Tools for when the fear of a blood clot takes over
Leg pain, swelling or a change in breathing can feel frightening. Condri helps you seek appropriate medical care and notice when repeated checking adds to the worry. It cannot assess whether you have a clot.
A concern about deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or a pulmonary embolism may prompt you to inspect your legs, compare photographs, check a device reading or search for more information. These actions make sense when you want to be safe. They cannot provide a reliable diagnosis and may create more details to question.
Condri helps with the anxiety surrounding a medical concern, including the urge to repeat checks after you have sought advice. It does not ask you to wait, ignore symptoms or use a calming exercise to decide whether you need urgent care.
When to get medical help
Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 if you think you have DVT. Possible signs include throbbing pain and swelling in a leg, sometimes with a change in skin colour or swollen veins. Symptoms can also occur in an arm. Do not try to confirm or exclude a clot with home measurements.
Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 if difficulty breathing comes on suddenly or you are coughing up blood. Call 999 or go to A&E if you have severe difficulty breathing, chest or upper-back pain, a very fast heartbeat, or someone has passed out. Also call 999 or go to A&E if you have possible DVT symptoms such as leg pain and swelling together with breathlessness or chest pain. Do not drive yourself to A&E.
If you are pregnant and think you may have DVT, you can also contact your early pregnancy unit (before 20 weeks) or maternity unit if you have the number. Follow advice given by your clinician about anticoagulants or other prescribed treatment; do not change it because of this page. Condri cannot assess symptoms or provide emergency care. See what the evidence says about treatment for the anxiety pattern itself.
Here to help
Support when fear keeps drawing you back to your body
Condri offers tools for a repeated anxiety-driven urge after you have considered the medical guidance above. A pause is not a test that shows whether you are safe.
Panic button
A guided mindful pause to notice fear and the urge to check. If urgent or emergency symptoms are present, seek help immediately; do not complete an exercise first. Otherwise, choose the appropriate medical step or follow the plan agreed with your clinician.
Daily Condri practice
Short exercises to recognise checking, searching and reassurance seeking, and practise responding to uncertainty with more choice and self-compassion.
Members community
Support around health anxiety without asking other members to interpret leg photographs, device readings or symptoms, or decide whether urgent care is needed.
Interrupt the spiral
From a worry to an appropriate next step
Use it in the moment
Use these steps for a familiar urge to repeat a check. They do not replace prompt medical assessment of possible DVT or pulmonary embolism.
01
Name what you noticed
Describe the symptom or trigger briefly: “My leg is painful and swollen” or “A story about clots frightened me.” You need not decide its cause yourself.
02
Notice what anxiety asks you to do
You may want to compare legs again, measure, press, search or check a pulse oximeter. It is understandable to want certainty. Those actions cannot rule out a clot.
03
Take the medically appropriate action
Use the NHS urgent and emergency advice above. If a clinician has already assessed you, follow the advice and safety plan they gave you; seek further help if instructed or if a relevant symptom develops or changes. Do not use an app to repeat a medical decision.
04
Return to what matters
After taking an appropriate step, you can return to rest, work or a relationship even while some uncertainty remains. Mindfulness helps you make room for fear; it is not a test of medical safety.
05
Make room for the rest of the day
After taking the needed step, let your attention return to rest, a conversation or a valued activity where appropriate. You can care for your health while allowing uncertainty to be present. This is not an instruction to disregard symptoms while waiting for care.
Built with understanding
Care for your health without constant self-assessment
Condri is a health anxiety self-help app shaped by lived experience. Its tools draw on CBT, exposure and response prevention, acceptance-based practices, mindfulness and compassion-focused ideas. For some people these approaches may help reduce repeated measuring, body comparison, researching and requests for reassurance after appropriate medical advice.
Condri cannot examine your leg, assess breathing, interpret an oxygen reading, calculate clot risk, decide whether testing is needed or advise on anticoagulants. It can be used alongside medical care; it is not a replacement for it.
Member experiences
What members say about using Condri
“The panic button is the thing I actually use. It gets me to the other side of the spike without opening a search bar.”
App Store review
“First app that did not try to convince me nothing was wrong. It taught me what to do with the urge instead.”
App Store review
“The community is the part I did not expect. Nobody asks anyone to look at a photo of their throat.”
Common questions about brain tumour fears and health anxiety
Why does calf pain make me fear a blood clot?
Calf pain is one possible DVT symptom, so a sensation can bring up strong fear. Its cause cannot be identified by repeated pressing or online comparison. If you think you may have DVT, ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111.
