Travel Tip Thursday: Travel and your health

I am so happy that I read. Don’t laugh – it’s true. I’ve committed to designating Thursdays around here, “Travel Tip Thursday”. Naturally, I immediately had writer’s block and could not figure out for the life of me what would be my travel tip for the week.

After reading an article on yahoo, I figured it out. This medically informative article had a very useful travel tip in its paragraphs. The article discussed pulmonary embolisms and it really hit home for me personally.

When my mother was in the hospital several years ago from an accident where she was struck by a van, she experienced one of these. She had surgery on her leg, which already suffered from vericose veins. While sitting in the bed, a blood clot traveled up her leg and into her chest. Thank goodness she was in the hospital and could be treated immediately.

Unfortunately, my favorite aunt (my mom’s only sister) wasn’t so lucky. A few years ago, she had a cancerous “spot” removed from her lungs. Two weeks after her operation, after waking up, she started experiencing shortness of breath and couldn’t breathe. By the time the ambulance got to her, she was already unconscious. The embolism had traveled through her lungs. She died in the hospital not long after the episode began.

One thing that I’ve learned from my personal experiences and from stories of others is that surgery doesn’t always resolve the problem. When we continue with our regular activities, after our so-called recovery, we have to make slight adjustments to adapt to our new selves. Full recovery might take longer than the doctor estimates or than anyone expects.

Nowadays, when my mother travels the 3.5 hours to see me, she can’t make the trip in a straight shot. Besides having to stop for several bathroom breaks, she has to get out and stretch her legs. This helps to keep the blood flowing properly and efficiently through her legs and body.

The following travel tip is applicable to anyone but is specifically geared towards those traveling who have recently undergone surgery or suffered injury or trauma in the legs.

Thursday Travel Tip: Take a break every two hours whether you are riding or flying to stretch and re-energize your legs. Walking around and stretching, and even implementing massage, can regulate blood flow and help avoid clots.

Of course, it’s best to inform your physician of your travel plans if you’ve recently undergone any surgery as they can offer you specific and sound medical advice. The harmless advice/tip that I can offer is to take your time. I know that I need to follow my own advice at times as well, even in the heat of my excitement. As they say, traveling isn’t about the destination, it’s about the journey.

You can read the Yahoo article here.