Dooley Noted: 5/5/2014
On my flight yesterday, the pilot managed to make my blood boil a bit as the seatbelt light was flashed.
Pilot: “The only reason you need to get up is to go to the lavatory. There is no other need to get up. Use common sense and stay in your seat with your seatbelt fastened.”
Over 200 people listened to those lines of bull.
Sorry, sir, but I need you to focus on limiting the turbulence and safely getting us to our destination.
If I want to get up when that light is off, you’d better believe I will.
I know the dangers of sitting for too long, especially at high altitudes. Sitting at 30,000 feet increases my chances of blood stagnation and deep vein thrombosis (DVT), otherwise known as a venous blood clot. It happens often enough for it to be a relatively common visit to the emergency room.
If you have been flying and feel excessive calf tightness, get assessed if it persists.
IF your calf pain is one-sided and feels very deep, get assessed faster.
If this discomfort follows a period of excessive sitting at a high altitude, get assessed even faster.
If the discomfort is also paired with a reddening of the skin or a rash, cancel your day and get assessed.
If the discomfort is also moving up the leg towards the thigh, get a ride to the emergency room.
These are all signs and symptoms of DVT. Although you have clot-busting factors in the blood to help eliminate this chaos, sometimes the conditions are just chaotic enough to not allow for a proper systemic movement of the blood stasis.
Some methods of DVT prevention while traveling include the following tips:
1. When that seatbelt sign goes off, feel free to stand, move, fidget, stretch, etc. If you want to make the pilot and flight attendants less annoyed, pretend you have to use the lavatory (or actually use it).
2. Red wine is effective at invigorating blood movement. Be careful drinking on flights, though – you get more inebriated at higher altitudes.
3. Well-known anti-coagulants, such as fish oils, can be helpful to prevent blood stasis. Several Chinese herbs can also help, so you can discuss this with your nutritionist or herbalist, respectively.
4. Get exercise before your flight. Don’t feel the need to sit in the terminal, right before you are forced to sit on a flight. Walk that terminal. Climb some stairs. Skip the escalator and elevator. Skip the speed walk platform. Get moving.
5. Drink copious water and even coffee to encourage diuresis and the need to use the lavatory. This will keep the blood moving in more ways than one.
If you have low back pain or general discomfort in a seated position, you may already habitually move around while flying. Add DVT prevention as just one more reason to get moving on your flight.
As always, it’s your call.
– Dr. Kathy Dooley