DVT: it's now clear that flying puts us more at risk

DVT: it's now clear that flying puts us more at risk

Airlines have long argued that the cause of DVT is nothing more than a matter of sitting still - while in the same breath denying any link with cramped seating conditions or lack of legroom in the aircraft cabin. They have argued against use of the term "economy-class syndrome" (since cases also occur in business class), preferring to call it "traveller's thrombosis", on the basis that you can be just as immobile in a car or on a train.

This new study shows clearly and conclusively, however, that there really is something special about being in the air, beyond reduced mobility; that the risk varies from person to person, with some being at particular risk; and that DVT risk factors have a cumulative effect. The study looked at two possible risk factors, but there are many more, including pregnancy, HRT, previous blood clots, a history of cancer, recent surgery, being over 40, and being tall, short or overweight.

What is the overall risk of DVT? Symptomless clots that clear up and go away have been found in as many as one in 10 long-haul air travellers. The Department of Health estimates the rate of overt DVT to be one per 6,000 journeys. The death rate from pulmonary embolism, DVT's potentially lethal complication, is small (estimated at one per two million arriving international passengers in Australia).

These are not rates that will induce any of us to tear up our air tickets and stay at home, but they nonetheless have an important impact on fit, healthy air travellers, often in their prime.

Recent rulings in the Appeal Court and House of Lords have confirmed that, regardless of its cause, airlines cannot be liable under present legislation for injury or death from DVT and its complications. Secure in this knowledge, the airlines should now do much more to inform and protect their passengers. If they fail, they will justly invite much tighter regulation in future.

Low pressure and low oxygen factors in DVT and long flights

Low pressure and low oxygen factors in DVT and long flights

Researchers say that the risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) during flights may not be due simply to sitting still; they say the low pressure and low oxygen environment during air travel may also contribute to the development of deep vein thrombosis in some susceptible individuals.

Professor Rosendaal concludes that "Activation of coagulation [clotting] occurs in some individuals after an 8 hour flight, indicating an additional mechanism to immobilisation underlying air travel related thrombosis."

However other experts insist that prolonged immobilisation in a sitting position plays an important role in provoking thrombosis and this applies to trips by train or car as well.
They continue to recommend exercising during flights, wearing compression stockings, and avoiding excess alcohol and sedatives.

Understanding the killer legs - DVT

DVT - Understanding the killer legs:

"SIXTY-year-old Steve was looking forward to see his grandchildren in Duluth, Minnesota. His wife, Marianne, died two years ago, and so he had to travel alone - all the way from Manila to Nagoya, Japan and then to Minnesota.

Steve never made it. He apparently died of a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) that reached his lungs. He collapsed in St. Paul/Minneapolis airport after complaining of breathing difficulties due to what has been dubbed 'economy class syndrome.' "

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DVT awareness

MSN Video:

DVT awareness
March 3: Melanie Bloom, the widow of NBC reporter David Bloom, talks with 'Today' show host Katie Couric about DVT, the condition that led to his death while he was on assignment in Iraq."

Coalition to Prevent DVT

Coalition to Prevent DVT

DVT occurs when a blood clot forms in a deep vein, usually in the lower limbs. A complication of DVT, pulmonary embolism, can occur when a fragment of a blood clot breaks loose from the wall of the vein and migrates to the lungs, where it blocks a pulmonary artery or one of its branches.

Diabetes - Taking Care of Your Feet

Diabetes - Taking Care of Your Feet


Great summary article from the FDA Consumer magazine
March-April 2006

Naturopathic Care For Varicose Veins

Naturopathic Care For Varicose Veins

There are a number of factors that play a part in the development of varicose veins including heredity, gender, lifestyle, occupation and age. They are also known to form during pregnancy due to the dilating effect progesterone has on the veins. Because they are associated with lack of circulation, the formation of varicose veins is more common in people who sit or stand in one position for long periods of time, habitually sit with their legs crossed and those who lack regular exercise.

Minimally Invasive Approach to Varicose Veins

Minimally Invasive Approach to Varicose Veins:

"Using a new system that delivers laser energy through a catheter, Duke University Medical Center vascular surgeons are now treating varicose veins without surgery. In most cases, patients are up and walking within hours after the minimally invasive procedure, compared to a six-week recovery after traditional surgery, in which the treated veins are 'stripped' out of the leg."

