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lagos, Nigeria
dangel eyez is a blog,created in 2010,brings you all the latest worth-blogging gists and finds joy in exposing great people of our time and great talent!! follow me on twitter @dangeldiva

Friday, February 15, 2013

#HealthTips Long Plane Flights/Trips and Pulmonary Embolism.How To Prevent It

Today, I woke up to find out Goldie Harvey is dead. I was so shocked that I cried a little not because I knew her personally or I was a huge fan but because I just couldn't understand why so sudden.

On bellanaija, I came across some comments on how it might have been blood clot, some kind of embolism particularly pulmonary embolism that caused it since she just got back from a long flight.

A lot of us travel a lot and/or have relations or friends that do so I  became curious and just had to check it out. I haven't written a post in a while but I implore you to share this with your friends, relations and if you have a blog , spread the word. Some things kill faster than AIDS and cancer and nobody really talks about them as much.

Kindly note that I am not stating this is what caused Goldie's death. May her soul Rest in perfect peace.

"Pulmonary embolism is a blood clot in the lungs -- usually a piece of a clot that has broken off from one of the leg veins and migrated to the lungs.. This is a serious condition." - http://www.medicineuptotheminute.com/airplanes.html

Pulmonary embolism can occur in otherwise healthy people. Common signs and symptoms include sudden and unexplained shortness of breath, chest pain and a cough that may bring up blood-tinged sputum.


In 2001, the New England Journal of Medicine published a study looking at the relationship between the distance a person flies during air travel and the risk of pulmonary embolism.  The researchers found that for every million people traveling 10,000 kilometers (or 6,200 miles), there were 4.8 cases of pulmonary embolism. Researchers wrote: "A greater distance traveled is a significant contributing risk factor for pulmonary embolism associated with air travel."

I also read that Heavy D (American rapper) reportedly died from pulmonary embolism after a long flight. Its however important to note that  sitting for a long time is not the only cause of pulmonary embolism.

So here are a few important tips I found:

If you're on a flight, get up every hour or so to walk around the airplane. If you're driving, stop the car and get out to walk or do some deep knee bends, according to advice from the Mayo Clinic.

Rotate your ankles and feet while you're sitting, and move your toes up and down, theMayo Clinic reported. Don't sit with crossed legs for an extended period of time. 

Support stockings exert pressure onto your feet and lower legs, so that blood won't just settle and pool in your veins, the Mayo Clinic advised.

For some people who have a history of deep vein thrombosis or venous thromboembolism, injecting a dose of heparin could help to prevent blood clots, theMayo Clinic reported. 

Drinking water prevents dehydration (which is a risk factor for blood clot formation). Alcohol and caffeine, on the other hand, could have negative effects because they "contribute to fluid loss," according to the Mayo Clinic. 


I am not a doctor and these are some of my sources as well as a few friends:



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