Effect of very long flights
in [Airline Travel]
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From: RAK on 4 Apr 2007 11:41 "qansett" <qansett(a)hotmail.com> wrote in message news:4613267c$0$9775$afc38c87(a)news.optusnet.com.au... > > "Mxsmanic" <mxsmanic(a)gmail.com> wrote in message > news:677u031i6jhhjvs3efmps66e4e2gm5eg45(a)4ax.com... >> (PeteCresswell) writes: >> >>> Senior or otherwise, blood clots from lack of motion seem tb a >>> significant >>> consideration from what I've read so far. >> >> DVT can occur anywhere, whenever one stays in the same place for a long >> time. >> Air travel doesn't make one especially prone to DVT. Getting up and >> moving >> around periodically (even for just a minute or two) helps. DVT is rare >> in >> people who are in good health, irrespective of age. >> >>> And I'll be they're under-reported, since the bad stuff happens sometime >>> *after* >>> the flight. >> >> I think in recent years the danger of DVT on aircraft has been greatly >> exaggerated. > > I think so to, particularly when back in the 1970's a flight between LHR > and SYD > was 36 hrs. DVT was never spoken about. It never affected me either. >> The flights back then did not have such long sectors. They used to stop typically in the Middle East (Dubai, Tehran, etc.) and sometimes in southern Europe (Athens was a favourite). I used to walk around during these stops and many other people (most?) did too. I think maximum sectors were typically 8-9 hours or so, now 13 is common, even more on 340-500 etc. Also there were far less people flying in those days. If the numer of passengers was only 5% of today (my guess) then the number of DVTs was probably so low it was not associated with flying. I have met one person who lost a leg from DVT after an SE.Asia-Europe flight. One is one too many for me! But I don't know if he already had circulation problems etc. -- Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
From: RAK on 4 Apr 2007 11:55 <arouth(a)radiology.umsmed.edu> wrote in message news:1175382351.656409.75900(a)e65g2000hsc.googlegroups.com... > Greetings! Now a days there are very long flights lasting more than > twelve hours. One can go directly from Dallas to Tokyo or Chicago to > Delhi. I am a senior citizen. I am wondering the effect of such a > long distance flight on senior citizens like me. Has any member has > taken such a long flight? Please write about your experience with such > long flights. With thanks. > I don't know if being a senior makes much difference - there have been cases of quite young people with DVT after flights. I am now 60 (ouch, I still don't believe it) and have been flying UK-SE.Asia (typically one 13hour sector, then a 1.5hr) a few round-trips a year for over 10 years, plus lots of short haul and mediums (eg. Singapore-Australia). I try to walk around the cabin a couple of times on the long sector, and also stretch & wiggle my legs a bit when sitting, but with no scientific plan to it. I don't really worry about DVT but feel better if I move a bit like this. I also take low-dose aspirins (75mg?) before long hauls - one the day before, and one just before the flight... if I remember. I take window seats on daytime long-sectors as there are some great views on my usual routes, but aisle setas are more sensible to let you take little walks. I have some knee injuries and am very stiff legged (joints rather than circulation) after a long sector but it passes after a few minutes walking. Beyond that... boredom. Alcohol helps but I assume that is totally unhealthy. I notice that some people manage to sleep and barely move throughout a long haul - I would think that is not a good idea. -- Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
From: One Way Ticket on 4 Apr 2007 12:51 >> A couple of occasions I've felt a that the cabin air was very stale. > Cabin air is actually quite fresh in modern aircraft. There is some > recirculation, but also a considerable amount of outside air introduced into > the cabin, and the air at altitude is very clean. The recirculated air is > very heavily filtered to remove just about everything it might contain. > However, the air can be very dry (some aircraft allow the crew to control > humidity to some extent). On most jets the humidity level is 3%RH or less. Outside air is diverted from an engine compressor and enters the aircraft at super- heated temperatures. After it is cooled it is mixed with cabin air and circulated. Boeing's new 787 has been getting some particularly favorable press for it's air intake sustem which bypasses the compressor and hot air cycle. Which is expected to introduce cabin air at the low end of acceptable humidity. For long flights I take along a three 750ml water bottles. More than anything else I may do (loose clothing, movement and stretching, ear plugs, eye shades,...) being adequately hydrated makes the most difference. It has been my observation that most airlines seldom provide enough fluid for the length of their flights and to compensate for the dry cabin air.
From: Mxsmanic on 4 Apr 2007 13:29 RAK writes: > If the numer of > passengers was only 5% of today (my guess) then the number of DVTs was > probably so low it was not associated with flying. The incidence of DVT has always been low. It's not any more or less common now. People tend to assess the risk of disease based on what they hear from news media dedicated to sensationalism and creation of fear, uncertainty, and dread; the real risks are completely uncorrelated with the impression these media create. This is one reason why diseases fall in and out of style in false "epidemics" over the years, even though their real incidence never changes. Doctors are not immune to the siren song of CNN and trade media. When they start to read about an interesting condition, they think about it more, and they look for it more ... and so they find it more. They are much less likely to find things that they are not looking for and that they have never thought about (this is where computer assistance with diagnosis can come in handy, but it is not widely used). So when your local Dr. Welby hears universal expert Dr. Gupta on CNN, he starts looking around to see if any of _his_ patients might have the Disease of the Month, and sure enough, he often finds one or two that kinda sorta match the clinical picture. > I have met one person who lost a leg from DVT after an SE.Asia-Europe > flight. One is one too many for me! > But I don't know if he already had circulation problems etc. Many cases of DVT are associated with predisposing conditions, such as cardiovascular problems. DVT in a completely healthy individual usually warrants a careful examination to see if that individual is really as healthy as he seems. -- Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.
From: Mxsmanic on 4 Apr 2007 13:37
RAK writes: > I don't know if being a senior makes much difference - there have been cases > of quite young people with DVT after flights. Just being a senior does not increase your risk very much. If you've had cardiovascular problems in the past (especially in your legs, but anywhere), your risk increases. If you've recently had predisposing conditions such as phlebitis, your risk increases more significantly. In general, if you can sit at a desk at work all day, or sleep in a recliner for a couple of hours, you can sit on a plane as well. There's nothing magic about being on a plane that makes it more risky, it's just one of those places where you are immobile for long periods. You're often immobile during sleep, too, so sleep is risky at any time. Walking around on a long flight is a good idea, and not just because of the very low risk of DVT. The same is true at home, though: sitting in front of a PC for six hours without ever getting or moving around is just as unwise as sitting in an airplane seat for that period. > I take window seats on daytime long-sectors as there are some great views on > my usual routes, but aisle setas are more sensible to let you take little > walks. I like window seats for short flights with things to see, especially flights short enough that nobody is likely to sleep. For long hauls, an aisle seat makes more sense, as it facilitates potty breaks without disturbing anyone, and there's nothing to see out the window for long stretches, anyway. > I have some knee injuries and am very stiff legged (joints rather than > circulation) after a long sector but it passes after a few minutes walking. Knee injuries are one of the potential risk factors for DVT, depending on how old they are. This is because any injury raises the possibility of bleeding, which in turn raises the possibility of clotting. If it's just a knee that is messed up and doesn't work quite right (but hasn't recently caused any bleeding), it's less of an issue. > Beyond that... boredom. Alcohol helps but I assume that is totally > unhealthy. It helps you sleep in small amounts. It also encourages diuresis and a shift in water between body compartments that can cause dehydration, though, and the dry air of an aircraft is already encouraging dehydration. > I notice that some people manage to sleep and barely move throughout a long > haul - I would think that is not a good idea. It's no more risky in flight than in bed. -- Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail. |