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Pain and Tenderness in the Affected Area

The body suffers from deep vein thrombosis when one of the deep veins is injured, or the rate of blood flow in the veins decreases significantly, as this causes a blood clot to form.

This usually occurs in the veins of the legs, and symptoms of an early stage blood clot in the leg are swelling, puffiness, warm texture, pain and redness of the skin in the affected leg.

These blood clots can be life-threatening, especially since they disintegrate and can move to a vital part of the body, such as the lung, obstructing the passage of blood through them, causing what is known as (pulmonary embolism).

Recognizing Swelling and Redness

A blood clot forms in the leg that obstructs blood flow in that leg.

This subsequently leads to blood pooling in that area, causing inflammation, swelling, and redness of the skin.

This can be detailed through the following:

Obstructing blood flow in the affected area causes it to pool in that area and causes swelling and pressure on the blood vessels.
The blood vessels respond to this pressure, causing inflammation in that area, which leads to the expansion of the blood vessels and increased permeability.
Consequently, blood vessels allow fluids to leak into the surrounding tissues, causing swelling.
Because inflammation encourages more blood flow to the affected area, the skin appears red and may be dark. ( Ashorobi, Atif Ameer, & Fernandez., 2024)

Pain and Tenderness in the Affected Area

Pain and tenderness in the affected area occurs as a result of:

Inflammation occurs in the affected area, increased vascular permeability, and fluid accumulation in the surrounding area, causing swelling.
The swelling puts pressure on surrounding nerves, causing pain.
The accumulated pressure in the affected area due to obstruction of blood flow in the veins also causes pain.

Temperature Changes in the Skin

When a clot occurs, you can feel a change in the temperature of the affected area, as it is warmer than the surrounding tissue. This is due to:

A blocked vein obstructs blood flow, causing it to build up and create pressure.
This pressure causes an inflammatory response in the area.
More blood rushes to the inflamed area, and its temperature rises as a result of the inflammation. (Gorman, Davis, & Donnelly, 2000)

Risks of Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT)

If deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is not treated, it can cause serious complications, the most important of which are:

Pulmonary embolism (PE):

Where a clot breaks off and travels to the lung, causing a pulmonary embolism. In this case, the patient shows the following symptoms:

shortness of breath.
Bloody cough.
Chest pain.
Accelerated heartbeat.

Post-Thrombotic Syndrome (PTS):

Post-thrombotic syndrome (PTS), also known as venous stress disorder, is a long-term effect of deep thrombosis that causes the following symptoms:

edema.
chronic pain.
swelling.
skin changes,
heaviness of the affected limb

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Chronic Venous Insufficiency (CVI):

The patient suffers from chronic venous insufficiency when the affected veins in the leg are unable to return blood to the heart, as the valves in the affected leg are unable to do so.

This causes blood to pool in the leg, causing pain, swelling, and ulcers.

Seeking Prompt Medical Attention

If you experience symptoms of an early stage blood clot symptoms in leg you should seek medical care quickly to avoid serious complications. Here are the most important symptoms: