COLUMBUS, Ohio — The upcoming winter holiday travel period is expected to be one of the busiest yet.
AAA is projecting more than 115 million people will travel 50 miles or more from home from Saturday, Dec. 23 to Monday, Jan. 1. They said that’s an increase of 2% from last year.
Extended amounts of time in the car or on a plane can increase your risk for a life-threatening condition. That’s why doctors are urging you to know your risk for blood clots and the symptoms.
According to the CDC, sitting for a long time without standing, moving, or stretching your legs can cause blood to pool in the veins of your legs which can lead to blood clots.
If you're stuck in the car or on a plane for more than four hours, that's when your risk for blood clots goes up, according to Dr. John Phillips, director of the OhioHealth Heart and Vascular Institute.
He said there are two things to know before you go: know your risk of developing a blood clot and know the symptoms.
Those symptoms include: swelling in the leg, or in sometimes the arm, pain or tenderness that's out of the blue, and sometimes that area can be warm and the skin can be a little bit red.
Here's what he said you can do to lower risk from your seat.
“If you are confined to a car seat, or a plane seat if you do just some calf raises, and so if you flex your feet up and down, kind of like you're working a clutch, and feel like you're engaging your calf muscles, that's really important,” he said. “And you know, we say do that, you know, 15 times or so.”
He said for those who have a history of blood clots, it's important to talk to your doctor about reducing the risk.