STAYHEALTHY
Adeepvein
thrombosis(DVT)
isabloodclotthat
develops inadeep
vein,usually ina
leg.Sometimes
theseclotscan
breakawayand
travel throughthe
bloodstreamtovi-
talorgansandcan
causesevere in-
juryordeath.Pos-
siblerisk factors
includeprolonged
physical immobil-
ity,blood-clotting
disorders, family
history,cancer,
obesity,heart
disease,pregnan-
cy, recentmajor
surgery,smoking
orage.ManyDVTs
donotproduceany
symptoms,but
symptomscould
includepainor
swellingandred-
nessofthea ect-
edarea.
Whilepreven-
tivemeasures
arestilluncertain,
passengerscan
wear looseclothing,
regularlychange
legpositions,oc-
casionallywalkthe
clearedaisleofthe
planewhenallowed
byflightsta ,
avoidcrossingtheir
legsattheankles
orknees,orwear
graduated-com-
pressionstockings
tohelpreducerisk.
Keepinghydrated
andperformingthe
exercisesbelow
canalsohelp.
Customers
shouldkeeptheir
personalhealth in
mindwhenfollow-
inganyofthese
suggestions.
aa.com/health
Pleasevisitourwebsite formore
health-related informationand
tips.
DVTFACTS
TIPSFORAFITFLIGHT
NUTALLERGY
American recognizes that somepassengers are
allergic topeanuts andother nuts. Althoughwedo
not servepeanuts,wedo serveother nut products
(suchaswarmednuts), and theremaybe trace
elementsof unspecifiednut ingredients, including
peanut oils, inmeals and snacks.Wedonot have
inplaceprocedures that allowflight crews tonot
serve these foodsupon request of a customer.We
donot providenut “buer zones.”Our planes are
cleaned regularly, but these cleanings arenot de-
signed toensure the removal of nut allergens, nor
areour air-filtration systemsdesigned to remove
nut allergens. Additionally, other customersmay
bringpeanutsor other nutsonboard. Therefore,
we cannot guarantee customerswill not be
exposed topeanutsor other nutsduringflight,
andwe stronglyencourage customers to takeall
necessarymedical precautions toprepare for the
possibilityof exposure.
ADDITIONALALLERGEN INFORMATION
Additional allergen information is available for our
customersdepartingEU countries. Pleaseaskyour
flight attendant formoredetails.
ANKLECIRCLES FOOTPUMPS
KNEELIFTS
KNEETOCHEST
EASYSEATEXERCISES
Fourwaystobeatsti nesson longflights
TRAVELINGWITHCOPD
Beforeyoutravel, talktoyourdoctoraboutanyconcernsyoumayhave.Also,whenyoubookyourflight, let
AmericanAirlinesknowaboutanyneeds forservices(suchasawheelchairoraportableoxygenconcentrator)
thatyoumayhave,andtheairlinewillhelpcoordinateassistancewithyourrequest.PleasealsovisittheCOPD
Foundationwebsiteat
formore informationabouttravelingwithCOPD.
M
¼ ½ ¼ ¼ ¾¾ ¿
À½
whileflyingrequires
specialconsiderations.
Here,HerbertDuPont,M.D.,director
of theCenter forInfectiousDiseases
atTheUniversityofTexasSchoolof
PublicHealthandaspecialist intravel
medicine,sharessometips forstaying
healthywhile inflight:
Dresscomfortably,becauseclothes
thatconstrictcancausecompression
ofthebloodvessels.Drinkplentyof
waterinordertostayhydrated.
Ifyouhaveheartdiseaseor lung
disease,youshouldcheckwithyour
doctorabouttakinga long-distance
flightbecausethealtitudecana¢ect
circulationandbreathing.Forflights
sixhoursormore,wearcompres-
sionstockingstohelppreventblood
clotting.
Thelackofhumidityonaplanecan
maketheairfeeldry.Thedryness
makesbloodmoreconcentratedand
canpromoteadeepveinthrombosis
(DVT)anditscomplications.Tocom-
batdehydrationanddryness,keep
drinkingwater.Peoplepronetodry
eyesshoulduseeyedrops.
Takeadrinkofwateroranonalcohol-
icbeverageeverytimeyou’reo¢eredit,
fortworeasons:Itkeepsyouhydrated,
whichcanhelppreventaDVT,andit
willkeepyoumovingdowntheaisle
(forbathroombreaks),whichisanoth-
erwaytopreventaDVT.
Forpregnanttravelers,certainlydo
nottraveltowardtheendofpregnan-
cy;thereareairlinerequirementspre-
ventingthat.Walkoften,aspregnant
womenaremuchmoresusceptibleto
clottingdisorders.Drinkwatertostay
hydratedaswell.
It ispossible toflywhenyouhavea
respiratoryconditionsuchaschron-
icobstructivepulmonarydisease
(COPD),but the issueofflyingwith
lungorheartdiseaserelates to the
severityof thedisease.Thosewith
mild formsof thediseaseshoulddo
fine. Ifoxygen isrequired intermit-
tentlybypeoplewith lungorheart
disease,flights thataresixhours
ormoreshouldbeavoidedunless
arrangementscanbemadewith
thecarrier toreceiveoxygenduring
flight.
SeeadditionalCOPDnotesbelow.
106
JUNE
2015
AMERICANWAY