What symptoms of DVT need medical advice?
NHS guidance describes possible symptoms such as throbbing pain and swelling in a leg, skin colour changes around the painful area or swollen veins; symptoms can sometimes occur in an arm. This is not a checklist to diagnose or rule out a clot. Seek urgent GP or NHS 111 advice if you think you have DVT.
When should I use emergency services?
Call 999 or go to A&E for severe difficulty breathing, chest or upper-back pain, a very fast heartbeat or collapse. Do the same if possible DVT symptoms occur with breathlessness or chest pain. Do not drive yourself to A&E or pause to use Condri first.
Why do I keep measuring or comparing my legs?
Measuring may feel objective, but repeated home comparisons cannot diagnose a DVT and may leave you with further differences to interpret. If swelling or pain makes you think you may have DVT, seek urgent medical advice instead of repeating the measurement.
Can repeated pressing make a painful area more tender?
Repeated pressing may contribute to tenderness. That does not explain why a particular leg hurts and must never be used to dismiss possible DVT. Seek urgent medical advice if you think you may have a clot.
Can anxiety cause breathlessness?
Anxiety may affect breathing, but breathlessness has other possible causes. Sudden breathing difficulty requires urgent GP or NHS 111 advice under NHS pulmonary embolism guidance. Severe difficulty breathing, chest or upper-back pain, a very fast heartbeat or collapse needs 999 or A&E. Condri cannot distinguish the causes.
Can a home oxygen reading rule out a pulmonary embolism?
No. A pulse oximeter alone cannot decide whether you have a pulmonary embolism. Do not use repeated readings instead of seeking medical advice for symptoms. Continue any monitoring your healthcare team has specifically recommended.
How are suspected blood clots assessed?
A clinician considers symptoms and relevant history and arranges appropriate tests when needed. Suspected DVT may be assessed with a leg ultrasound; suspected pulmonary embolism can require hospital tests. Condri cannot decide which tests you need or interpret the results.
What if worry returns after an assessment?
Follow the advice and follow-up plan you were given. Seek further help when directed or if a relevant symptom develops or changes. If the same doubt keeps returning without new information, Condri can help you notice the urge to repeat checking or seek the same reassurance.
Does travel increase the risk of DVT?
Long journeys can be one risk factor. If you have concerns about your individual risk, particularly after a previous clot, surgery or another relevant condition, ask a healthcare professional for advice. Do not calculate your risk from an online story or use Condri to assess symptoms.
What about contraception or HRT?
Some oestrogen-containing contraception and HRT are associated with increased DVT risk, which depends on the treatment and the person. Discuss your circumstances with your prescriber. Do not stop prescribed treatment because of this page; seek urgent medical advice for possible DVT symptoms.
What if I am pregnant or recently gave birth?
Pregnancy and the first six weeks after birth can increase DVT risk. Seek prompt advice through an urgent GP appointment, NHS 111 or your maternity service if you think you may have DVT. Use emergency services for the signs described above. Condri cannot assess pregnancy-related symptoms.
Can I have health anxiety after a previous clot?
Yes. A past clot can make similar sensations especially frightening. Follow your clinician’s advice on medication, monitoring and when to seek help. Condri may support additional anxiety-driven checking without replacing that plan.
How can I reduce repeated searches?
If you think you have symptoms, use an appropriate healthcare service promptly. Once you have a clear plan, notice whether another search would guide a new decision or repeat a search for certainty. You can practise pausing before the latter.
Can Condri tell me whether I have a blood clot?
No. It cannot examine symptoms, assess photographs or device readings, calculate individual DVT or pulmonary embolism risk, or decide whether you need a scan. Seek medical advice using the guidance above.
Is Condri a blood clot monitoring app?
No. It does not monitor circulation, breathing or oxygen, or provide anticoagulant advice. It offers self-help for health anxiety patterns such as repeated checking and reassurance seeking.
Does the quiz assess my clot risk?
No. The health anxiety quiz is for reflection on worry and checking patterns. It cannot assess DVT or pulmonary embolism risk or tell you whether symptoms need investigation.
Written by the Condri team. Last updated October 2026. Condri's approach is shaped by lived experience and published research, and clinicians review what goes into the app. Read more about how we build it, or see the experts involved.
Condri is not a medical service. This page is general information and does not replace professional advice, diagnosis or treatment. Contact a healthcare professional about symptoms, and a helpline near you if you are in crisis.
Start here
See where health anxiety is showing up for you.
The quiz is based on the Short Health Anxiety Inventory. Your result is a starting point for reflection, not a diagnosis.
