Woman’s blood clot warning to long-haul flyers: ‘Don’t be as silly as I was’

A young woman has issued a warning after she developed a blood clot during a long-haul flight. Photo / 123rf

A young woman has warned long-haul flyers about the dangers of not walking around or moving during your flight.

In a now-deleted TikTok video, the woman, who now wishes to remain anonymous, recently moved from London to Australia and slept for most of the 20-hour flight, resulting in a painful and potentially dangerous blood clot in her leg, Daily Mail reports.

“About one day after I got off the plane, my left leg, which is apparently the most frequent leg for a DVT,” she said in the now deleted video referring to deep vein thrombosis.

Describing her symptoms, the woman said, “I started feeling like my left leg was swollen, it was kind of like I’d pulled a muscle and I actually said to my girlfriend ‘it feels like I’ve got a marble stuck in my leg’.

She continued to say her leg was quite warm and said over the next couple of days it got a “little bit worse”, enough for her to go to the doctor where she had an ultrasound and blood tests before doctors found a 4cm blood clot in her leg.

To avoid blood clots, put your compression socks or stockings on in the morning, before you leave for your flight. Photo / Getty Images

The woman said she hadn’t had any health problems and the clot was a consequence of sitting too long while on a long-haul flight.

Daily Mail reported the woman said in the video that before embarking on the flight, her dad gave her compression tights and told her to move around; however, she said “During the flight I didn’t really get up at all as I was just so comfortable in my aisle seat. I got up once at the end of both flights to use the bathroom — other than that I just slept the whole time.

“I massively regret that now,” she stated.

The chance of developing a clot is high for for any person travelling long periods and even more so for those who are on certain medications, have a family history of clots, smoke or already have circulation issues.

Since discovering the clot, doctors believe it will go away on its own because she is a young and healthy woman. However, she will have to be careful for the next three to six months and wear compression socks.

If the clot doesn’t dissolve on its own, doctors have advised the woman that she will have to go on blood thinners for up to 12 months.

“If the DVT doesn’t go away or moves I will need to go on blood thinners for up to a year,” the news outlet reported her saying, adding, “I’m worried that it might move or that I’ll be prone to them later in life. I feel silly too as I should have just got up a few times!”

In the now-deleted TikTok video, she told viewers, “This is your sign to wear flight socks, get up and walk around a little bit and don’t be as silly as I was.”