Preventing Blood Clots While Traveling
By Alan Peterson, MD
If you take trips by plane, you have probably seen in-flight videos about the importance of occasionally leaving your seat. Avoiding prolonged sitting while traveling by airplane, bus, train, or automobile can help prevent an uncommon but potentially dangerous condition called Deep Venous Thrombosis (DVT). This disorder may occur during travel or several weeks later.
What Is DVT?
DVT involves a blood clot that forms in the leg or (less commonly) the pelvis. A clot that forms below the knee may not cause any problems elsewhere. However, one that develops above the knee is more likely to break away and move through the blood stream to the lungs, where it can cut off the oxygen supply and lead to lung damage or death. A moving blood clot is called an embolus and can occur in a leg vein or pelvis of someone who sits for longs periods.
What Causes DVT?
In the case of travelers, DVT occurs when blood isn’t able to flow the way it should in a leg, either because a vein is damaged or because the leg is bent in such a way that blood can’t flow freely. In general, DVT most often occurs in people who are older than 40 years of age or obese. Women who are pregnant, have recently given birth, or are taking birth control pills, or estrogen hormone therapy are also at risk. Some patients may have a family history of DVT and may actually have an inherited cause for the increased clotting that has occurred. The younger it occurs, the more likely it may be inherited.
What Are the Symptoms?
Pain, swelling, warmth, and redness in only one leg can be symptoms of DVT. You don’t have to have all of these symptoms or signs to have a clot in your leg. If these symptoms occur, seek medical attention quickly. If you also have shortness of breath or chest pain, call 911 immediately.
How Is DVT Treated?
If the blood clot is small and superficial (just under the skin) or is below your knee, it may only need to be monitored by your doctor with outpatient therapy. You may be advised to wear compression stockings and to elevate your feet while resting. Depending on your history, a blood thinner may or may or not be prescribed. If the clot is large and above the knee, you will most likely require a drug that prevents clotting (sometimes called a blood thinner) or a medication that helps dissolve clots. Hospitalization may be indicated. If these clots move and go to the lung, this is called a pulmonary embolus. This is obviously a more serious complication than just a DVT.
How Can I Prevent Blood Clots While Traveling?
Several things will help keep blood flowing freely while you travel:
- When in an airplane, bus, or train for longer than an hour, stand up and take a short walk down the aisle every 30 to 60 minutes. If this isn’t convenient, do some light leg exercises, such as extending your toes toward the knees and then relaxing them or pressing down on the balls of the feet while raising the heels.
- When traveling by automobile for more than an hour, stop every 30 to 60 minutes and take a short walk around the outside of the car.
- Avoid taking sleep aids, so you can be awake to move your ankles and feet.
- Keep your legs uncrossed.
- Drink at least the same amount of water that you do any other day.
- If you are at risk for a blood clot because of a medical condition or a drug that you are taking, your doctor may want to give you a clot-preventing medication before you leave. Consider wearing graduated compression stockings also during the trip. These stockings can be very helpful in preventing a DVT.
Dr. Peterson is a doctor of Family and Community Medicine at the Walter L. Aument Family Health Center, 317 S. Chestnut St., Quarryville.
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