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What Causes Severe Swelling In The Leg?

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Posted on Mon, 2 Jan 2017
Question: Right leg and foot swollen. No injury. Been taking ibuprofen every 4 hours for neck pain. Could that cause one leg to swell?
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Answered by Dr. Michelle Gibson James (30 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
a clot needs to be ruled out

Detailed Answer:
HI, thanks for using healthcare magic

The ibuprofen is not known to cause this type of reaction though everyone is different. Additionally there is no reason, since the medication is in the blood stream, why it would affect one leg and not the other.

If there is no history of injury then you may need to rule out a deep vein thrombosis (clot in the deep veins of the leg)..

The other causes of unilateral (one sided ) leg swelling would be : (1) infection of the skin or underlying tissues
(2)arthritis

It would be best to see your doctor for an assessment so that you can appropriately treated.
If your doctor suspects a clot, he or she may ask for a doppler ultrasound to take a look at the veins in the leg.

If confirmed then anti coagulation (medication to reduce clotting) would be needed for a time.

I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions
Note: For further queries, consult a joint and bone specialist, an Orthopaedic surgeon. Book a Call now.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Michelle Gibson James

General & Family Physician

Practicing since :2001

Answered : 16808 Questions

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What Causes Severe Swelling In The Leg?

Brief Answer: a clot needs to be ruled out Detailed Answer: HI, thanks for using healthcare magic The ibuprofen is not known to cause this type of reaction though everyone is different. Additionally there is no reason, since the medication is in the blood stream, why it would affect one leg and not the other. If there is no history of injury then you may need to rule out a deep vein thrombosis (clot in the deep veins of the leg).. The other causes of unilateral (one sided ) leg swelling would be : (1) infection of the skin or underlying tissues (2)arthritis It would be best to see your doctor for an assessment so that you can appropriately treated. If your doctor suspects a clot, he or she may ask for a doppler ultrasound to take a look at the veins in the leg. If confirmed then anti coagulation (medication to reduce clotting) would be needed for a time. I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions