According to the Dept for Transport, half the population now flies at least once a year. With the ever increasing number of long haul flights, the number of people likely to be affected by a Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) will increase.

Are you travelling abroad - worried about DVT?

The World Health Organisation's (WHO) recent research indicates that even travel by train, car or coach can also trigger a DVT. Many people on the recommendation of their GP take a low dose aspirin which helps thin the blood to prevent DVT. However, many can't take aspirin because of allergic reactions or side effects like bleeding from a peptic ulcer.

An alternative remedy Pycnogenol, derived from the bark of the pine tree, has been shown to have beneficial effects in long-haul travellers. Firstly it reduced travel-related ankle swelling by more than 50%, and also had thinning effects on the blood, alongwith improvements on the microcirculation which could lead to fewer events of thrombosis (clotting).

Pycnogenol is available from health food stores such as Holland and Barret, etc.

My extra advice to help reduce your risk of DVT is:
-Avoid alcohol and caffeine - they will dehydrate you!
-Drink lots of water.
-Whilst sitting, do foot exercises, which cause your calf muscles to compress the veins in the lower legs. This stimulates and keeps the blood flowing upwards through the leg veins, protecting against DVT.

The foot exercises are as follows - whilst sitting with your heels on the floor - pull your toes up and hold for 3 seconds, then push your toes down to the floor, holding your heels up for 3 seconds. Its so simple: Toes up, hold, 2, 3... heels up, hold 2, 3... toes up, hold 2, 3 .. heels up, hold 2, 3. Just keep doing this as often as you can - it's easy to do, and you aren't disturbing anyone - no-one knows you're doing it! It's better than trying to walk up and down a crowded gangway, blocked by drinks and food trollies!!

I actually made a video of this simple exercise for one of the major holiday companies and it's been used for several years. Just keep it simple - toes up ... heels up and people will remember to do it!!

Other resources
BUPA factsheet on DVT
NHS Direct information on DVT
Web search for DVT from Kosmix.com
This content was created on Wed 26 July 2006

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