DVT

[Mr. B]

I won’t lecture anyone on what they should or should not do.
I can only offer advice based on my own experience.
Briefly, return flight from NZ with a short stop off at Singapore.
Landed at Manchester and immediately noticed that my calf felt firmer than normal and was aching.
My fear was confirmed after visit to hospital b4 I’d even unpacked.
An ultrasound discovered DVT in my calf which was causing the blood to pool in calf.
An anxious 7 day stay in hospital with aspirin and warfarin for 2 years.
Follow up checks revealed that the DVT had damaged the non-return valves in my calf.
Hence I now suffer with post thrombosis syndrome and have to permanently wear compression socks.
I could have almost guaranteed avoided the above by wearing compression socks or flight socks.
What surprised me more than anything was the age of patients in the clinic (young and old) who had suffered DVT’s.
I have since learnt that DVT’s can strike anyone at any time when their mobility is restricted, whether on long haul flights or even a car/coach trip over several hours.
I cringe when on a flight and I see people who stay seated in the same position for hours on end.
I’ve learnt the hard way, compression socks, plenty of fluid, not too much alcohol and plenty of getting up and moving about the aircraft.
I’m not trying to frighten anybody but just be aware of the potential dangers of flights or even long car journeys.
For me the price of compression socks are a life saver and would recommend them to avoid my experience.
My initial DVT was on the A380 sat on the park benches in business class.
I dread to think what the consequences might have been if I was in cattle class

 

[KillerHERTZ]

Moved from 'Getting Out of Hand' thread to its own one.

 

[Mr. B]

Moved from 'Getting Out of Hand' thread to its own one.

Can you remove the thread then please because it was in response to a previous post, although I didn’t quote it in my reply. It looks a bit silly on it’s own and I didn’t intend to start a whole new thread about the subject matter.

 

[Swotty]

Sorry to hear that, Mr. B.

My mum died from DVT in 1994 following a flight from the UK to Perth, Aus.

At that time, the issue of DVT was little known, or little spoken of.

Thank you for raising this common problem which is easily prevented by awareness.

Everyone .... Mr B. offers excellent advice - please do not ignore.

 

[Rayny]

Mr B - I'm glad that this was given it's own thread.
It can serve as a wake up call to anybody who sits for an hour or more without moving their legs.
I've had two pulmonary embolisms - neither were pleasant experiences.

 

[KillerHERTZ]

Surely its worthy of its own thread as I was thinking?

 

[Petrol Pete]

I won’t lecture anyone on what they should or should not do.
I can only offer advice based on my own experience.
Briefly, return flight from NZ with a short stop off at Singapore.
Landed at Manchester and immediately noticed that my calf felt firmer than normal and was aching.
My fear was confirmed after visit to hospital b4 I’d even unpacked.
An ultrasound discovered DVT in my calf which was causing the blood to pool in calf.
An anxious 7 day stay in hospital with aspirin and warfarin for 2 years.
Follow up checks revealed that the DVT had damaged the non-return valves in my calf.
Hence I now suffer with post thrombosis syndrome and have to permanently wear compression socks.
I could have almost guaranteed avoided the above by wearing compression socks or flight socks.
What surprised me more than anything was the age of patients in the clinic (young and old) who had suffered DVT’s.
I have since learnt that DVT’s can strike anyone at any time when their mobility is restricted, whether on long haul flights or even a car/coach trip over several hours.
I cringe when on a flight and I see people who stay seated in the same position for hours on end.
I’ve learnt the hard way, compression socks, plenty of fluid, not too much alcohol and plenty of getting up and moving about the aircraft.
I’m not trying to frighten anybody but just be aware of the potential dangers of flights or even long car journeys.
For me the price of compression socks are a life saver and would recommend them to avoid my experience.
My initial DVT was on the A380 sat on the park benches in business class.
I dread to think what the consequences might have been if I was in cattle class

May I ask which age group you are in ? I have flown many times for my business and I agree with you on the 'getting up and walking around' advice .I have yet to wear DVT socks on flights but might just start doing so.

 

[Mr. B]

Surely its worthy of its own thread as I was thinking?

In view of the replies to date perhaps it is a good idea to run with the topic to highlight the potential dangers.

May I ask which age group you are in ? I have flown many times for my business and I agree with you on the 'getting up and walking around' advice .I have yet to wear DVT socks on flights but might just start doing so.

