I hate flying. I got back last night from England, where I was visiting my parents. By the time I got home I felt, and looked like, an old rag that had been in the tumble drier for days, with the heat setting alternating between hot and frigid.

My food intake on the flights was appalling; banana bread, something I think was apple pie, twix, shortbread, very greasy ravioli and stale bread rolls. However, I could at least take comfort in the fact that I was unlikely to get deep vein thrombosis (or DVT). I wore my DVT socks and got up and walked around periodically. In Europe there seems to be much more concern and press coverage about DVT. For instance, in England you can buy DVT socks for travel in any regular supermarket.

DVT or deep vein thrombosis, sometimes called deep venous thrombosis, is the formation of a blood clot in a deep vein. When flying, due to sitting with out moving and dehydration, there is an increased risk of formation of a clot in the legs. Sometimes this is called economy class syndrome. There is a possibility that a clot could travel up to the lungs and cause a pulmonary embolism, which is bad news. This blockage of an artery to the lungs can cause difficulty breathing, chest pain and can in severe cases cause loss of consciousness and even death.

DVT often has no obvious symptoms. Swelling of one or both legs and pain and redness may occur for some people but usually it is silent.

DVT socks are compression socks or stockings. They are a gentler version of the stockings that you have to wear after surgery, if you are going to have to remain in bed for a day or two while recovering.

There have been a number of studies including Lancet, 12:185, 2001 looked at two groups of passengers on long flights, where half the study participants wore DVT hosiery. The Lancet study demonstrated that 10% of the people in the study who did not wear DVT socks, had asymptomatic (no symptoms) DVT. None of those wearing DVT socks had DVT.

So for long haul flights get yourself some knee high travel compression stockings and get up and walk around a couple of times to reduce the risk of DVT.

[tags]deep vein thrombosis, DVT, flying, economy class syndrome, compression socks[/tags]