Spring Break Tips for Keeping Your Veins Healthy While Traveling
Spring is here, and for many, that means traveling. Whether you’re headed to a relaxing vacation in Cape Cod or to a tropical island getaway, it’s important to focus on your vein health while traveling. Dehydration, lack of movement (while traveling), and changes in your diet can all impact your vascular health, which is why our team of experienced providers at Vein Institute has created this guide.
Follow these steps to keep your veins healthy during your spring break getaway.
Understand the Challenges of Traveling
Traveling isn’t always easy, although the destination is often worth the effort! Traveling is notorious for causing fatigue, headaches, and dehydration. While you might be prepared to tackle fatigue (hello, coffee tumbler!), it’s important to know how traveling affects your veins. Traveling can cause aches for those with varicose veins, increase your risk of blood clots, and trigger a hemorrhoid flare-up.
The good news though: you don’t have to abandon your travel plans. There are many strategies to keep these less-than-pleasant symptoms at bay.
Stay Active to Prevent Blood Clots
As the saying goes, “The journey is part of the experience.” While there is much wisdom in that saying, people traveling with varicose veins may not enjoy all aspects of the journey. Trips, either by car or plane, longer than four hours can increase the risk of developing blood clots in your legs. Also known as deep vein thrombosis (DVT), these clots can cause swelling, tenderness, warmth, and leg pain. While anyone can develop DVT, untreated varicose veins can increase your risk of developing a blood clot. Left untreated, DVT can pose serious and potentially life-threatening consequences.
To reduce your risk of developing a blood clot, keep these tips in mind:
Take frequent stretching breaks (at least every four hours)
Wear your compression stockings as directed
Avoid crossing your legs
Choose an aisle seat on the plane if possible to allow for walks in the cabin (when permitted to do so)
Stay hydrated
Avoid wearing tight clothing while traveling
Do calf exercises
Refrain from drinking alcohol while flying (which can dehydrate you even more)
Once you’ve identified the parts of your travel plans that impact your legs, you can plan accordingly. Little actions, such as raising your heels up to engage your calf muscle, go a long way in helping pump blood from your legs back up to your heart. This simple motion helps to reduce your risk of developing a DVT while you’re traveling.
Tip: pack an extra pair or two if you won’t have access to laundry services.
Staying Hydrated
Dehydration isn’t good for your body, and that’s true for your veins too. Dehydration narrows the walls of your veins and increases your risk of constipation. Focusing on hydration if you’re traveling by air is especially important because flying dehydrates you. For example, on a 10-hour flight, you can lose anywhere from 1.6 to 2 liters of water.
Bring refillable water bottles to ensure you always have access to fresh water. If you’re ordering drinks on the plan, refrain from alcohol and choose juice or water.
Eat Healthy Meals
We know vacation is the perfect excuse to indulge, but remember to maintain a healthy balance. Continuing to follow a healthy diet helps to prevent constipation and hemorrhoids flare-ups. Be sure to drink enough water, eat plenty of vegetables, add fiber-rich foods into your diet, and stay active.
Tip: if you struggle with constipation while traveling, you’re not alone. Consider bringing individually wrapped prunes in your back. These tasty snacks can be an easy way to thwart constipation while traveling.
Stay Comfortable
In addition to wearing loose, comfortable clothing while traveling, you may also want to consider how comfortable your seat is. If sitting for prolonged hours exacerbates your hemorrhoids, consider traveling with a donut-shaped pillow. You may also want to pack extra Epsom salt in case you want to enjoy a Sitz bath once you arrive at your destination.
Plan ahead
Not sure how your travel plans will affect your legs or hemorrhoids? Talk with your Vein Institute provider about the safest way to travel with varicose veins and/or hemorrhoids. Not only do we provide professional treatments to treat and diminish the appearance of varicose veins, we are also more than happy to provide guidance on safe traveling.
Ready to talk with us? Call the nearest Vein Institute office or simply request your appointment online and get ready to get into vacation mode.
“The staff members at the Vein Institute in Newtown CT are all professional, knowledgeable, friendly and make the client feel very comfortable and relaxed. Dr Afshar is professional and a very skilled and empathic physician. The office is also very clean and bright. The team works very well together and have the common goal of helping the client feel comfortable and cared for. I highly recommend the Vein Institute.” - JoAnn I.