Hi, although I'm still fairly new here, this is something I post to all of my forums every year. It's something I feel very strongly about, so I hope nobody minds a PSA from the new kid.
A lot of people have one particular illness or condition that they despise with all their heart, this is mine. Nearly eight years ago, my DVTs were diagnosed by a sharp-eyed nurse at our local emergency room, and her diagnosis was confirmed by ultrasound. I had four clots in my left leg, and spent the next three weeks in the hospital, part of that time in the ICU. For the next four months, I took three shots of heparin every day, and I'm absolutely fine today because of that nurse's knowledge and the excellent medical care I received. My stepfather developed a DVT 23 years ago, and his was diagnosed during his autopsy. He'd been misdiagnosed as having a chest cold following a severe leg injury, that "chest cold" was in fact the pulmonary embolism that ended up killing him. The only difference was the diagnosis, or lack of. It's highly treatable if detected, and it shouldn't be killing so many people every single year.
Please take a few minutes and go read the information available at PreventDVT.org, especially the signs and symptoms, and file that information away in your mind . Odds are that you'll never develop a DVT, but if you do, recognizing the symptoms may very well save your life. You don't have to panic, and you shouldn't start thinking that you're in deep trouble every time you get a cramp in your calf, but people definitely should be aware of what to watch for. Just educate yourself, pass the information along to people you know who are in high risk categories, and be aware. If detected, they're very treatable, and educating the public could go a long way toward doing something about the 300,000 people who die from complications of DVT every year.
Thanks for reading this, and please pass it on.
A lot of people have one particular illness or condition that they despise with all their heart, this is mine. Nearly eight years ago, my DVTs were diagnosed by a sharp-eyed nurse at our local emergency room, and her diagnosis was confirmed by ultrasound. I had four clots in my left leg, and spent the next three weeks in the hospital, part of that time in the ICU. For the next four months, I took three shots of heparin every day, and I'm absolutely fine today because of that nurse's knowledge and the excellent medical care I received. My stepfather developed a DVT 23 years ago, and his was diagnosed during his autopsy. He'd been misdiagnosed as having a chest cold following a severe leg injury, that "chest cold" was in fact the pulmonary embolism that ended up killing him. The only difference was the diagnosis, or lack of. It's highly treatable if detected, and it shouldn't be killing so many people every single year.
Please take a few minutes and go read the information available at PreventDVT.org, especially the signs and symptoms, and file that information away in your mind . Odds are that you'll never develop a DVT, but if you do, recognizing the symptoms may very well save your life. You don't have to panic, and you shouldn't start thinking that you're in deep trouble every time you get a cramp in your calf, but people definitely should be aware of what to watch for. Just educate yourself, pass the information along to people you know who are in high risk categories, and be aware. If detected, they're very treatable, and educating the public could go a long way toward doing something about the 300,000 people who die from complications of DVT every year.
Thanks for reading this, and please pass it on.
