They might not sound very life threatening, but a blood clot that develops in the deep veins of your leg, if left untreated and unable to dissolve of its own volition, may detach and travel to your lungs, causing a pulmonary embolism (or PE). In most cases, a leg blood clot will form due to lengthy periods of travel, for example if you remain immobile in cramped spaces—such as an airplane or bus—with few opportunities to stretch your legs or get up and walk around. Here are 15 signs that you may have a dangerous blood clot in your leg…
1. Redness
A slight discoloration of the skin in the area of the clot is often one of the first signs of the formation of a thrombus (or clot) deep in a vein. The cause of the skin discoloration is pretty straightforward: dense collections of blood beneath the surface of the skin become visible as they grow in size.
If you experience persistent patches of red skin in the legs, particularly after an injury or surgery, you should bring them to the attention of your doctor. The hallmark of deep vein thrombosis skin redness is that it does not go away over time, or intensifies for no immediately detectable reason.