.. silly gimmicks or worth buying?
im not fond of being the guy barfing out the window of a crowded bus, and i dont know a whole lot about deep vein thrombosis, but it strikes me as a pretty scary word....
now for my confession, i got a good deal in the medication and decided to buy these things ...but they are uncomfortable.. and frankly i cant believe that they would do anything good....
i have been duped, havent i?
Reply to this I dunno about the armbands, but my family doctor is a huge advocate of those socks....and my uncles all swear by them to reduce swelling in the feet and the tiredness in the legs. I've been debating getting stockings for a while now...I can't stand how painful my legs get on airplanes!
With DVT (blood clots that form mostly in the legs, linked to long periods of inactivity) it really depends on your risk factors (age, genetics, hormones, smoking habits, length of flight, how much time you spend sitting still). Compression stockings/socks are supposed to help with circulation to prevent blood clots in the legs. They shouldn't be too uncomfortable, but rather should apply graduated pressure over the leg, certainly not cut off your circulation!
If your risk for DVT is low (young, healthy, no genetic predisposition to blood clots, etc), the socks are probably not necessary.
Reply to this Hi Matt,
I spoke to a doctor a few months ago who knows a lot about motion sickness - he works on ships crossing the Drake Passage to Antarctica. He said the only effective prevention of motion sickness is drugs - armbands and patches do not do anything, although they can provide a placebo effect. (Unfortunately you will not get the placebo effect now you know this!). If you are seriously worried about motion sickness, pay a visit to your doctor who can sort you out with some medication and look up the various methods that can help avoid sickness, such as sitting near the front of the bus, not reading, get fresh air, look at the horizon, etc...
I don't know much about the socks, but from what I have heard the very small chance of getting DVT is on flights and not on buses. Are you talking about using them on a flight? As far as I can tell, the best thing to do is make sure you regularly stand up and walk around during the flight. If you walk down to the back of the plane, you shouldn't get in too many people's way and you can stretch out your legs as much as you want.
Happy travels!
Ruth
Reply to this If those things would work then they would be precribed for pregnant women. 24/7 nausea for 4 months is not something I chose to live with. 😉
Reply to this hi all,
thanks for clearing that up.
yes i was going to use the socks on a 10 hour flight
seeing that i have them now i will try them again before the flight and if they seem comfortable i might wear them , though i guess i am young enough and dare i say fit enough not to need them.
and i have never had motion sickness myself, what got me onto this was a tale from a friend who had an experience out the window of a bus in argentina while his friends chuckled away inside.
so for the wrist bands.... its bin time. im actually quite glad to hear that they dont work, its an annoying concept that pressure on some part of your wrist could prevent nausea.. though probably works well as a distraction because your worry quickly shifts to concern about blood flow to your hands. maybe better placebo effect from knowing you have medication for it.
thanks folks
matt
Reply to this Take a good quality sick bag - that way you know you can deal with the nausea if it does arrive! Bizarrely I found this helped me a lot when I was feeling dodgy on a bus in Bolivia. Just having the bag in my lap made the nausea calm down..
Reply to this funny those bags make me feel sick hehee,
good thinking though,,, if its gonna happen may as well be able to deal with it. i'll add this to my list of crazy objects to bring
Reply to this i have never had motion sickness myself
Then chances are you wont ever have it. I think you may be worrying prematurely.
As for deep vein thrombosis. Dont worry too much about that either. Usually your ankles will swell on long flights. It will be gone within a day when you get to your destination. Try to walk around on the plane if you can. Or on long bus journeys get out of the bus when it stops for a few minutes and just walk around a bit. This helps prevent it. I have never been able to fully prevent it but at least it goes away quickly.
But never mind taking all that stuff if you have never had motion sickness before. Wait until you have problems before you start solving them. 😉
Reply to this friend of mine spends time on yachts, despite getting sea sick. Swears by the arm bands and ear patches (?).
Reply to this DVT is caused by remaining in a sitting-up sedentary position for a long time--usually upwards of 5 or 6 hours. Get up, go to the bathroom, stand by the emergency exit and stretch for 4-5 minutes, and you'll be fine! If you intend on sleeping, yeah those socks are a good deal.
Bus/Plane doesn't matter! any time you're sitting for that long you have the chance of getting the swelling and possible embolism!
As for motion sickness: nausea is the least understood medical phenomenon in existence. Doctors don't even know WHY we get nauseous. One of the best non-pharmaceutical remedies for nausea is ginger, either in capsule, or if you're like me, candied and covered with delicious raw cane sugar. You can get it at any health-food store and it doesn't have the nasty side-effects of Dramamine.
Also try being consciously aware of the horizon line in relation to your own position--a lot of nausea is caused by your brain THINKING your weight should be distributed as if the floor is DOWN when in fact the rocking motion of the boat is causing gravitational "down" to be at a different angle. this means don't read, close your eyes, or hang out in a room where you can't see out a window if you're incredibly susceptible to motion sickness. If you're on a boat, get up on the top deck. The fresh air and visible horizon line will help a lot.
Pharmaceuticals work by blocking all sorts of receptors and mussing up your inner ear. They can accumulate if you take them a lot and actually make the condition worse. Try alternatives before you go to dramamine!
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