Leg clot | Blood Clot

Leg clot

Leg vein thrombosis is a relatively common disease that affects many people. It involves closure of the deep veins of the leg by the formation of a blood clot. There are a number of risk factors, such as smoking, long periods of confinement to bed or congenital coagulation disorders that lead to vascular occlusion in the leg.

Those affected complain of swelling and overheating as well as a dull pain in the leg. A complication of deep vein thrombosis is the carry-over of the blood clot into the lungs. This is known as pulmonary embolism.

Patients are treated with compression stockings and anticoagulant drugs such as heparin and Marcumar®. Unlike phlebothrombosis, thrombophlebitis affects the superficial veins of the legs. These are inflamed by superficial blood clots.

Typically, the vein is hardened under the skin, palpable and painful under pressure. In acute treatment, it helps to elevate the leg and cool it down. Compression bandages are also applied. To achieve immediate freedom from pain, the clot can also be removed (“thrombectomy”). If the clot is very large or is connected to the deep vein system, treatment with anticoagulant medication may be necessary.

Word origin

The medical term for blood clots is thrombus. It is derived from the Greek and means something like “clot” or “clot” (plural thrombus; from the Greek thrómbos, “clot, clot”; coagulum)