If you have been suffering from pain and swelling in your legs, you probably have the early warning signs of deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism. On visiting the doctor, they will examine your leg and run some tests to understand the condition. Deep vein thrombosis occurs when blood clots in the veins harm the circulation of blood to all the parts of the body. You may also have a thorough check to examine the areas of swelling, redness, tenderness, and discoloration of the skin. The severity of the blood clot would let the doctor decide its future treatment. The doctor might suggest the following tests:

Ultrasound
The test does not hurt you, as nothing is injected inside the body nor does any radiation enter your body. To find the early warning signs of deep vein thrombosis, a technician spreads gel on the suspected area and a wand-like object rubs the gel on the surface. Now, an image of the blood vessels and blood clots start to form on the computer. This type of test is useful to find clots in the superficial layers. However, it cannot examine the clots deep inside the body or pelvis. In severe cases, a series of ultrasounds are carried out to see if the lump is growing.

Blood test
Anyone who is suffering from deep vein thrombosis and its early warning symptoms has to undergo a d-dimer test. On conducting the analysis, if you have a clot, the level of protein is high because the vein is damaged and the protein in the blood spreads all over the body.

CT scan or Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
A machine with radio waves and the magnetic field draw images of the entire internal portions of the body on the computer. You might require the best shot inside the machine to get much better pictures of the blood vessels in detail.

Venography
A special X-ray is carried out to find deep vein thrombosis when the doctor inserts a radioactive dye into the large vein of the legs that would make the veins and clot visible. This test is more accurate than the diagnosis from the ultrasound. There are chances of blood clots while performing the analysis.

As you are diagnosed with the disease, you would need to follow a proper treatment. Firstly, you would need to visit the doctor regularly for follow-ups and take blood-thinning medicines daily for 3-6 months. The best alternative to slow down thrombosis is to wear compression stockings and start to move your body as much as possible to reduce the blood clots.

So, these are the diagnostic tests and treatment one has to go through if they are suffering from deep vein thrombosis and its early warning symptoms.