phlebitis

Although many prominent suffers are men (see below), most people with the condition, perhaps 80 to 90 percent, are women.

When phlebitis is associated with the formation of blood clots (thrombosis), usually in the deep veins of the legs, the condition is called thrombophlebitis.

Etiology

• Bacterial: Pathogenic organisms can gain access and stimulate inflammation.
• Chemical: caused by irritating or vesicant solutions.
• Mechanical: physical trauma from the skin puncture and movement of the cannula into the vein during insertion; any subsequent manipulation and movement of the cannula; clotting; or excessively large cannula.
• Medications including Celebrex, antidepressants, and others.
• Lupus
• Genetic as it is known to run in families.

Signs and Symptoms

• Redness (erythema) and warmth with a temperature elevation of a degree or more above the baseline
• Pain or burning along the length of the vein
• Swelling (edema)
• Vein being hard, and cordlike
• If occurring due to an intravenous infusion line, then slowed infusion rate

Phlebitis in popular culture

• Perhaps the most famous sufferer from phlebitis was the late United States president Richard Nixon.
• The condition was detailed in The Dharma Bums and other writings by Beat author Jack Kerouac, who suffered from the disease probably brought on by years of benzedrine and alcohol abuse.
• Truman Capote, famed author of In Cold Blood and many other works, suffered from phlebitis. Pablo Neruda, the famous poet,also suffered from it.
• In the Futurama episode A Head In The Polls, the head of Richard Nixon comments that his body was flabby, had pasty skin, and was riddled with phlebitis. He also concluded this made his body a "good Republican body".
• In The Simpsons episode Bart Gets an F, the school nurse believes Bart has phlebitis.
• In All in the Family episode Too Good Edith, Edith has phlebitis.
• Peter Boyle's character on Everybody Loves Raymond suffers from phlebitis. Or at least it is used as an excuse for getting out of undesirable family functions.
• In King Of The Hill, when Mr. Strickland took bible study class in the pool with Luanne, Hank noted that it was "good for his phlebitis".
• In the M*A*S*H episode "The Young and the Restless", Colonel Potter suffers through a bout of phlebitis, aggravated by his initial refusal to acknowledge his condition.