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What To Avoid If You Have Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT)
Those with DVT or taking blood-thinning medications for DVT may need to avoid certain activities, medications, foods, or lifestyle factors.
People will need to avoid certain factors that may increase the risk of blood clots in the veins or interfere with blood thinners.
This article looks at what people will need to avoid with DVT.
It also discusses helpful tips and when to see a doctor.
A 2022 systematic review notes that exercise is safe for those with DVT. Additionally, a 2023 study says exercise for acute DVT does not increase the risk of experiencing a pulmonary embolism and can help to improve a person's symptoms.
However, the National Blood Clot Alliance advises people to avoid high-risk sports, such as contact sports, which may result in injury. This is because blood thinners can increase the risk of serious bleeding complications.
People should also wear protective safety gear during certain activities, such as a helmet when cycling.
What exercise can a person with DVT take part in?Regular movement is important with DVT and an essential part of recovery. Exercise helps to improve circulation and lessens venous insufficiency symptoms.
Any moderate exercise, such as walking or swimming, may be beneficial. Aerobic exercise can also help to improve lung function if a person has had a pulmonary embolism.
Those with DVT who take warfarin — a type of blood thinner — may need to be cautious about their vitamin K intake.
The Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) notes that vitamin K can interact with warfarin. Additionally, a sudden change in the amount of vitamin K a person consumes may cause serious side effects.
Suddenly increasing vitamin K intake alongside warfarin can cause blood clots, and a sudden decrease may cause serious bleeding.
The ODS states that people taking warfarin should consume roughly the same amounts of vitamin K each day from food or supplements.
Sources of vitamin K in foods include green leafy vegetables, such as:
Other sources of vitamin K include:
People will also need to limit their intake of certain drinks that may interfere with warfarin, including:
If people have any concerns about vitamin K consumption, they should speak with a healthcare professional. There are other types of blood thinners a person can take to treat DVT that does not require them to monitor their vitamin K levels.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute recommends the following advice for recovery from and prevention of venous thromboembolism (VTE), which includes DVT and pulmonary embolism.
Lifestyle factors to avoid include:
People with DVT should let a doctor know if they are taking any medications, as well as any herbs or supplements.
Certain medications can interact with warfarin and may increase the risk of negative side effects. These include:
People will need to speak with a doctor before using aspirin, which works as a blood thinner and may increase bleeding risk.
Hormone therapies can increase the risk of serious blood clots in people with a personal or family history of blood clots. During menopause, people with a history of blood clots will need to take blood thinners alongside hormonal therapy.
Birth control containing estrogen also increases the risk of blood clots. People can speak with a healthcare professional about safe birth control methods with DVT.
The following are frequently asked questions about DVT.
What worsens DVT?According to the National Blood Clot Alliance, certain activities are not beneficial for DVT. For example, people should aim to avoid sitting for periods of 2 hours or more at a time. Getting up regularly to move and stretch can help.
If people are traveling, they can stop roughly every hour to walk for several minutes or walk about on a plane to stretch their legs. Wearing compression stockings when traveling can also help.
People will also need to avoid crossing their legs when sitting, as this can negatively affect circulation.
It is also important to avoid dehydration, so people should drink plenty of fluids, such as water, throughout the day.
What is the best thing to do with DVT?Taking all medications as a doctor prescribes and attending any checkups are important with DVT, and may help prevent a repeat event.
People should also check for symptoms of DVT and report any signs of blood clots to a doctor straight away.
Healthy lifestyle choices are also important, including regular movement, eating a healthy diet, maintaining a healthy weight, and avoiding smoking.
A person will need to contact a doctor if they experience any symptoms of DVT, including:
People will require emergency medical attention if they have symptoms of pulmonary embolism, including:
If a person is experiencing any mental health issues, such as anxiety or depression, due to health concerns, they can contact a doctor or therapist.
If people are visiting the dentist, they will need to let them know if they are taking blood thinners.
