Bed rest and elevating the leg can help reduce the swelling and pain. The person is often given an injection of a blood-thinning medication. The injection may be given through an IV or under the skin. These blood-thinning medications, such as heparin and enoxaparin, help prevent further growth of the blood clot. After a few days of blood-thinning medications by injection, the person can be switched to pills.
Warfarin is the most common blood thinning pill.
In some people, blood-thinning medications cannot be used. For example, a person may have a high risk of bleeding, a side effect of thinning the blood. In these cases, a surgical procedure can be done. This involves inserting a filter in one of the major veins of the body that leads to the heart. This filter catches any clots that break off so they cannot get into the lungs and cause death.