| Economy-class syndrome is a name that has been used by the media to describe a medical condition called VTE - Venous Thrombo-Embolism that can occur in anyone - but has been of particular worry in travellers.
The term VTE simply means:
| VTE |
Meaning |
Explanation |
| Venous |
Happening in the veins |
usually in the deep veins in the leg |
| Thrombo |
Blood Clots |
a blood clot is called a Thrombus |
| Embolism |
Clots flying off in the blood stream |
something moving along in the blood stream is called an Embolus |
In economy-class syndrome, VTE covers 2 main conditions that can affect travellers:
| 1] |
DVT |
Deep vein thrombosis |
| 2] |
PE |
Pulmonary Embolism |
Advice for travellers - and in particular air travellers:
| Keep hydrated |
Drink water and fruit juice - avoid caffeine (tea, coffee, fizzy drinks with caffeine) |
| Keep moving |
Wiggle your toes and feet; move around when able to |
| Wear graduated support stockings designed for travel |
These garments increase the flow of blood in the veins and reduce the risk of clots - this is explained in the next few pages |
| ???Aspirin??? |
Aspirin certainly thins the blood by stopping the "platelets" in the blood from working
- BUT Aspirin can aggrevate stomach ulcers AND Aspirin has not been shown to have an effect in veins - therefore it is of doubtful use in DVT prevention. |
This web site has been written by Mr Mark Whiteley MS FRCS(Gen) FRCSEd MBBS, Consultant Vascular Surgeon.
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