Certain medications, activities, and lifestyle factors may increase the risk of blood clots or bleeding complications with DVT and blood-thinning medications.
Taking medications as a doctor prescribes, getting regular movement, and making healthy lifestyle changes are all important steps in managing DVT.
How Can Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) Affect Pregnancy?
Pregnancy increases the risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT), which can result in complications that affect the pregnant person and the fetus. Managing DVT or reducing blood clot risks is important to prevent complications during pregnancy and childbirth.
A pregnant person is five times more likely to experience a blood clot compared to those who are not pregnant. People will need to contact a doctor as soon as possible if they have any DVT symptoms.
This article looks at how DVT can affect pregnancy and delivery, risk factors, treatment, and prevention.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a person is more likely to experience a blood clot during pregnancy, childbirth, and up to 3 months after delivery.
This is because:
Risk factors for developing blood clots during or after pregnancy include:
A DVT can impact pregnancy in various ways, including before, during, and after delivery.
Pregnant personDuring pregnancy, blood clots may increase the risk of:
FetusBlood clots may be potentially harmful to a fetus and may cause:
Surgery for cesarean delivery may double the risk of serious blood clots.
For those taking blood thinners, it is still possible to have a safe delivery. To reduce the bleeding risk, a doctor may need to stop blood thinning medications a few hours before delivery. This also allows people to get an epidural.
Compression devices on the arms and legs may also help improve blood flow during delivery.
After deliveryThe risk of serious blood clots continues for up to 3 months after delivery.
According to the National Blood Clot Alliance, the highest risk of developing a blood clot is in the 6 weeks after delivery.
If people have DVT, they will need to continue taking blood thinning medication for at least 6 weeks after delivery.
People can breastfeed while taking warfarin or low-molecular-weight heparin, but it is not clear if newer oral blood thinners are safe while nursing.
Symptoms of DVT may occur in the legs or arms and include:
Leg cramps can occur in pregnancy, commonly during the second and third trimester of pregnancy, and at night.
If leg pain does not go away, or the area is warm, swollen, red, or discolored, people should contact a doctor as it may be a sign of a blood clot.
Vs. Pulmonary embolismA PE occurs if a blood clot breaks free and travels to the lungs. A PE can be a life threatening condition and requires immediate medical care.
Symptoms of PE include:
Managing DVT during pregnancy may include:
These methods are safe and effective in helping prevent blood clots during and after pregnancy in people at high risk.
People can talk with a healthcare professional about the risks of blood clots during pregnancy and if they have any personal risk factors.
Steps to help prevent blood clots include:
To diagnose DVT during pregnancy, a doctor may use imaging tests, such as an MRI scan and ultrasound.
A doctor will also use tests to check the health of the fetus by monitoring the heart rate and oxygen levels.
Blood clots can increase the risk of severe complications in pregnancy, but with proper management, people at risk are still able to have safe pregnancies and deliveries.
Heparin and low-molecular-weight heparin may help prevent blood clots and are safe to use during pregnancy without causing adverse side effects to a fetus.
The following are frequently asked questions about DVT.
Is DVT more likely to affect one leg more than the other?DVT usually only occurs in one leg and may be more likely to affect the left leg than the right. A PE may occur more frequently with a right-sided DVT than a left-sided DVT.
Is it safe for people to conceive if they have DVT?Most people with a blood clotting condition can still have healthy pregnancies. It is important to talk through potential risks with a healthcare professional and follow any treatment a doctor prescribes.
The risk of deep vein thrombosis increases with pregnancy and delivery, as well as in the months following childbirth.
People can discuss risk factors with a doctor and take steps to prevent blood clots. People may need blood thinning injections during pregnancy to manage DVT.
All You Need To Know About Thread Veins
by JEAN WILLIAMS, Mail on Sunday
Read our comprehensive guide to thread veins and how to treat them, and you can chat to other sufferers on our message boards by clicking on the link in the box below.
Summer's coming and if the thought of shedding trousers and showing your
legs fills you with dread, take heart. There are treatments that can dramatically improve the appearance of unsightly thread veins.
