Friday, September 12, 2014

Could travel on a long distance flight kill you ?

And I am not refering to plane crashes, tecnical glitches and bird hits! The chances are low however, it is a possibility that a travelling on a long distance flight or for that matter any other travel where mobility is restricted may lead to a medical condition called 'Deep Vein Thrombosis' which can be life threatening at times!



 Conditions which restrict mobility can lead to stasis of blood in veins and can cause blood to clot. The blood clot is called a 'thrombus'. It generally affects the veins of the legs and the signs are swelling of the limb, pain and redness over the affected area. 


 So how can this condition be life threatening? As long as the clot is in the leg it is not serious however at times, a piece of the clot can dislodge and move up to the arteries of the Lung. This can be life threatening and is called 'Pulmonary Embolism'! Fortunately the condition can be diagnosed and treated. 



Diagnosis is generally done by administering dye into blood of veins and then seeing the blood flow obstruction through imaging or by ultrasonography (which is identifying the block in the veins by using ultrasound waves). A number of medicines are available to treat this condition such as heparins, warfarin etc.


 Other conditions which can cause 'Deep Vein Thrombosis' are : 

1. Post surgery - where mobility of the patient is restricted for days.
 2. Bedridden patients in nursing homes
 3. Age greater than 75 years 
4. Cancer 

 So next time you take a transatlantic flight and your leg starts to pain , do not take it lightly.



24 comments:

Tim OCallaghan said...

Good information but you may want to use a different font as it is very broad and therefore difficult to read. Just my 2 cents.

Fred Said said...

The airlines do remind us that this is a possibility during long haul flights. They advise on their tv screens to do leg exercises to prevent this.

Suzanne said...

This is a very real and serious condition. I have a friend who suffered from it after a flight to Canada from South Africa. Thank goodness she was okay.

Franc said...

It's always nice to move around on long flights to keep the blood flowing. It also eases on the boredom.

Roch said...

When the person is still young, he/she might not notice the damage already affecting the body. When he/she gets old, the signs of tear would begin to appear. The best is to visit the doctor and know what to do quickly.

BeautyDrugs said...

Long travel flight is very enjoyable. Its no doubt tiring.

Katrina Centeno said...

That is why it is advised that you should stand (every hour or so) and walk around during long flights.

Unknown said...

This is a good reminder as many tend to forget the importance of mobility. P.S. I couldn't exactly read all your text due to the font type. Hopefully you can change them!

papaleng said...

A very helpful and sound reminder for travelers. One way to suppressed this condition is to move around while on long flights.

GrowHort said...

My partner travels international all the time! This article is a great read and some important information. thanks

FX777222999 said...

People who travel always must read this helpful article. Really, traveling for a longer time may cause legs to have pain.

Stephen Lea said...

Great points raised here as my partner travels international all the time I will def be passing on your advice.

Manu Kalia said...

I really didn't know that long travel is dangerous to some..

Agarwal Samaj Bhilwara said...

previously because of font type it is hard to read now its ok, good info about airlines

Unknown said...

Oh I didn't know that even just sitting for longer hours could lead you to sickness.

Little Clouds of Thought said...

I've heard of this before and the flight magazine usually teaches us some simple exercises to make sure that our blood circulation is not obstructed

Unknown said...

This is actually great for long distance travellers. especially those on 12-14 hour flights. Better be prepared right?

Anonymous said...

I love distant destinations but travelling for so long, especially in an airplane is exhausting and has a negative effect on my disposition as a whole. Great info!

Unknown said...

I didn't know so much about a flight situation! A killing one! I haven't gone through one of this situations till date. I will surely keep this in mind when I travel such long distances.

Eliz Frank said...

Sadly, yes. I know a famous Nigerian singer who died after a long flight for the same reason.

Nicol said...

this is a great post to be aware of this. i dislike long distances as i don't like sitting down for a long time

becky-wong said...

Good post. I think everyone should make it a habit to wear comfortable shoes during long haul flight. I've seen people wearing heels!

Leikela_Rach said...

Something that we all really need to remember. We tend to be complacent when it comes to DVT (Rachael)

KyrilSoulX said...

Great information you got there... I didn't know there will be blood clog if we're travelling on a long distance flight