Prevention of Deep Vein Thrombosis

DVT is one of the most preventable serious conditions in medicine - hospitals have made its prevention a science. The same logic protects you on flights, after surgery, and during pregnancy.

The universal principle: keep blood moving

Leg veins rely on moving muscles to push blood upward. Stillness is the enemy - every prevention strategy below is some form of "do not let blood pool."

Travel (flights and drives over 4 hours)

• Stand and walk every 1-2 hours; on a plane, walk the aisle
• Seated calf exercises: ankle circles, heel-toe raises, knee lifts - 10 repetitions each hour
• Hydrate steadily; go easy on alcohol and sleeping pills (they immobilise you)
• Aisle seat if you can choose; do not sit cross-legged
• Compression stockings for the higher-risk traveller (previous clot, recent surgery, pregnancy, cancer)

Around surgery and hospitalisation

• This is where prevention matters most - ask what YOUR clot prevention plan is
• Early mobilisation: walk as soon as allowed, even a few steps
• Preventive blood-thinner injections (enoxaparin) are standard after major surgery - do not skip them from needle-fear
• Compression stockings or inflatable leg devices in hospital
• Continue the injections at home for the full prescribed course after hip or knee surgery

Daily life for higher-risk people

• Regular walking - the simplest vein medicine there is
• Weight management and not smoking
• Pregnant women with risk factors: ask about preventive injections
• Estrogen users with clot history: discuss alternatives with your doctor
• Long desk days: stand up every hour

One-line summary

DVT prevention is movement - walking hourly on flights and drives, early steps after surgery, prescribed preventive injections when risk is high, stockings for the vulnerable - because pooled blood clots, and moving blood does not.