# Foot injury - advice? {It’s a blood clot} **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 27, 2022, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-injury-advice-it-s-a-blood-clot/970446 "2022-08-27T20:08:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2022, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-injury-advice-it-s-a-blood-clot/970446/301 "2022-11-01T02:16:07Z")
Caffeine is a diuretic, although i think it hydrates me more than it dehydrates me. I’m drinking decaf these days, though, so i bet my coffee works like water. But i also bet it varies a little by person. That being said, if your doctor wants you to drink water, try to drink as much water as he recommends. (If you add up my numbers, I’m pretty sure I’m above 40oz just with water. Because i enjoy drinking water.) You might want to shop for a brand of water or a filter that makes your water taste good to you. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2022, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-injury-advice-it-s-a-blood-clot/970446/302 "2022-11-01T02:17:07Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > Coffee, tea, pop, beer, etc., all require water for your body to digest/process/metabolize/excrete, thereby using up some of the water in the beverage. One reason i drink a lot of water with meals is feel like it helps me digest my food. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2022, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-injury-advice-it-s-a-blood-clot/970446/303 "2022-11-01T02:25:15Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > You might want to shop for a brand of water or a filter that makes your water taste good to you I don’t mind tap water any more than bottled. It’s just super boring. But I’ll choke it down if it keeps me out of the hospital. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2022, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-injury-advice-it-s-a-blood-clot/970446/304 "2022-11-01T02:47:03Z")
Alcohol is the only beverage that will cause net dehydration. I not saying you shouldn’t follow your doctor’s advice, but I will say I stay well hydrated even though I never drink plain water. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2022, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-injury-advice-it-s-a-blood-clot/970446/305 "2022-11-01T03:00:39Z")
And I’m sure my tea is a net increase in hydration. I’m told that the critical distinction between small beer (about 3% alcohol, iirc) and stronger drink is that small beer hydrates you. ---
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2022, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-injury-advice-it-s-a-blood-clot/970446/306 "2022-11-01T11:20:54Z")
In the Netherlands among the young folks, there is this weird fashion for drinking bottles which release a perfume that make it seem as though your water is flavoured even if it isn’t. It’s quite expensive and I personally like plain water, but if it helps you drink more, you might look into it. Let me see if I can find them for you. Here [it](https://us.air-up.com/)is! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2022, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-injury-advice-it-s-a-blood-clot/970446/307 "2022-11-01T11:55:50Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > Drink 40 oz of water. It seemed a bit silly to me, but I’ll do it. That’s just one quart and one cup of water. I drink more than that each day. When I had my first gout attack the doctor told me I had to stop drinking beer. I told her that wasn’t going to happen. I read about over hydrating and have been chugging water ever since. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2022, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-injury-advice-it-s-a-blood-clot/970446/308 "2022-11-01T11:58:56Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > Next up - Hematologist visit! This doc was a blood specialist, the idea is to determine how long I should be on blood thinners and how in heck I got a clot in the first place. I just got back from visiting him, nice guy and quite helpful and clarifying. Excellent! There is a reason our bodies react the way they do, and you do need to discover the cause so that you can address that, too. You’re out of my doghouse, now. LOL ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2022, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-injury-advice-it-s-a-blood-clot/970446/309 "2022-11-01T14:16:39Z")
> [@eschrodinger](#): > > Alcohol is the only beverage that will cause net dehydration. I can’t find the article now (of course), but apparently the dehydrating effects of alcohol are a bit overblown. IIRC, it was something like drinking 5 12 oz beers is approximately the same as 4 12 oz glasses of water. You’ll pee a lot if you drink that much beer, but the water will get you peeing also. Of course, pounding shots is a different matter entirely, and the alcohol in the beers of course has other effects on your body. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2022, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-injury-advice-it-s-a-blood-clot/970446/310 "2022-11-01T14:18:45Z")
I don’t remember the exact cut-off between the %alcohol that will hydrate or dehydrate you, but I bet that number exists. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2022, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-injury-advice-it-s-a-blood-clot/970446/311 "2022-11-01T17:05:05Z")
Well, shit. I just heard from a distant aunt that my mother’s brother David (deceased) had blood clots in his leg similar to mine. I guess I should contact the hematologist with this info and see what he wants to do. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2022, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-injury-advice-it-s-a-blood-clot/970446/312 "2022-11-01T17:12:22Z")
Well, bummer. But someday you may be very glad you got this info from her. I have to admit I winced a bit when you said you weren’t going to see the doc again until March. That seems an awfully long way off when you don’t have a whole boatload of answers. Maybe it’s just me… so many people I know have died from medical shit (as opposed to accidents or in wartime)… it does tend to make you super vigilant. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2022, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-injury-advice-it-s-a-blood-clot/970446/313 "2022-11-01T17:53:35Z")
