Platelets in your blood trigger a series of chemical reactions that form strands in the blood stream. These strands form a meshwork, like a screen, that traps more platelets as they move through the blood, and a clot is formed. Without treatment, the clot will begin to block the blood flow. When blood can't feed the muscle tissue beyond the blocked area, that tissue is damaged, sometimes forever. This is often a painful and usually dangerous situation.

When you get a cut or scrape, normal blood forms a clot to stop the bleeding and heal the injury. This process speeds up when your blood mixes with the air. A clot starts to form in just a few seconds. Then you get a scab.

Inside your body, the veins and arteries that move blood to and from your heart can also become clotted. This happens when blood flow is diminished or blocked by a damaged area inside your body. Sometimes build-up on the artery walls can burst or leak and form a blood clot within minutes, causing an emergency situation.

A clotting tendancy may also result during pregnancy, or when using oral contraceptive, due to chemical changes in the blood.

More information is available through Thrombosis information at www.thrombosisonline.com