Bring back the Godiva!!

One thing that might help is Vitamin E which tends to reduce blood clot potential and most people feel is innocuous (or beneficial). Go for the mixed tocopherols.

If it is a medical fact that these things contribute to DVT and stockings may help, does this expose the airline legally? I mean couldn't a person sue the airline for offering alcohol, coffee and not giving them stockings?

I also went through some of the links posted by MoreMiles and one of them said that the term DVT was introduced in 1977 and that +/-600,000 Americans suffer from this on an anual basis. My question is why have we only been hearing about cases in the past 2-3 years if this has been a major problem for over 25 years?

This has been a major hospital problem for many years, especially for those after surgery, major trauma, or debilitating illness. It's unfortunate that it wasn't more publicized in the past.

As a healthy 36 yr old male I got a DVT after arthoscopic knee surgury. It doesn't just happened on airplanes. I was in bed for a few days after surgury and got a DVT. I called the advice nurse of my hmo who told me the calf pain and purple foot were normal after knee surgury. Fortunately I went to the surgeon two days later who had me in a hospital bed within 2 hours including all tests and admissions. The after effects are awful and it took me almost two years to get back to normal. It almost made me retire. My doctor said an aspirin a day is a safe way to prevent DVT. The danger is real and not just from traveling but anything that causes you to be off your feet for prolonged periods.

Dear tph4,

Are you now at greater risk for it happening again on long haul flights?

This subject has been causing me a lot of thinking lately. I very badly damaged a leg a few years ago. My doc tells me to be 'careful' when flying. Uncertainty!

thanks!

I'm not sure you're implying this Ken, but the above statistic includes cases from all causes, only a small fraction of which are from airline travel, and only a small fraction of which result in death. Generally, the two major risk factors for DVT are obesity and immobility. Surgery carries a special risk because in addition to the operation itself, it's often followed by a period of immobility in bed. Anyway, the reason I bring this up is that I've seen articles in the past that are written to be scare stories about air travel and DVT, especially the ones that call it "economy class syndrome" when in fact there have been no documented higher incidences of DVT in coach vs premium passengers on a per-capita basis. These articles often mention the number of annual cases, but gloss over the fact that the vast majority of them aren't actually caused by air travel.

Of course, if it happens to you or someone you know, none of this really matters. But, I suspect that your chance of dying from DVT on a flight (or shortly thereafter because of the flight) is far less than that of dying from the plane crashing. Of course, you should minimize the chances of it happening to you by moving about the cabin, stretching, etc. But let's not get in a panic about it. As for me, I've gotten sick (cold or flu) from flying several times, and food poisoning once. I think these health concerns are far more to worry about, especially if you take reasonable precautions against DVT.

Yes, the doctor stated once you have one dvt the chances of another are much higher and recommended i take one aspirin a day especially if flying.

According to a report I just heard on the radio on the way to work they are saying that you should drink sports drinks during your flight for protection against DVT, it works better than water ... wonder if we'll see the airlines start to off Gatorade or Powerade on flights now ...

I doubt that sports drinks are any better than just plain water for the normal person. Sports drinks were delveloped for the serious athlete or person who engages in strenuous physical activity for 60-90 min at a time and sweats. The first ingredient in all sports drinks is water. Sport drinks will add calories, carbohydrates, sodium and sugar to your diet and takes longer to be absorbed. Unless you are sweating heavily then water is the best thing IMHO.

http://www.advocatehealth.com/health...n/fitdrnk.html

http://www.dietsite.com/SportsNutrit...s%20Drinks.htm

http://www.ahealthyme.com/topic/sportsdrinks

------------------
Always remember you're unique, just like everyone else.

There are some other risk factors for DVT that wasn't mentioned:

1) Smoking
2) Oral contraceptive use
3) Cancer or Lupus

The other risk factors have been mentioned before and include:

4) Prior history of DVT
5) Prolonged stasis

Taking an aspirin prior to flight probably won't prevent DVT, but it certainly couldn't hurt. What doctors do to "prevent" DVT is to prophylactically prescribe an anticoagulant (heparin, warfarin or some other).

If you're concerned about this and have some of the above risk factors, its probably wise that you seek medical advice prior to long flights.

DVT is a matter of total health. A healthy person who travels, drinks water, and stretches and walks around the plane is less likely to get blood clots, IMHO.

There are two things that can really help: Vitamin E and fish oil

I've posted this before, but I think that taking vitamin E mixed tocopherols is a Good Thing when flying -- it lowers the clotting potential of blood in a beneficial, safe way.

Also, fish oil, DHA and omega 3 fatty acids. They help lower the internal inflammatory responses that include blood clots. Good, fresh flaxeed oil or a high grade fish oil, taken with vitamin E.

Most of us get far too much omega 6 and not enough omega 3 fatty acid. Omega 6 is predominant in most vegetable oils (including olive oil). Many people believe that the ratio of 6 to 3 results in a lot of health problems, because too much omega 6 causes undesirable auto-immune response including blood clotting, inflammation, etc.

(Disclaimer: I am not a doctor and this is just my opinion. I don't have a lot of the citations handy for the above)