Uncovering the Myths About Varicose Veins

Uncovering the Myths About Varicose Veins

This is the time of year to "think spring" and to look forward to warmer weather and spring wardrobes. And when you think about spring, you know that summer is just around the corner. But for many people with varicose veins, the thought of putting on a pair of shorts or a swimsuit not only means feeling embarrassed about the appearance of their legs, but also reminds them of the pain that varicose veins can cause.

More To Varicose Veins Than You Might Think

More To Varicose Veins Than You Might Think

According to the Mayo Clinic Web site (www.mayoclinic.com) this condition can sometimes lead to more serious problems, because varicose veins "may also signal a higher risk of other disorders of the circulatory system."

How Are Varicose Veins Treated?

How Are Varicose Veins Treated?

Removing or treating varicose veins does not cause circulation problems because veins can re-route themselves around a blockage.
Treatments for varicose veins include:
Compression stockings
Injection therapy
Surgery
Laser therapy
Closure technique
Treatment of ulcers

The Doctors Book of Home Remedies Varicose Veins

The Doctors Book of Home Remedies Varicose Veins

Most people don't even see varicose veins as a disease—they think of them only as something cosmetic. But this is far from the case. "People with varicose veins have a disease, a disease with a cosmetic aspect," says Brian McDonagh, M.D., a Chicago, Illinois, phlebologist (vein specialist) and founder and director of Vein Clinics of America.

Foot Care - American Diabetes Association

Foot Care - Your Body's Well Being - American Diabetes Association

Inspect your feet every day, and seek care early if you do get a foot injury. Make sure your health care provider checks your feet at least once a year - more often if you have foot problems. Your health care provider should also give you a list and explain the do's and don'ts of foot care. Most people can prevent any serious foot problem by following some simple steps. So let's begin taking care of your feet

Diabetes: Foot Care

Diabetes: Foot Care -- familydoctor.org

Why do I have to worry more about my feet?

People with diabetes often have trouble with their feet. Part of the problem is that the loss of feeling in your feet makes it hard for you to tell if you have a blister or sore. If little sores aren't taken care of, they can get worse and turn into ulcers (serious, deep sores). If these ulcers become infected, you may have to go to the hospital or, in very serious cases, have a foot amputated (removed). This handout will give you some tips on how to care for your feet.

Varicose Veins: Prevention Tips from iVillage

Varicose Veins: Prevention:

"You can't help being a woman, having been born into a family that suffers from varicose veins, or even getting older. But there are a few things you can do to head off varicose veins or keep them from becoming more prominent, swollen, and distorted"

Urban Legends - Bar of Soap for Leg Cramps: Old Wives' Tales (Soap Dope)

Urban Legends Reference Pages: Old Wives' Tales (Soap Dope)

Slipping a bar of soap into the bed as a leg cramp prevention has been advanced by a number of authorities, both medical and otherwise. Ann Landers has mentioned the soap cure in her column on a number of occasions, with each airing prompting a load of letters from readers thanking her for this information because it worked wonders for them. "They were thrilled and grateful to be liberated from those leg cramps," said Ms. Landers.

Mediven Support Hose and Leg Health - Google Video

Mediven Support Hose and Leg Health - Google Video

This short education video provides an understanding of how venous disease in the legs occurs and why. Venous disease of the leg can be effectively treated with support hose. In the U.S., 1 of 15 people has venous disease of the legs. Over 2 million workdays are lost in the U.S. each year because of venous disease.

Healthy Legs is the leading online supplier of support hose.
Our certified fitters provide assistance in helping you find the correct product.

We carry every style, size and color of Jobst, Sigvaris, Mediven, and Juzo support hose, support stockings, support hosiery, and gradient compression hosiery. For more information: http://healthylegs.com

For more leg health information: http://leghealth.com

Healthy Legs Community Forum

Healthy Legs Community Forum

A place to learn and share for support hose wearers.

