A young mom has revealed how a ‘red patch’ tracking up her right leg was a warning sign she had a serious blood clot.
Hanah Thornton, a 23-year-old mother-of-one from Willow Springs, Missouri, began to feel a pain in her leg over the weekend but put it down to her gym session.
On Tuesday, however, it was so bad she could barely walk, while a ‘hot’ red patch running from her groin to the back of her knee had emerged, prompting her to rush to the ER.
Scans showed she had deep vein thrombosis, or DVT, a condition where a blood clot has formed. Doctors said it was just 0.4 inches from entering a major vein that could have taken it to the lungs, where it may have blocked a major artery and been fatal.
Ms Thornton took blood thinners to make the clot dissolve, and must now keep taking them four times a day for the next three months to ensure it doesn’t return.
Hanah Thornton, 23, was rushed to the hospital after she was struggling to walk. Doctors revealed she had a blood clot in her leg
The above image shows the red swelling in her leg that was caused by the blood clot in her vein
She says that doctors told her it was caused by the combined contraceptive pill, which contains the female sex hormones progesterone and estrogen.
This pill can raise the levels of clotting factors in the blood and, in turn, the risk of suffering from a blood clot, doctors say. About one in 1,000 users of this pill suffer from the complication every year.
Describing the mark, Ms Thornton said: ‘Over the weekend, I noticed that my leg was getting very tender.
‘I’m a pretty active person and I do a lot of walking and go to the gym so I thought it was just muscle pain so I didn’t think too much into it.
‘I then started to think that I hadn’t been to the gym or gone walking over the weekend to make it tender.’
She added: ‘Later that day, I got home and a red patch had started to go up my leg and it was very hot to touch and very tender to the point that I could barely walk on it. It was my right leg.
‘It was about two inches long and it traveled from under my knee all the way up my thigh. I’d say it was at least 23 inches and it was up the whole vein.’
The dental assistant is revealing her story to warn others of some of the potential dangers of taking contraceptives.
She said doctors told her that the clot was caused by her combined contraceptive (pictured), which can boost clotting factors in the blood and raise the risk of clots
She added online: ‘I never thought this would happen to me, but here we are now at 23 having to be on a blood thinner. Be aware and educate yourself on the birth control you take!’
The first time she visited the doctor on the second Monday this month, she was told she had cellulitis and was discharged.
But after the pain worsened she went to another hospital, where scans were undertaken before the blood clot was revealed.
Ms Thornton went on birth control for the first time three years ago after becoming a mom and giving birth to her daughter Henslee in September 2021.
Originally, she was prescribed the mini contraceptive pill, but when this caused her to have irregular periods she switched to the combined pill a year ago, sold under the brand name Eliquis.
At first, the dental assistant said she had no issues on the new pill and that it was a good preventative method to stop her from falling pregnant again.
DVT is suffered by as many as 900,000 Americans every year, but these individuals normally are aged over 60 years old and have another underlying condition like heart disease.
Warning signs include swelling in the legs or arms, pain or tenderness in the area, and skin that has turned red or discolored.
Doctors say veins that are near the surface may also be larger than normal.
Besides blood thinners, patients may also be asked to wear compression stockings to improve or completely get rid of leg swelling.
Doctors warn that some patients may have swollen legs for the rest of their lives because the blockage can cause damage to veins in the area.
