How To Prevent 5 Serious Blood Clot Symptoms

You need to know how to prevent 5 serious blood clot symptoms if you’re worried about developing blood clots or experiencing any symptoms.

What is a blood clot? A blood clot is a semi-solid mass of blood cells and other substances that form in your blood vessels. The major function of blood clots is to protect you from bleeding too much if you’re injured or have surgery. However, you may develop blood clots for other reasons, such as having certain medical conditions or being immobile for a long time. When that happens, blood clots may cause symptoms and can be life-threatening. Read on to understand how the information on how to prevent 5 serious blood clot symptoms can mitigate avoidable casualty.

Blood Clots Locations

Arms and legs

Blood clots in your veins may develop in your arms and legs. This is deep vein thrombosis (DVT), a very serious medical condition.

Lung

If a DVT is not treated, a part of the clot can break off and travel to the lungs, causing a blockage in the lungs called a pulmonary embolism (PE). A PE can cause symptoms such as chest pain, difficulty breathing, coughing, coughing up blood, and irregular heartbeats.

Heart

Blood clots in your heart may cause a heart attack. This feels similar to a clot in the lung. But if it’s a heart attack, you also might feel nausea and lightheadedness along with chest pain. Either way, get medical help immediately.

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Brain

Blood clots that block blood flow to your brain may cause a stroke. Pressure builds when blood can’t flow normally. A severe blockage sometimes can lead to a stroke. Without oxygen from the blood, your brain cells start to die in minutes.

Stomach

Blocked veins in the stomach or esophagus can rip and leak blood. That can be extremely painful. You may poop or vomit blood, and your stool might look black and smell bad.

Kidneys

The blood clots in the kidneys are called renal vein thrombosis (RVT) and usually grow slowly and mostly in adults. You probably won’t have symptoms unless a piece breaks off and lodges in your lung. Rarely, especially in children, it can happen fast and cause nausea, fever, and vomiting. You also might have blood in your urine, and go less often. 

Blood Clot Symptoms

Swelling

When a clot slows or stops the flow of blood, it can build up in the vessel and make it swell. If it happens in your lower leg or calf, it’s often a sign of DVT. But you can also have a clot in your arms or belly. Even after it goes away, one in three people still has swelling and sometimes pain and sores from damage to the blood vessel.

Skin Color

If a clot plugs up veins in your arms or legs, they may look bluish or reddish. Your skin also might stay discolored from the damage to blood vessels afterward. A PE in your lung could make your skin pale, bluish, and clammy.

Pain

Sudden, intense chest pain could mean the clot has broken off and caused a PE. Or it could be a sign that a clot in your artery gave you a heart attack. If so, you also might feel pain in your arm, especially on the left. A clot often hurts where it’s located, like in your lower leg, stomach, or under your throat.

Headaches and Seizures

A clot in your brain can cause headaches, confusion, seizures, speech problems, and weakness, sometimes on just one side of the body.

Trouble Breathing

This is a serious symptom. It could be a sign that you have a clot in your lung or your heart. Your heart might also race, or you may feel sweaty or faint.

Causes and Risk Factors

Blood clots can happen for many reasons. For instance, you can get a blood clot if you break a bone or pull a muscle badly. But sometimes you may not know why it happened or even realize you have one. Your risks are higher if you:

• Have an inherited genetic condition that increases your risk
• Are recovering from surgery
• Sit for many hours on a flight or in a wheelchair
• Are overweight or obese
• Have diabetes or high cholesterol
• Are over 60
• Pregnancy
• Having cancer
• Blood clotting disorders
• Bleeding disorders
• Smoking
• Hormone therapy
• Severe COVID-19

Treatment

Blood clots can be safely treated. For instance, if you experience DVT (Arm or Leg) or PE (Lung), seek medical attention immediately. A clot can be deadly, and you won’t know for sure you have it until you get checked. Your doctor may give you a clot-busting drug or surgically thread a thin tube to the site of the clot to dissolve it. 

What dissolves blood clots fast?

Anticoagulants, such as heparin, warfarin, dabigatran, apixaban, and rivaroxaban, are medications that thin the blood and help to dissolve blood clots.

On the other hand, if you’re worried about developing blood clots, you still need to talk to a healthcare provider. They’ll evaluate your overall health and recommend ways you can reduce your risk of developing them.

https://www.webmd.com/dvt/deep-vein-thrombosis-treatment-dvt

Prevention Tips

You can act to lower your risk of a clot. Therefore in tackling how to prevent 5 serious blood clot symptoms, first, keep a healthy weight, eat right, and exercise. Likewise:

• Check if tight-fitting compression socks or garments can help your blood flow.
• Don’t sit or stay still for long, especially after a long trip or surgery.
• Don’t allow sitting disease to take over. So get up and move at least every couple of hours.
• Flex your legs, feet, and toes in your chair.
• Ask your doctor if you might need to take clot-fighting drugs called anticoagulants.

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