Economy Class Syndrome - Travel Socks and Leg Health

Economy Class Syndrome - Travel Socks and Leg Health

Travel Can Be Tough on Your Legs

Whether you travel my plane, train, automobile, or bus, any trip that lasts more than a few hours could leave your legs swollen and achy. And if you travel for a long period of time (5 hours or more), the problem can become more serious.

So why is travel so hard on legs?
When you travel, you're essentially confined to your seat. Sitting in tight, cramped quarters for long periods of time does not allow you to stretch or exercise your leg muscles - the muscles that are responsible for assisting the venous blood flow back to your heart. As the hours of inactivity add up, your circulation slows down.

You may notice swelling, discomfort, or even pain in your legs, ankles, and feet. The longer you ride without exercising or stretching, the worse you may feel.

But swollen and achy legs are just one part of the problem. Travelers need to be aware of, and take measures against, a more serious condition called a deep vein thrombosis (DVT).

Diabetic Socks - Diabetic Sock Store for Comfort and Health

Diabetic Socks - Diabetic Sock Store for Comfort and Health

Diabetic Socks - Comfortable Socks for Sensitive Feet
U.S. Diabetes Statistics:
An estimated 18.2 million people in the Unites States have diabetes6.3% of the population — have diabetes. Diagnosed: 13.0 million people Undiagnosed: 5.2 million people
About 60% to 70 % of people with diabetes have mild to severe forms of nerve damage
Nerve damage is the major cause of foot problems in diabetics, as it inhibits the ability to feel pain, allowing some foot injuries to go undetected, which can lead to infection and occasionally amputation
More than 60% of non-traumatic lower-limb amputations occur among people with diabetes
Most diabetics can avoid serious foot problems by taking care of their feet, following a daily routine of care
In 2000-2001, about 82,000 non-traumatic lower-limb amputations were performed annually among people with diabetes.
Healthy Legs - Diabetic Socks -

Solutions for Sensitive Feet

We have the largest online selection of diabetic socks and socks for sensitive feet. Below you'll find seamless socks, loose, non-binding socks, cotton socks, and diabetic socks with mild support - our Sensifoot socks from Jobst. All of these styles have been designed for people with sensitive feet due to diabetes, arthritis, and foot pain.

Although these socks are often labeled "Diabetic Socks", we prefer to refer to them as our socks with a purpose - comfort!

Leg Health Information from Healthy Legs

Leg Health Information from Healthy Legs

Healthy Legs® is a Jobst, Mediven, Sigvaris, and Juzo Certified Support Hose Retail Fitting Center located in Portland, Oregon.

Google's New Medical Executive Director

Official Google Blog: Google.org's new director

Google is extremely fortunate to have found in Dr. Brilliant the combination of experience in building and scaling successful programs and ventures in the fields of medicine, philanthropy and technology.

Venous Leg Ulcers - a guide for patients and care givers - Google Video

Venous Leg Ulcers - a guide for patients and care givers - Google Video:

"What causes venous leg ulcers?

How can they be healed?

What can be done to prevent them?

In this video you'll learn that, under the care of a health care professional's direct supervision, daily self-care by the patient can play an important role in helping to heal most venous leg ulcers andkeep many from coming back

Venous disease of the leg can be effectively treated with support hose.

In the U.S., 1 of 15 people has venous disease of the legs. Over 2 million workdays are lost in the U.S. each year because of venous disease.

Healthy Legs Support Hose has every style, size, and color of Jobst, Sigvaris, Medi, and Juzo support hose.

Healthy Legs is the leading online supplier of support hose. Our certified fitters provide assistance in helping you find the correct product.

We carry every style, size and color of Jobst, Sigvaris, Mediven, and Juzo support hose, support stockings, support hosiery, and gradient compression hosiery.

For more information: http://healthylegs.com

For more leg health information: http://leghealth.com "

Support Hose - Measuring your legs for Sigvaris, Medi, and Juzo - Google Video

Support Hose - Measuring your legs for Sigvaris, Medi, and Juzo - Google Video:

"A short educational video on how to measure your legs for knee high support hose.

Venous disease of the leg can be effectively treated with support hose.

In the U.S., 1 of 15 people has venous disease of the legs. Over 2 million workdays are lost in the U.S. each year because of venous disease.

