Phlebitis, (Inflamed Veins) A Simple Guide To The Condition, Diagnosis, Treatment And Related Conditions

By Kenneth Kee

Phlebitis is swelling (inflammation) of a vein especially of the leg.
It most often happens in superficial veins.
Very frequently the inflammation occurs together with the formation of a clot (thrombus) which blocks the blood flow through the vein.
This disorder is known as thrombophlebitis or venous thrombosis, an annoying but not harmful disorder.
There are two main types of phlebitis:
1. A superficial disorder that is painful but not threatening to life.
Superficial phlebitis is most likely to form in:
a. People with varicose veins,
b. Patients who are bedridden
c. Pregnant women.
There may be obvious swelling and a red streak along the involved vein.
2. Deep phlebitis,also known as deep vein thrombosis a potentially serious disorder involving an interior blood vessel.
The most important danger is that a portion of the clot will break away and move through the venous system to the lungs forming a pulmonary embolism.
If one of the large pulmonary vessels is blocked, death may result.
Deep phlebitis is more likely to cause:
a. Pain or burning along the length of the vein
b. Localized redness and swelling of the entire limb
c. Vein being hard and cord-like.
Most of the time, it occurs in the pelvis and legs.
Blood clots may form when something slows or changes the flow of blood in the veins.
Risk factors for phlebitis are:
1. Cancer or liver disease
2. Deep vein thrombosis
3. Varicose veins
4. Infection
5. Pregnancy
6. Sitting or staying still for a prolonged period
7. The presence of an indwelling (long-term) catheter in a blood vessel
Causes of phlebitis are:
1. Trauma to the vessel wall,
2. Hyper-coagulability of the blood,
3. Infection,
4. Prolonged sitting, standing, immobilization,
5. After a long period of intravenous catheterization
Symptoms
1. Swelling in the part of the body affected
2. Pain in the part of the body affected
3. Skin redness (not always present)
4. Warmth and tenderness over the vein
The doctor will diagnose this disorder based mainly on the appearance of the affected vein.
Frequent checks of the pulse, blood pressure, temperature, skin condition, and blood flow is required.
Ultrasound of the blood vessels and venography help confirm the disorder.
Treatment
Support stockings and wraps decrease discomfort.
The doctor may prescribe medicines such as:
1. Painkillers
2. Blood thinners (heparin, fondaparinux, enoxaparin) to prevent new clots from forming, only prescribed when deep veins are affected
3. Medicines to reduce pain and swelling
4. Medicines intravenously to dissolve an existing clot
The patient may:
1. Keep pressure off the area to reduce pain and decrease the risk of further damage.
2. Raise the affected area to reduce swelling.
Rarely:
1. Surgical removal of a vein near the surface
2. Vein stripping
3. Bypass of the vein
Superficial Phlebitis is normally treated with:
1. Periods of rest with the leg elevated,
2. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
3 .Antibiotics are not regularly indicated for treatment of superficial phlebitis, in that the erythema and tenderness are local inflammatory reactions.
It is given when suppurative Phlebitis is present.
4. Warm compresses ease the inflammation,
5. Elastic stockings or bandages may help to reduce the swelling.
Deep Phlebitis is normally treated with anticoagulant drugs to reduce the formation of clots and to permit the clots that have already formed to dissolve.
1. Bed rest with the leg elevated
2. Anticoagulant drugs may be prescribed for up to several months to prevent recurrence.

TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Phlebitis
Chapter 2 Causes
Chapter 3 Symptoms
Chapter 4 Diagnosis
Chapter 5 Treatment
Chapter 6 Prognosis
Chapter 7 Varicose Veins

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kenneth Kee
• Release date: Sep 8, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370584239

Kenneth Kee

Medical doctor since 1972.Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 74However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours inthe afternoon.He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.comThis autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.The later books go into more details of medical disorders.He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) startingwith the Apple computer and going to PC.The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.Dr Kee is the author of:"A Family Doctor's Tale""Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine""Case Notes From A Family Doctor"

Book preview

Phlebitis,

(Inflamed Veins)

A

Simple

Guide

To

The Condition,

Diagnosis,

Treatment

And

Related Conditions

By

Dr Kenneth Kee

M.B.,B.S. (Singapore)

Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)

Copyright Kenneth Kee 2017 Smashwords Edition

Published by Kenneth Kee at Smashwords.com

Dedication

This book is dedicated

To my wife Dorothy

And my children

Carolyn, Grace

And Kelvin

This book describes Phlebitis, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases which is seen in some of my patients in my Family Clinic.

