|
Additional Articles...
'Economy Class Syndrome' Back in the
News
Jan. 12, 2001
-- Joining a growing list of airlines, Singapore Airlines announced plans
Friday to warn travelers about the risk of developing potentially fatal
blood clots during long-haul flights.
Singapore's
national carrier joins British Airways and Australia's two biggest airlines
in issuing brochures on travel health tips to counter deep vein thrombosis (DVT),
also known as "economy class syndrome." The condition may occur when people
develop blood clots in the deep veins of their legs after sitting through
long flights, presumably in cramped airplane seats.
According to
the Singapore airlines web site, health tips will be displayed at check-in
counters and on board the aircraft, where they will be printed on laminated
cards placed in each seat pocket. These tips will advise passengers how to
relieve stress, minimize jet lag, and reduce the risk of motion sickness,
heart conditions, and DVT.
Affecting
millions of people each year, these blood clots can travel to the lungs or
other areas, causing severe organ damage or death. Such clots have been
reported after automobile trips and even after evenings at the theater, but
long airplane flights pose a greater risk.
Still, most
medical experts here and abroad contend this condition has more to do with
passengers sitting still for too long than with cramped seating conditions
on airplanes.
"It's fair to
say that common sense goes a long way, and airlines are doing what they can
to provide recommendations for their passengers that will promote and insure
a comfortable travel experience," says Michael Wascom, a spokesman for the
Air Transport Association in Washington, D.C, a trade group that represents
major U.S. passenger and cargo airlines.
"This
particular medical ailment has not been widely reported among U.S.
travelers," he tells WebMD. "It's not an epidemic."
Wascom, along
with medical experts, says that DVT actually is caused by remaining in the
same position without moving, not by too-small airplane seats.
"When you
sleep at night, if you sleep on one of your arms, at some point you will
lose feeling in your arm," he says. "It's the same concept."
A famous
recent episode occurred in 1994 when former Vice President Dan Quayle
developed a leg clot that traveled to his lung soon after a series of
airplane trips. And researchers from the Hospital Pasteur in Nice, France,
have reported that travelers who sit for more than five hours on planes are
more than four times as likely to develop blood clots in their leg than
nontravelers.
In London, at
least 30 people have died of blood clots in the past three years after
arriving from lengthy flights at London's Heathrow Airport, according to a
study conducted at Ashford Hospital in southeast England. Just this past
October, newspapers reported that a 28-year-old women flying from Sydney to
London developed DVT and collapsed and died after reaching Heathrow.
"In patients
prone to circulatory problems, when they lie still for extended periods of
time, [long-haul flights] don't help, but there is no reason for the average
person to be concerned about this," says Louis D. Fiore, MD, an assistant
professor at Boston University School of Medicine and School of Public
Health and the chief of oncology at the VA Boston Health Care System.
People at high
risk for DVT include people with varicose veins or cancer, smokers,
individuals with history of leg clots, leg or pelvic surgery or a leg
injury, pregnant women, women taking birth control pills and
hormone-replacement therapy, overweight individuals, elderly people, and
very tall people.
Warning signs
include a warm or hardened area in the lower extremity, aching legs,
pins-and-needles sensations, and problems bearing weight on the legs. If the
clot moves to the lungs, chest pain is often a sign, as is shortness of
breath.
Ways to
prevent DVT while flying include:
- Your blood becomes
thicker when you are dehydrated, increasing risk of clots. So try to drink
an 8-ounce glass of water every two hours when flying and avoid alcohol
and coffee, as they are dehydrating.
- Try compression hose.
They are available over the counter at surgical supply stores and cost
about $15 per pair. Even better are tailor-made support hose, made based
on a person's leg measurements. Such support hose work by keeping blood
flowing and preventing pooling of stagnant blood.
- Book a seat in an exit
row, a bulkhead seat, or an aisle seat.
- Walk up and down the
aisle about once an hour.
- Wear loose-fitting
clothing.
- Don't smoke.
- While in your seat,
contract your calf muscles from time to time by clenching your toes.
Another exercise, suggested by British Airways: Bend your foot upward,
spread your toes, and hold for three seconds -- then point your foot down,
clench your toes, and hold for three seconds.
- People at high risk of
blood clots should ask their doctors whether to take aspirin before flying
to inhibit blood clotting.
- Don't cross your legs or
sit on the edge of your seat, since these positions can reduce blood flow
in your legs.
Above all, if
you think you have a DVT, head immediately to your doctor or an emergency
department, because immediate evaluation and treatment can be lifesaving.
SOURCE: By
Denise Mann, WebMD Medical News Archive
REVIEWED: by
Pamela Yoder, MD, PhD, FACOG
<BACK
The information collected here has been
developed over searches on the internet. We are not in any way responsible
for, or endorse, information on other web sites, it is here for public
information. Your doctor is the best source of leg health information and
treatment. We hope you find this information helpful. This article
has been provided courtesy of Ames Walker Hosiery (ameswalker.com) and
may be reproduced for personal use provided no part of this article
(including the text contents) has been changed.
Copyright
© 2003 Ames Walker International Inc. |
Copyright
© 2001 Ames Walker International Inc.