Just don’t be the passenger who grabs the back of others’ seats to steady yourself when walking down the aisle mid-flight. It’s really annoying for those in the aisle seats. (Instead, the flight attendants seem to steady themselves by putting their hands against the overhead bins on either side.)
Few things are more unpredictable than turbulence, and sometimes people do fall. People can get drunk before or during a flight, inadvertently push someone else, things can fall thought safely stowed, people can become anxious or be impatient when leaving the plane during a normal or emergency landing. I agree it is not a particularly big risk and I also have never banged my head travelling. However, it is probably enough of a risk for the doctor, airline and insurance to take a negative view of things. I could be wrong, as my comments are meant generally and not for any specific person. In general, fall risk is quite a bit higher when walking than driving or flying. Everything I said above still applies, and the airlines and doctors traditionally don’t like clots and flying. Tradition plays a part; cell phones rarely interfere with air traffic control but they still ask you not to use them at times.
Few insurance policies could treat you differently just because you had been on an airplane. They don’t have exclusions for that kind of thing. The bigger insurance risk is having a policy that charges you more for being out of network, and flying far enough that there aren’t in-network doctors handy. But driving wouldn’t mitigate that risk.
I know little about insurance. If you had a known medical condition and did not inform them, no worries?
Did not inform whom? The insurance company? The airline? You certainly have no obligation to your insurance company to tell an airline anything.
If you are pregnant and have a heart condition and decide to go bungee jumping, you aren’t violating any agreement with your insurance company, and they still need to pay reasonable medical costs.
Geez, good luck. Hopefully something can be done.
I updated the title in response to a flag about.
I still maintain that the main contraindication to flying (especially long flights) with DVT is twofold: you spend hours sitting with little activity and in the event of an emergency, you’re out of luck for a long time. If you do fly, at least don’t cross your legs, drink plenty of water (not alcohol), and get up and move around once in a while.
Right, but there’s incremental differences. I was supposed to fly to Bangkok 3 days ago - a 11ish hour flight SFO to Tokyo/NRT, a 4 hour layover, then a 7 hour flight to BKK. Yeah, that sounds really bad with a blood clot in the mix.
So howzabout flying from SJC to Reno (which was the original question)? 60 minute flight time? Seems kind of okay to me - once I’ve discussed with a doctor. If I can’t see the far east, I’d love to see my Reno buddy.
Amputate!
Amputate!
Rah, rah, rah!
Bangkok = bad
Reno = not so bad (providing you don’t lose all your money at the casino).
With my limited knowledge of your present condition and history, that’s how I see it anyway. I think a Reno flight would be ok, unless your doc feels otherwise.
If you do go to Reno, I’d arrange means of medical support if needed.
When I fell climbing down a ladder and f’d up my knee a couple years ago, I used a backpack while confined to a knee immobilizer, because like you, I discovered there was no way to both safely get down the deck stairs and carry anything much - I never resented the 2 landings on the deck quite as much as during those couple weeks.
I don’t have a blood clot, but this makes me curious. I tend to jiggle one or both legs a whole lot when sitting. Is that enough to get the blood pumping back to the heart?
I’m not sure what this means? Trip insurance?
When I flew from the East coast of the US to Britain (a mere 5 hours or so), I got up about every hour and walked up and down the aisle. When I saw the flight attendants the first time I did this, I told them I was stretching my legs and keeping the blood moving. No one had a problem with that.
Given the length of time to Bangkok, though, I wouldn’t try it unless the doctor says it’s safe.
No, phone numbers to a Reno doc, urgent care and whatnot (obviously 911 if needed). Inform your friend what to do in the event of a crisis, etc. The odds are good you won’t need any of that, but it’s better to be safe than sorry, especially when time is of the essence.
Jiggling is better than not jiggling, but walking is better still. You don’t want to sit too long without firing your leg muscles.
Another consideration is what the changes in altitude and air pressure during flight might mean to your oxygenation, blood pressure, etc. and, yes, if you get an embolus you want skilled medical RIGHT NOW!, like ambulance to an ER, not a volunteer passenger or flight attendant trying to keep you alive with the on board first aid kit and talking over a radio to real medics on the ground. Diverting a plane and then being life flighted to care takes time, time that a pulmonary embolus is not going to look kindly on giving you.
Check with your PCP before flying. If you do fly hydrate well, move around the cabin frequently (as above) and when seated do toe circles and toe pointing exercises to keep your calf muscles returning blood to your heart. Don’t cross your ankles or your legs at the knee.
I did not mean to suggest the risk of embolus from the calf to the lung is small. It is smaller than from the thigh to the lung. You need to follow your doctors advice, take suggested medicines and get their opinion on travel. As a blanket rule, Canadian doctors would be expected to warn you about travel on airplanes.
However, I have not consulted recent studies and do not know how newer medicines change the risk compared to the ones in use when these warnings were suggested. Ask your personal doctor about your risk.
I wish I’d seen this thread earlier. I almost lost my leg to a blood clot because it wasn’t diagnosed. I ended up diagnosing it myself. My entire leg was clotted. there was no descernible pulse anywhere in my leg.
Let me start by saying you’re not done with the diagnosis.
I am not a doctor but doctors can chime in to correct anything I say. Normally blood clots in the leg are venous. They start in the leg veins and move up. They can also be arterial which means they start in the arteries (think heart) and move down.
I had heart surgery a year before the massive arterial clot in my leg. the clot originated in my heart and was 3 1/2" long when they discovered the leg clot. The leg clot occurred because a piece of the clot in my heart broke off. It could have gone up and caused a stroke or into my lungs or to my legs. It went to my leg.
The pain would grow to the point that I could only walk100 feet and would have to rest. The specialist was sure it was pain from a ripped calf muscle. This happened when I had a leg cramp so bad that I tore the muscle trying to stretch it out.
Anyway, I got to thinking how I could diagnosis a clot. It would mean blockage and loss of oxygen so I bought an Oximeter and put it on my toes and fingers. Everything was 95% except my clotted leg. All those toes measured 50% or less. I told my family doctor who insisted on an arterial scan the same day. The person who gave me the test had me admitted to the hospital immediately. It took 2 weeks to unclot my leg and heart.
The reason for the long winded story is that if it’s an arterial clot then I would ask your doctor about checking for the source. If it started in your heart you could be harboring a ticking time bomb.