Apparently not...
My husband was hospitalized twice. The first time when he was diagnosed which was a complete waste of time. The second time they actually removed the most of the clotting. However, both times it was brought to our attention how common blood clots are these days... among young people. I wish I knew what the exact numbers were by age group. The only statistic I found was that 1 in 1000 people a year get DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis - the official term for blood clots in the lower extremities).
I don't know about you, but I find this very odd. It's not normal. What's worse was the nurse said that doctors are recommending people take Heparin shots before they fly to reduce the risk of clotting. Ok. People have been traveling for decades now and clotting, while certainly a risk because of the lack of movement on a plane, was never that big of an issue. My little conspiracy mind is going a mile a minute though wondering what the hell is going on. There should be no reason to take any type of medication if you don't need it.
Heparin for those of you that do not know is a pretty powerful blood thinner and anti-coagulant. The biggest side effect, of course, is that your blood thins and doesn't coagulate properly. So please tell me why anyone would willingly subject themselves to this major side effect for a couple of hours on a plane, especially if you are not pre-disposed to getting clots. It makes no sense. That doctors are telling people to get these shots makes even less sense...unless they are getting a kickback or worse, there's something else in those shots. Hey I don't put it past our government. They've done some f'd up things in the past.
Just to be on the safe side though, here is a list of things that can cause blood clots:
- Flying
- Prolonged sitting
- Pregnant, smoking, female
- Birth control taking, smoking female
- Trauma to the leg (getting kicked in the leg for instance or break/fracture of the leg)
- Some surgeries
- Genetics
- Old age
