been activated.
