Mum issues advice after spotting red mark on leg that turned out to be potentially deadly 60cm blood clot
A mum has urged people to beware after finding a red mark on her thigh that was caused by a birth control pill.
Hanah Thornton of Missouri, USA, shared a horror health story recently, where she had to go to the hospital after spotting a rash-like mark on her skin, for something that some women use regularly.
The 23-year-old mother revealed that she initially thought that the pain in her thigh was regular muscle pain from the gym, though as her discomfort continued, she was left with no choice but to go to the hospital to get it checked out.
On 10 September, a doctor diagnosed her with cellulitis, sending her home with antibiotics, but this didn't do much for her pain.
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Thornton recalled that the red mark on her leg kept growing and went to a different hospital to get an ultrasound, where it was revealed that she had a blood clot in her limb.
Photos reveal the red mark making its way up her inner leg to her groin, where the clot had formed.
The cause behind it was determined to be the combined contraceptive pill. She was prescribed blood thinners to stop the clot from growing further.
The clot was just a centimetre away from a large vein in her leg, which had it travelled to her lungs could have been a much worse situation - fatal even.
Having gone on birth control following the birth of her daughter Henslee in September 2021, Thornton switched to the combined pill last year as the mini pill - a progestogen-only pill - was causing her to have irregular periods.
She originally had no problems with the pill and saw it as a good way to avoid getting pregnant, but now reveals that she will never use it again as she is encouraging women to do their own research on side effects of the combined pill - which contains hormones oestrogen and progestogen - to avoid situations like hers.
The dental assistant recalled the condition, saying that her leg was 'getting very tender' one weekend, and originally attributed it to her regular exercise, though realised that she hadn't done anything that weekend.
On the Monday, she noticed a red patch going up her leg, which was 'hot to touch', to the point where she 'could barely walk on it'.
"It was about two inches long and it travelled from under my knee all the way up my thigh.
"On Tuesday I went to work and I couldn't walk on my leg.
"The redness was going a lot higher up my leg now and the tenderness and the swelling was getting worse," she explained.
"I ended up going back to a different hospital later in the day and I was booked in for an ultrasound.
"In the ultrasound the sonographer immediately told me that I had a blood clot.
"He told me where it was tracking, which was from the bottom of my knee all the way up to my groin area.
"I'd say it was at least 60 centimetres and it was up the whole vein," Thornton explained, admitting that she was scared as she could have died the night before.
"It was one centimetre from being away from a big vein that could have travelled into my lung. It was very close to being life or death."
The NHS explain that the likelihood of getting a blood clot on the combined pill is extremely rare, affecting up to one in 1,000 people, though there is the risk of developing a blood clot in your leg or lung on the combined pill, which can cause stroke or heart attack.
"It is a scary thing to go through. Knowing that it was a life or death situation.
"If I hadn't treated it in time or stood my ground to say something was wrong, how much longer would this have gone on and how much longer would I have been here for it?"
She highlighted her message: "I would tell other women to educate themselves. As a mum, I understand that someone might go on the pill so they don't have another baby.
"I will never disagree with being on a pill but I would say really talk to your doctor and understand the risks that could happen as you could be that one person."
Joshua Nair