How to Reduce the Risks of DVT Stroke

Exercise.

If you can get up during travel--DO! Try to stand and walk for five minutes every hour. If you cannot rise, flex your ankles up and down and curl your toes about twenty times every hour. Both activities will help stimulate leg blood flow.

Avoid Dehydration.

The air in airplanes is very dry, and you may become dehydrated rapidly. Dehydration causes vessels to constrict and blood to thicken. This greatly increases your risk of forming clots. When flying, drink liquids frequently--8 oz. of water every two hours--but avoid alcohol and coffee which contribute to dehydration.

Take Aspirin.

Take an Aspirin tablet before departing and at safe intervals during your trip. Aspirin is a proven and safe blood thinner for most people.

Wear Graduated Compression Hosiery.

Graduated compression stockings and socks have been prescribed by physicians for over fifty years to treat venous maladies such as Deep Vein Thrombosis, Varicose Veins, Phlebitis, Edema, etc. These stockings are designed to exert maximum compression at the ankle with pressure gradually decreasing up the length of the hosiery. This action forces surface veins' blood into the legs' deep vein system thereby correcting improper, weak blood flow. Graduated compression products are available in all men's and women's styles and they look and feel like regular hosiery.