OT:Deep Vein Thrombosis

Hi everyone,

Recently a young friend of mine passed away, she was only in her mid twenties. The Drs said she died from a blood clot, and the condition is called Deep Vein Thrombosis. I thought I'd mention it here so you could keep it in mind while traveling, and maybe pass a long the information to others so this might be prevented. For work she traveled a lot by plane, and this may have led to it. She was otherwise in perfect health. It can happen to anyone at anytime.

The Dr said the simplest way to prevent it is to stretch your legs regularly during long flights or car rides, and if possible get up and walk around every hour. Also try to not to become dehydrated. Of course diet and excersize help to.

Here's exactly what it is from an article at webmd.com:

"DVT is caused by a blood clot -- or thrombus -- that develops in one of the larger veins in your body, usually in the lower legs. Occasionally, it can develop elsewhere, like in the arms, says Merli. The clot can partially or completely block the circulation in the area around it.

Deep vein thrombosis can cause problems in itself. But its greatest risk is that part of the blood clot will break away and travel through the bloodstream.

The veins carry the clot up the legs, to the heart, and into the lungs. If the clot lodges in one of the arteries of the lungs, it can prevent oxygen from getting into the blood. This is called a pulmonary embolism. It can be treated in many cases. But if the clot completely blocks the artery Bloom's, it can cause death."

So when you are traveling try to keep this in mind a few simple streches could save your life.

-Margaret

Reply to
Margaret St. John
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Reply to
Brenda Lewis

Reply to
Margaret St. John

Brenda Lewis ,in rec.crafts.textiles.needleworkwrote: and entertained us with

I will add too that trying to get up and walk around on long flights is pretty near impossible.

The flight I take from here to the UK is 6-7 hours, add usually another half hour or so in the cabin before and after takeoff and landing.

During all that time there are carts in the aisles, serving drinks, food, duty free, etc. etc. The down time so people can sleep is at best a couple of hours before the whole process begins again.

Realistically one cannot exactly exercise on long flights, no matter how much a good stretch would benefit arthritic joints !

Reply to
lucretia borgia

I'm under 5' tall and even I have trouble finding room to stretch in the cheap seats. Since US domestic flights keep reducing "conveniences" one no longer has to fight the drink cart in the aisle. Of course that doesn't help with the other piece of advice about staying hydrated....

Reply to
Brenda Lewis

Over here it`s very common to wear special elasticated stockings when flying long distances, to prevent DVTs. You get them from the pharmacy. My sister-in-law swears by them.

Reply to
Firefly

I googled exercise during a flight and found lots of different sites from various airlines that suggest ways to do exercise while in your seat.

Here's the first one in the list:

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is a major problem for any time you must sit for a long time in a cramped space. Just a couple of years ago David Bloom, an NBC newsman, died while on assignment in Iraq.

Reply to
Lucille

Do you know exactly what they are called? I'd like to see if they are available here.

-Margaret

Reply to
Margaret St. John

You can also wear some kind of graduated compression stockings, even knee highs, for the flight. That does help.

Ellice

Reply to
ellice

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