I was forty 45 at the time.
DVT socks / compression socks / flight socks are not something you can buy over the internet without first having your calf and ankle measured to see which grade of compression you require. Doctor or pharmacist will be able to do that for you.
The socks themselves are comfortable and don’t hinder you in any way. Put them on before the flight and take them off afterwards. If it wasn’t for the fact that measurements need to be taken I’m sure the airlines would include a pair in their little bag of goodies.
Passengers put time, effort and money into which airline they use, seating class, seating location and choice of meals but overlook or choose to ignore the one item which could potentially save their life ie. compression socks. At the end of the day they cost about £5. For me it’s a no brainer.

 

[Scott_F]

Simple solution: don't fly.

No medication required and you'll save a fortune.

 

[MissyD]

Thanks for sharing @Mr. B always useful to know these things.

 

[Deleted member 65149]

Mr B’s post was in response to my post that could have come across as irresponsibly shunning his advice to get compression socks prior to my upcoming flight to Australia (soon to be followed by a family trip to Florida). I foolishly fell into the trap of thinking “it’ll never happen to me” because I’ve flown millions of miles without any issues. On reading his opening post here, I’m now going to take Mr B’s advice.

I guess I’ve been lucky not to have had any problems, because I’m guilty of all those things that may contribute to DVT. I rarely get out of my seat throughout a flight, no matter how long it is. Despite my advanced years, my bladder doesn’t even tell me to get up and take a stroll. I don’t overdo the alcohol, but neither do I drink a lot of water. I take a lot of care on the road to make sure things don’t go wrong, I need to take more care of my health when flying.

Thanks Mr. B

 

[GeeJayW]

I too have put in a lot of airmiles over the years, some holidays but mostly business. I've been very lucky I guess to have not suffered DVT and think this thread does deserve its own space. Will get some compression socks for the next trip.

@Scott_F good call! With the odd boat trip or swim thrown in, one can pretty much walk to anywhere one wishes to go. Minimal impact on the planet, good for overall fitness. Perhaps not the quickest method of getting about, but slow and steady gets it done... Yeah, good call! Nice to see an enlightened response...

 

[malluboy77]

Thanks for posting.

I would say that key to reducing DVT risk would be "compression socks, plenty of fluid, not too much alcohol and plenty of getting up and moving about the aircraft" but in the reverse order and perhaps not much alcohol rather than not too much.

 

[Mr. B]

Simple solution: don't fly.

No medication required and you'll save a fortune.

Flying in itself is not the cause it’s lack of the mobility. The same applies for long car/coach trips.

 

[John]

Flying in itself is not the cause it’s lack of the mobility. The same applies for long car/coach trips.

Is the altitude not a factor - I thought being higher up made the situation worse?

 

[Mr. B]

Is the altitude not a factor - I thought being higher up made the situation worse?

There’s less oxygen in your blood which can cause blood pressure to rise and if you already suffer with high blood pressure it’s certainly doesn’t help the situation but the point I was trying to make is just be aware of the conditions associated with a DVT and if you can, take precautionary measures.

 

[DetailerDan]

My brother suffers from high blood pressure and won't fly for thus reason.

 

[Chrishazle]

Lessons we've learnt through experience and advice from Ipswich Hospital :
1. Get compression socks with no toes - they're a lot easier to put on using tip 2!
2. Put a plastic bag over your foot and pull the compression sock on over the plastic bag - makes it far easier to get the sock to and over the ankle. Once it's on you can pull the plastic bag out (thankyou the nurse at Ipswich Hospital who taught us this while putting them on my wife prior to an operation).

I bought compression socks with toes - they're an absolute bitch to get on!! Then I learnt tip 2!!

 

[Deleted member 6183]

Lessons we've learnt through experience and advice from Ipswich Hospital :
1. Get compression socks with no toes - they're a lot easier to put on using tip 2!
2. Put a plastic bag over your foot and pull the compression sock on over the plastic bag - makes it far easier to get the sock to and over the ankle. Once it's on you can pull the plastic bag out (thankyou the nurse at Ipswich Hospital who taught us this while putting them on my wife prior to an operation).

I bought compression socks with toes - they're an absolute bitch to get on!! Then I learnt tip 2!!

How?

 

[Merc220cls]

Take regular exercise when flying and the risk of DVT is reduced considerably.
Even when seated you can carry out some exercises using your arms and legs.
On long haul flights get up and have a walk around, but not outside it’s far too cold for that ‍