(What The patient Need to Treat Phlebitis)

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If the patient would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.

If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Introduction

I have been writing medical articles for my blog http://kennethkee.blogspot.com (A Simple Guide to Medical Disorder) for the benefit of my patients since 2007.

My purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of my patients.

Health Education was also my dissertation for my Ph.D (Healthcare Administration).

I then wrote an autobiolographical account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com.

This autobiolographical account A Family Doctor’s Tale was combined with my early A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders into a new Wordpress Blog A Family Doctor’s Tale on http://kenkee481.wordpress.com.

From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 800 amazon kindle books and 200 into Smashwords.com eBooks.

Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.

For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.

The later books go into more details of medical disorders.

The first chapter is always from my earlier blogs which unfortunately tends to have typos and spelling mistakes.

Since 2013, I have tried to improve my spelling and writing.

As I tried to bring the patient the latest information about a disorder or illness by reading the latest journals both online and offline, I find that I am learning more and improving on my own medical knowledge in diagnosis and treatment for my patients.

Just by writing all these simple guides I find that I have learned a lot from your reviews (good or bad), criticism and advice.

I am sorry for the repetitions in these simple guides as the second chapters onwards have new information as compared to my first chapter taken from my blog.

I also find repetition definitely help me and maybe some readers to remember the facts in the books more easily.

I apologize if these repetitions are irritating to some readers.

Chapter 1

Phlebitis (Inflamed Veins)

What is Phlebitis (Inflamed Veins)?

Phlebitis is the inflammation of a vein normally in the legs.

Phlebitis is swelling (inflammation) of a vein.

It most often happens in superficial veins.

Very frequently the inflammation occurs together with the formation of a clot (thrombus) which blocks the blood flow through the vein.

This disorder is known as thrombophlebitis or venous thrombosis, an annoying but not harmful disorder.

What are the types of Phlebitis?

There are two main types of phlebitis:

1. A superficial disorder that is painful but not threatening to life.

Superficial phlebitis is most likely to form in:

a. People with varicose veins,

b. Patients who are bedridden

c. Pregnant women.

There may be obvious swelling and a red streak along the involved vein.

There may also be heaviness and pain in the leg.

The discomfort is normally eased when the leg is elevated and worsened when it is lowered.

2. Deep phlebitis, a potentially serious disorder involving an interior blood vessel.

About 300,000 Americans are hospitalized each year because of deep phlebitis.

The most important danger is that a portion of the clot will break away and move through the venous system to the lungs forming a pulmonary embolism.

If one of the large pulmonary vessels is blocked, death may result.

Deep phlebitis is more likely to cause:

a. Pain or burning along the length of the vein

b. Localized redness and swelling of the entire limb

c. Vein being hard and cord-like.

Unfortunately deep Phlebitis may happen without producing symptoms until a pulmonary embolism signals its presence.

What are the Causes of Phlebitis?

Causes

Phlebitis may affect deeper, larger veins or veins near the skin surface.

Most of the time, it occurs in the pelvis and legs.

Blood clots may form when something slows or changes the flow of blood in the veins.

Risk factors for phlebitis are:

1. Cancer or liver disease

2. Deep vein thrombosis

3. Disorders that involve raised blood clotting (may be inherited)

4. Infection

5. Pregnancy

6. Sitting or staying still for a prolonged period

7. Taking estrogens or birth control pills (this risk is even higher with smoking)

8. Swollen, twisted, and enlarged veins (varicose veins)

9. A pacemaker catheter that has been passed through the vein in the