If you're going to take an overseas flight, and will be in the air for many hours, you might want to consider taking one small precaution that could help prevent considerable pain, and might even save your life.

There is a condition called deep vein thrombosis (DVT), which is a blood clot that can form in the legs or pelvis when a person is confined to a constricted space for a long period. Besides being painful, it could be dangerous or fatal if pieces of the clot dislodge and travel to the lungs where they can trigger a pulmonary embolism.

The reason for writing this article is to make people more aware of this problem without panicking or over reacting to it. These are risks that are manageable for almost everyone, and awareness is the key to doing something positive so that it doesn’t happen to you.

Airline passengers who are sitting for hours during a long flight are more at risk of getting this. DVT is pretty common and almost two million Americans each year are affected. Some quick statistics are that of 600,000 cases only one out of 100 die. If you're at a high risk, there is a lot you can do to prevent DVT.

Keep in mind that healthy people without previous cardiovascular problems are also susceptible. If you have a regular exercise routine you are at slightly greater risk of DVT complications because you tend to have low resting pulse. In other words, if you run marathons, and slept for a long time on an overseas flight, it could prompt a blood clot to form.

Some other advice on long flights is to avoid dehydration. Alcohol and coffee tend to dehydrate you, so don’t drink too much before the flight, and remember to hydrate. If you do have a greater chance of forming clots, consider wearing a pair of compression stockings.

If you are wondering if you have a higher risk of developing DVT be sure to check with your physician. Here are some general risks:

• Persons who experienced DVT in the past, or have a family history of DVT
• Those who have experienced trauma to the legs
• Patients who had recent surgery on the legs, feet, or in the abdominal or pelvic areas
• Diabetes, heart, liver disease patients, or those with certain cancers, like colon, ovarian, stomach, liver, pancreatic, or lymphatic
• The clinically Obese
• Those over the age of 40

Symptoms of Deep Vein Thrombosis usually show up in the legs. The things to watch out for are: muscle pain, swelling or tenderness in the legs, and discoloration in a painful area. Sometimes these symptoms don't occur until many hours or up to 8 weeks after you've arrived at your destination.

Further complications occur If a clot breaks loose, and travels to your lungs. The result is what is called a Pulmonary Embolism (PE) These are serious symptoms, and you should seek medical help immediately. You might experience:

• Trouble breathing
• A faster than normal heart rate
• Chest pain, discomfort, which is usually worse with a deep breath or cough
• Coughing up blood
• Very low blood pressure, lightheadedness, or black outs

The treatment for DVT has been always been an anti-coagulant medication called heparin, which stops blood clots from forming. If heparin is given continuously through a vein (IV), you must stay in the hospital. Recently newer forms of heparin like enoxaparin can be injected once or twice a day.

There is also an oral drug called warfarin that can be prescribed in combination with heparin. They usually take a few days to work fully. To guard against future clots people may be on the warfarin for about 6 months afterwards, depending on their risk factors.

One research tyrial in Italy found some success with Pycnogenol, which is a natural anti-inflammatory made from French maritime pine bark.

These results were similar to a trial that appeared last year in the journal Angiology. In that study, a product which contained Pycnogenol and a soy enzyme called nattokinase was tested on about 200 subjects during long-haul flights.

Results showed that none of the subjects in the group had evidence of blood clots, none experienced any leg swelling, and 15 percent actually showed a decrease in swelling. But in the control group, 5 subjects developed DVT, 2 had superficial thrombosis, and leg swelling increased in 12 percent of the group.

The Centers For Disease Control published Five steps you can take to protect yourself

1. When sitting for long periods of time, such as when traveling for more than four hours:

• Get up and walk around every 2 to 3 hours.
• Exercise your legs while you're sitting by:
• Raising and lowering your heels while keeping your toes on the floor.
• Raising and lowering your toes while keeping your heels on the floor.
• Tightening and releasing your leg muscles.
• Drink plenty of water, and avoid drinking anything with alcohol or caffeine in it.

2. Move around as soon as possible after having been confined to bed, such as after surgery, illness, or injury.

3. If you are at increased risk, talk to your doctor about wearing graduated compression stockings (sometimes called "support hose" or "medical compression stockings").

4. If you are at increased risk, talk to your doctor about medication (anticoagulants) to prevent or treat DVT.

5. Exercise regularly, maintain a healthy weight, and don't smoke

Airline flights that last only a couple of hours should not present a problem for most people. But if you're planning a particularly long flight, a few simple precautions can help prevent a hospital stay and even death.