Being older than 40 Being overweight Not taking anticoagulant medication as prescribed A genetic blood clotting condition Having cancer or receiving cancer treatment Being pregnant or a recent delivery or c-section Taking hormone therapy or birth control pills Smoking A recent major surgery A broken bone in a lower body extremity (ankle, foot, leg, etc. )
You may also be able to pay a little more for a row with extra leg room. If you can afford it, this may be another option to give yourself more space to stretch out.
If a long trip is absolutely necessary, consider breaking it up with stops in between and give yourself time to rest, relax and walk about for a day or two between the legs of your trip. If it is not possible, you should at least give yourself a few hours of rest between flights. In this time, you should walk around and stretch.
If there is some minor puffiness in your ankles or legs but no pain or any other unusual symptoms, you don’t need to worry. Slight puffiness is not due to blood clotting and is normal with long flights. [20] X Research source
Pulmonary embolism can be a fatal complication of blood clots. [22] X Research source
