Vein Pain - Meaning, Causes And Treatment

Vein pain is mainly defined as a feeling of distress and agony caused by the stimulation of pain nerve endings in the veins. Some possible causes of vein pain can be thrombophlebitis, venous thrombosis, Cellulitis, Venous statis, cold, etc.

Vein Pain
One of the main reasons for vein pain is thrombosis which can be treated by medicine.

Deep vein thrombosis is one such reason for acute vein pain. Deep vein thrombosis is a condition wherein a blood clot forms in a deep vein. This deep vein thrombosis usually affects the legs, i.e., the calf region and can spread up to the deep veins in the thigh. This condition can cause a lot of pain and may lead to complications such as pulmonary embolism. This condition rarely affects other deep veins.

Certain symptoms of deep vein thrombosis can help easily identify this condition for timely treatment. Many blood clots that occur in a deep vein thrombosis are small and do not cause symptoms as the body itself can break down these blood clots. However, bigger blood clots cannot be broken down by the body and may cause symptoms like swelling of the affected leg, pain in the affected leg and reddening of the affected leg. Although these symptoms do not necessarily pin point to deep vein thrombosis, a physician opinion should be sought should these symptoms arise.

There are various causes for the occurrence of deep vein thrombosis. An individual who has had a blood clot in vein before, a family history of blood clot in veins, an inherited condition of blood clotting in veins, certain blood diseases, cancer or cancer treatments, circulation problems or heart failure or a recent surgery to the hips or knees are at a higher risk to contact deep vein thrombosis. Certain women who take contraceptive pills containing oestrogen, take hormone replacement therapy, are pregnant or have recently given birth can also be at a higher risk to contact deep vein thrombosis. Evidence also suggests that people who frequently fly for long hours are also at higher risk to contact this condition. Treatment includes medicine such as heparin and warfarin which alter chemicals in blood to stop the blood from clotting. These are called as anticoagulant medicine.

Diagnosis for deep vein thrombosis includes blood test for D-Dimer, a Doppler ultra sound which is the best way to detect any formation of blood clots or venogram in which a special dye is first injected into the veins and then an X-ray is taken to determine the possible existence of deep vein thrombosis.