Dr Fred Kavalier: A Question of Health
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Your support makes all the difference.Is there any way to prevent my feet swelling during long flights?
Is there any way to prevent my feet swelling during long flights?
Feet and ankles can swell during long plane journeys because of the effects of gravity and immobility. Gravity makes it difficult for the blood in the veins of the legs to make its way upwards on its return journey to the heart. The enforced immobility of a plane seat means the normal pumping action of the calf muscles does not work. As blood collects in the veins of the leg, pressure builds and water leaks out of the veins and into the tissues of the feet and ankles. The same thing can happen if you sit in a chair at sea level for eight hours. When you walk about, your calf muscles steadily squeeze the blood out of your leg veins. This doesn't happen when your legs are hanging over the edge of an aeroplane seat. There are several ways to prevent leg swelling. Regular exercise, such as walking up and down the aisles of the plane about will help, as will elevating your feet, although this is difficult unless you are flying business or first class. Elastic stockings, which are now sold in all airport pharmacies, maintain pressure on the calves. They prevent swelling by keeping blood from stagnating in the veins.
Has the hay-fever season started? I seem to havesymptoms two months earlier than usual.
Hay fever is the term used for allergic reactions to pollen from plants. You may have developed an allergy to tree pollens, which fill the air at this time of year. It is possible to develop a new allergy to tree pollens, even if they didn't cause you problems last year. Later in the spring and in the early summer, grass pollens are more prominent. Towards the end of the summer, weeds produce pollen. Depending on what you are allergic to, you may suffer from the symptoms of hay fever at any or all of these times. Some people even seem to have hay fever all year round. They are usually allergic to dust and other non-plant materials.
Please send your questions to A Question of Health, 'The Independent', Independent House, 191 Marsh Wall, London E14 9RS; fax 020-7005 2182 or e-mail to health@independent.co.uk. Dr Kavalier regrets that he is unable to respond personally to questions
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