What are thread veins? Thread veins are tiny blood vessels which run close to the surface of
the skin and look like fine red, or sometimes purple, wiggly lines. They're also sometimes called 'spider veins' or 'broken veins', although the veins aren't infact broken but only slightly enlarged. The medical term for them is telangiectasia.
What causes them? Usually there's no obvious cause. Thread veins tend to develop as we age and our skin and blood vessels become less elastic. Hormonal changes associated with pregnancy and the menopause are thought to provoke their development - the reason why women are more prone to them than men.
You can also inherit a family tendency to the problem. Other causes include too much sunbathing, exposure to wind or extreme temperatures, cortico-steroid medicines and radiotherapy. Jobs that involve prolonged standing may aggravate the condition, but they don't actually cause it. Although you may not like the look of them, thread veins aren't dangerous, but they tend to become larger and increase in number over time.
Who gets them? Nearly all of us as we age, apparently. Around one in five women in their 20s have thread veins, a figure that rises to around half by the age of forty and continues to increase. By the age of 70 over 70 per cent of women have some thread veins.
Dr John Cotterill, consultant dermatologist and medical Director of Lasercare Clinics advises treatment sooner rather than later. 'Smaller thread veins are easy to treat. Later on they can be more difficult. Younger women could save themselves a great deal of time, trouble and expense if they opted for early treatment.'
How are they treated? There are several options, lasertherapy, sclerotherapy or a mixture of both. Electrolysis is also used but this is far less popular now that laser treatment is widely available. Lasertherapy uses brief pulses of laser light to destroy smaller blood vessels. Several types of laser are used. A pulsed dye laser is best for thin red veins which are close to the skin's surface. Deeper blue or purple veins need a laser with a longer wavelength (YAG laser) to reach them.
Veins bigger than 4mm require sclerotherapy. This treatment uses a tiny needle (smaller than a sewing needle) to inject a solution (scelerosant) that causes microscopic damage to the cells lining the vein. The vein gradually shrinks and disappears over a period of about eight weeks. At an initial consultation your veins will be assessed and you'll be advised which form of treatment is most appropriate for you. Normally a test patch will be done at the same time.
Is the treatment painful? It shouldn't be. Although laser destroys tissue by heat you won't feel any burning or pain. Each pulse is less than a thousandth of a second and the laser only works on the unwanted vein leaving other skin untouched. The sensation of a laser is often described as similar to a rubber band pinging against your skin. A local anaesthetic cream can be used if you wish.
With sclerotherapy you'll notice the pricking sensation of the needle. Normally a local anaesthetic is injected into the vein with the sclerosant solution so the pain is minimal. Treatments normally last for around 20 to 30 minutes.
Are there any after effects? With sclerotherapy the veins may appear worse immediately after treatment and the site of the injections can look rather like insect bites. There may also be some bruising and sometimes the treated area may itch a bit. After a week or so the veins should begin to fade and they'll continue to do so for up to eight weeks, or even longer for bigger veins.
How many treatments are needed? On average three, but more may be necessary, depending on the number of veins and their size and location. The normal procedure is to tackle the larger veins first with sclerotherapy and then clear up the smaller ones with laser treatment. Treatments are spaced about eight weeks apart, so it may take more than six months to achieve the final result. Start now if you want better looking legs this summer.
How successful is it? You need to have realistic expectations. 'Some thread veins can be quite difficult to treat because they don't always run obligingly parallel to the skin surface,' says Dr Cotterill. 'Some are like big dippers they go up and down and a laser light doesn't always reach deeply enough to destroy them.' Veins in the lower part of the leg, particularly the ankle area, are more difficult to treat than those on the thighs. It's not normally possible to get rid of all the veins, but around 90 per cent clearance is common.
