The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1944-07-27

OuIy, anu bueu OHly luIOuku
his column.
cuss the subject, il seems TO have
come to the notice of good many
people. 49,.
Phlebitis means an inhamma-
ton Of a vein. The veins usually
involved are those Of the leg
the most dependent part Of the
body and, therefore, the part
where the large veins have the
blood moving the most sluggish
ly. Since the veins are always
filed with blood when an infec-
tion strikes them it results almost
instanter in CLOTHING Of the blood.
So a phlebitis really is a thrombo-
phlebitis-thromus being the word
for a clot inside a blood vessel.
Phlebitis occurs almost always
during convalescence from a sur
gical operation, or childbirth, or
lying in bed following q broken
bone, or accident of some kind. 1t
occurs occasionally in varicose
veins, but not as often as the
favorable circumstances which
that condition presents would
lead one to expect. Phlebitis also
Is one Of the complications Of in
fictitious diseases, particularly ty-
phoid fever, but with the practical
disappearance Of typhoid that va
riety is nearly eliminated. Pneu-
monia is the next most frequent
infectious cause in phlebitis.
Infection in Blood Stream
How does the infection get to
the vein? Since the inside of the
vein is well protected from the
outside world it must be infection
already in the blood stream. Some
times it is very easy to see how
this occurs, sometimes very diff.
ficult.
After childbirth the womb is
large and soft and it lies right
over the big veins in the pelvis
into which the leg veins drain.
The uterus is at this stage Doggy
and very frequently there are re-
mains Of septic material in it. It
is to prevent the presence of this
septic material that the modern
obstetrician is so careful with his
technique of cleanliness. But in
spite Of all precautions, some
times slight sepsis does occur.
And this lying over the pelvic
vein, or perhaps carried by the
general circulation to the slug
gish veins in this condition in
fects their inside wall, causes the
phlebitis.
II Is not always so easy TO ae-
count for all the cases Of phlebitis
following surgical operation, but
any wound is liable TO have septic
material in it, no matter how
meticulous the precautions against
such accidents, and this septic
material wandering through the
blood vessels finds the veins In
the legs of a person lying in bed
the ideal spot for setting up in
f1ammation.
Most Cases Curable
A phlebitis may be acutely dam
gerous, even fatal, in the produc-
ton of an embolus in the lung-a
small clot of blood which detaehes
itself from the main clot in the
veins of the leg and wanders
around until it reaches a vessel
so small it cannot get through SO
lodges there-snd usually this Is
in the lung.
Most cases Of phlebitis get well,
but the remote consequences are
not always pleasant. Natures
method of cure is to cause the clot
in the vein to become hard like
scar tissue and then to canalize
it with little vein channels. These
canals perform the function of
the vein which is to carry the
blood back to the heart, but they
do not work as we'll as the orig
inal model, and the person is
likely TO have the affected leg
swell up on any unusual exertion.
1t even gets permanently larger
than its fellow.
Surgeons and obstetricians are
making every effort TO prevent
this disagreeable and dangerous
complication. Since one of the
factors seems definitely to be
rest, it is the modern custom to
get the surgical patient or the
convalescent mother out Of bed
earlier than the old two week
standard. Many surgeons approve
getdng the patient up on the
fourth post-operative day.