Health Articles 101

Blood clotting is one of the body’s mechanisms for repairing damage. When you get cut, a clot forms to stop the bleeding. If you get a nick or tear inside one of your blood vessels, the same thing happens. When the body is healed and the clot is no longer needed, your body breaks down the clot. In people with blood clotting disorders, the process goes awry. Unwanted blood clotting can be life threatening. Genetic clotting disorders are inherited. Acquired clotting disorders are the result of a condition or disease. Smoking, being hospitalized, or being obese or overweight contribute to this problem. Diseases that cause blood clotting disorders include bone marrow disorders, antiphospholipid antibody syndrome, vasculitis, atherosclerosis, diabetes, heart failure, and metabolic syndrome.Inflammatory diseases like lupus can also cause clotting problems. Blood with an overabundance of red cells is sometimes referred to as thick blood and is more prone to clotting.

People with these disorders are often required to take medication to prevent blood clotting. While they may be tempted to use natural blood thinners to manage their clotting, extreme care should be taken. Vitamin E, tree ear mushrooms, fish oil, dong quai, feverfew, ginkgo, ginger and garlic have some blood thinning properties. One of cayenne pepper benefits is to reduce inflammation so that blood can flow more freely and is therefore less likely to clot. If you use these natural approaches and also take your medication you are at risk for dangerous, excessive bleeding. If you simply stop your blood thinners in favor of the natural approach you could have a clot that causes a stroke, heart attack, kidney or other organ failure. Remember that abnormal blood clotting can be life threatening, so you must work in close partnership with your doctor in order to manage these disorders.

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