Deep vein thrombosis is much more dangerous than phlebitis.

Its name comes from the fact that a blood clot can form in the deep veins, i.e. those between the muscles and bones, which literally blocks the veins. The blood now has to look for detour if it wants to continue flowing towards the heart and finds them in other deep or sometimes even superficial veins. These are the veins that run just under the skin and can then also change into varicose veins as a result of this increased "detour blood flow".

In acute cases of deep vein thrombosis, the leg often swells and becomes bluish and painful. In such cases, a doctor must be consulted immediately in order to make the correct diagnosis. This is necessary to prevent further growth of the thrombosis and a pulmonary embolism. A pulmonary embolism occurs when part of the blood clot becomes detached and flows in the blood to the lungs, where it literally "gets stuck". Pulmonary embolism can be fatal if left untreated.

Modern drugs such as heparin provide immediate protection and can avert this danger. The development of this class of medication, which can be self-injected by the patient using a ready-to-use syringe, has revolutionized the treatment of deep vein thrombosis. Whereas until a few years ago, every case of deep vein thrombosis required emergency hospital admission, nowadays deep vein thrombosis and minor pulmonary embolisms can be treated on an outpatient basis using injections alone. In addition to the daily heparin injection, a strong bandage (compression bandage or compression stocking) is applied. After just a few days, you can switch to blood thinning medication (Marcoumar, Sintrom).