I think alcohol has a much stronger effect than that. This article is written in the context of exercise, but most of what it has to say applies whether you’re exercising or not. > [@](#): > > Caffeine and alcohol are widely-used drugs, and it’s not hard to understand why. They are pleasurable to consume, and not at all bad for health in moderate doses. Tea and cocoa beans are stuffed to the brim with health-protecting antioxidants, as is red wine! Moreover, small amounts of alcohol are believed to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. > > But what of their effects on hydration? When it comes to caffeine, the oft-repeated advice to cut out caffeinated drinks to boost hydration seems well wide of the mark. Not only is there scant evidence that drinks containing even moderate levels of caffeine exert a diuretic effect, but cutting out these drinks and not replacing them with at least an equivalent volume of non-caffeinated beverages would actually lead to poorer hydration. > > Normal-strength tea and coffee therefore appear to be perfectly acceptable either before or after exercise, although you should remember that sodium/electrolyte drinks may be a better strategy after strenuous exercise in the heat. The only caveat is that if you habitually abstain from caffeine, suddenly introducing it in the form of strong drinks may exert a mild diuretic effect. > > The post-exercise use of alcohol is more problematical, and the evidence suggests that, unless you consume very weak alcoholic drinks (2% by volume or less), alcohol should be completely avoided until you are fully hydrated. And because alcohol takes 36 hours to completely clear the system, athletes should refrain from its use for at least 48 hours before an event. > **[Caffeine and alcohol dehydration](https://www.sportsperformancebulletin.com/nutrition/supplements/caffeine-and-alcohol-dehydration)** > > Caffeine and alcohol - just how dehydrating are they? The dehydrating effects of caffeine are way overblown if you regularly consume it. Alcohol has long lasting effects due to its interference with the body’s own anti-diuretic, vasopressin, and other, less well understood, effects. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2022, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-injury-advice-it-s-a-blood-clot/970446/314 "2022-11-01T22:38:25Z")
@squeegee I want to ask about the steroid cream use. Did the doc tell you to use it every day? I ask because they have modified the recommendation for corticosteroids two weeks of use and then two weeks off, due to side effects of constant use, including a lessening of effectiveness. You might want to double-check with either the doctor or the pharmacist. The change is helping me control my skin issues much better than constant use did. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2022, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-injury-advice-it-s-a-blood-clot/970446/315 "2022-11-01T22:41:52Z")
> [@carnut](#): > > I want to ask about the steroid cream use. Did the doc tell you to use it every day? I ask because they have modified the recommendation for corticosteroids two weeks of use and then two weeks off, due to side effects of constant use, including a lessening of effectiveness. You might want to double-check with either the doctor or the pharmacist I wasn’t given very specific instructions. Basically “as needed for itching”, which means I don’t use it daily, just when I can’t stand the itchiness, which may mean at 2am because I can’t sleep. Last time I used it was on Sunday and today is Tuesday. That said, thanks for the tip. If it seems I need to keep using it, I’ll circle back with the doctor. My cream is .1% Triamcinelone. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2022, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-injury-advice-it-s-a-blood-clot/970446/316 "2022-11-01T23:28:29Z")
And you either wear gloves or wash your hands _really_ well after applying it, right? ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2022, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-injury-advice-it-s-a-blood-clot/970446/317 "2022-11-01T23:32:00Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > wash your hands _really_ well after applying it, right? That. It’s a gel, doesn’t like to come off, but I persevere. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2022, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-injury-advice-it-s-a-blood-clot/970446/318 "2022-11-01T23:41:38Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > As @VOW said, the compression stockings are hard to put on, BUT you can get them with zippers. They come in different “strengths,” so make sure you get the right level of pressure for you. Lest your head explode. Interesting. I’d never heard of ones with zippers. A big thing is to get ones that fit your legs. I’m someone who cannot buy boots, because my legs are so, er, substantial. But if you look at the stockings, they come in different sizes based on your calf size. They also come in different pressures, depending on your needs. I found that wearing mine all day was not a problem - tried them for the first time last December when we drove 500 miles. Before I got those, I had made the mistake of trying a pair of crew-height socks - which were worse than nothing. They lasted about an hour before I had to yank them off. There are Youtube videos on how to put the damn things on - that make it look a lot easier than I’ve found them to be, but I suspect it’s a matter of practice. Re your job (you’re in a similar line of work to my own): could you benefit from a sit-to-stand desk arrangement? No clue whether standing is any better for your situation than sitting. I tried working while standing a couple years back, and was surprised that my leg muscles got sore at the end of the day, for a bit - I guess I was doing more work with them than I thought. Re the steroid: as noted, overuse is not great. Use enough and it CAN have a systemic effect, and it can also thin the skin (which is likely not helpful). Doesn’t sound like you’re overdoing it though. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2022, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-injury-advice-it-s-a-blood-clot/970446/319 "2022-11-01T23:53:18Z")
You might want to use the cream a little more, not just when it’s unbearable. I find if i use it for a couple of days, it can give my skin time to heal. I agree with intermittent use, but you might try using it for a few days, and then going off it until the itching bothers you again. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2022, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-injury-advice-it-s-a-blood-clot/970446/320 "2022-11-02T02:22:03Z")
> [@Tibby](#): > > A quick and easy test for deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is Homans sign I was reading back through the thread, looking for something, and came across this. You know, no doctor or NP I saw actually did this test on me when I was seeking a diagnosis. At the time you wrote that post I was in severe pain and probably breezed right past it, but apparently you were totally on the right track way back in August, and my doctors were not (yet). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-injury-advice-it-s-a-blood-clot/970446.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-injury-advice-it-s-a-blood-clot/970446.md?page=17)