Are there any risks or side effects? Complications are unusual, but occasionally a skin ulcer can develop after sclerotherapy and some patients experience a brown discolouration of the skin which may take several months to fade away. Around 10 per cent of people treated get 'matting' after sclerotherapy - a cluster of tiny red vessels around the treated area. However these can normally be cleared by laser treatment later. A very rare complication is the development of a blood clot in the vein (deep vein thrombosis).
Are thread veins related to varicose veins? They are part of the same spectrum of problems caused by blood pressure in the superficial veins of the legs being too high (see box below). If you have varicose veins you are more likely to have thread veins too, but the reverse isn't true, having thread veins doesn't predispose you to varicose veins. 'In women with big varicose veins there's no point treating thread veins until the varicose veins have been sorted out,' says Dr Cotterill. 'They need doing first otherwise the treatment for thread veins won't work.'
What about treatment for broken veins on the face? Laser can treat the very fine veins that can appear on the nose, cheeks and chin and it's usually very successful. Often thread veins on the face are part of a condition called rosacea and additionally medication may be needed to control the problem.
Where is the treatment available? There are scores of clinics offering laser treatment around the country. The drawback is that anyone who can afford to buy a laser and pass a local authority hygiene inspection can operate most types of laser. They don't need to be medically qualified, so beware! 'You need to check that the person who is actually going to treat you is medically qualified, and is preferably a dermatologist or plastic surgeon, ' says Doreen Trust, of the Disfigurement Guidance Centre.
The charity publishes The Skin Laser Directory which lists reputable UK clinics, both private and NHS, with details of their medically qualified staff. 'Even if you are paying privately my advice is to ask your GP for a referral,' says Mrs Trust, 'because he or she acts as a safeguard. If you've been referred the clinic will write to your GP after treatment with details of what's been done and the outcome, so you have a record, should there be any later problems.'
What does it cost? Costs vary widely. The largest group of 12 clinics, Lasercare, which operate both privately, and in the NHS charge £230 for a consultation and first treatment, then £185 per session afterwards. 'It's a good idea to select three or four clinics and call them,' says Doreen Trust. 'Describe your condition and ask how many treatments roughly will be needed what the approximate total cost of the treatment will be. It can vary widely so it's worth checking a few out.'
Is the treatment available on the NHS? Cosmetic surgery is normally only NHS funded if your appearance is having a detrimental effect on your mental health, for example if it's causing you to be depressed, or affecting your career or family relationships.
Treating varicose veins: Varicose veins are very common and affect around one third of women. The problem is part and parcel of the same circulatory disorder as thread veins, but at the more severe end of the scale. Varicose veins can become very painful and lead to complications such as bleeding, swelling and ulceration. They develop when the walls of the veins and the valves inside them sag under the pressure of the blood they carry. The veins dilate and the valves, which should help move the blood upwards, together with the action of the calf muscles, no longer work efficiently.
Treatment for varicose veins isn't always very successful. Around 100,000 NHS operations are performed each year and about 20 per cent of these are repeat surgery for recurrence. Small varicose veins are sometimes treated with sclerotherapy, in the same way as thread veins. However veins treated in this way are most likely to recur, and normally surgery is the preferred option.
There are two main methods. Either the varicose vein is disconnected and 'tied off' so that the blood is diverted through healthier veins. Alternatively, if the vein is very large and distended, it may be removed altogether through an incision in the groin, a process known as 'stripping'. Although it sounds alarming, the surgery is normally done as an outpatient and recovery takes only a matter of days.
A new procedure called VNUS closure has also recently been introduced here. A catheter is threaded into the vein, to introduce heat, which collapses and seals it. The treated vein becomes scar tissue and is eventually re-absorbed. The procedure costs around £2,500 a leg and involves an incision made into the knee or ankle rather than the groin. Because the procedure is so new it's not yet known how effective it might be at preventing recurrence long term, for example over five years.
Find out more: Lasercare - Tel: 0800 0287222
The Skinlaser Directory £5 inc p&p is available from POD Publications,
P.O.Box 7, Cupar, Fife KY15 4PF
See www.Veins.Co.Uk for information on VNUS closure
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