Healthy Legs Support Hose has every style, size, and color of Sigvaris, Medi, and Juzo support hose.

Healthy Legs is the leading online supplier of support hose. Our certified fitters provide assistance in helping you find the correct product.
We carry every style, size and color of Jobst, Sigvaris, Mediven, and Juzo support hose, support stockings, support hosiery, and gradient compression hosiery.

For more information: http://healthylegs.com

For more leg health information: http://leghealth.healthylegs.com "

COMPRESSION STOCKINGS - Google Video

COMPRESSION STOCKINGS - Google Video

New research shows that compression stockings can prevent serious complications of blood clots in the legs. This two-minute video clip throws light on the issue. The medical term for her condition is deep venous thrombosis, or DVT. T

he big concern with DVT is that if left untreated, the clot can travel to the heart and then to the lungs and block off blood flow to the lungs. This problem is called pulmonary embolus. The compression stockings provide a graduated pressure that is firmer at the bottom and looser at the top to help improve blood flow back to the heart. In the study, 49 percent of the patients who did not use the compression stockings developed post thrombotic syndrome, compared to only 25 percent of the patients who did use the compression stockings.

DVT Deep Vein Thrombosis - Google Video

DVT_Deep Vein Thrombosis - Google Video

DVT is a blood clot in your legs that can break loose and travel to your lungs. Up to 200,000 people die each year from its complications. My husband, David Bloom, was one of them. While on assignment in Iraq, David died from complications related to DVT. But the risk of DVT can be reduced. Know the risk factors and warning signs. Visit http://www.preventdvt.org/ to get the facts.

VARICOSE VEINS NEW TREATMENT - Google Video

VARICOSE VEINS NEW TREATMENT - Google Video:

"The Trivex procedure is a minimally invasive technique to remove varicose veins. Find out more in this two-minute video clip. The operation requires at most 3 or 4mm incisions per leg.

A probe fitted with a light is placed into one incision. This illuminates the varicose veins in a particular area under the skin allowing the surgeon to see the veins with complete clarity. Then the veins are approached from another very short incision with a device much like a rotating blade that vacuums them up. Because all veins are visualized with the assistance of light, patients will receive a more complete removal of varicose veins which also lowers the chance of recurrence.

The procedure which usually takes less than a half hour has patients back on their feet relatively soon. "

VARICOSE VEIN UPDATE - Google Video

VARICOSE VEIN UPDATE - Google Video:

"The new treatment for varicose veins is a minimally-invasive procedure already proven to work in the major veins of the legs- that researchers are saying can be adapted for the minor ones as well, which account for roughly 20% of all cases. Find out more about it in his two-minute video clip.

It's an adapted endovenous laser procedure in which the patient is placed under local anesthetic and the laser is introduced directly into the vein, then the vein is sealed. The object is to stop the pooling of blood and the stretching of the vessels which causes varicose veins. Says Dr. Robert Min, an interventional radiologist and Director of Cornell Vascular, who pioneered the endovenous laser procedure, Over 99% of our patients have experienced symptomatic relief, which happens very quickly, over the first month."

Support Hose Personal Shopper

Healthy Legs Support Hose Personal Shopper

What is it?
It’s a free service performed for you by our certified fitters.

How does it work?
You tell us about your leg health by filling out our brief online questionnaire, and our certified fitters do all the work.

Fill out our quick and easy online questionnaire by clicking the above link.

You will receive an email with direct links to the support hose recommended by our Certified Fitters.

Only at Healthy Legs ®

Support Hose Wizard

Healthy Legs Support Hose Wizard

Can't find the right support hose?

Easy to use - find the exact solution to your support hose needs.

Try other brands - use our support hose wizard to find alternatives to your existing brand and style.

Online Video - Healthy Legs Support Hose Store in Portland Oregon - Google Video

Healthy Legs Support Hose Store in Portland Oregon - Google Video

Visit the Healthy Legs store online.

Leg Health Information from Google

Official Google Blog: Attention, frequent flyers

Googlers aren't the only ones to spend time on planes – many people suffer the effects of "Economy Class Syndrome."

Here are some tips even for flying veterans – or for that matter, those taking long road, train or bus trips, as similar advice applies.