A patient came into my office today afraid to take an upcoming vacation to China. He’s got poor circulation, and just read about the recent study showing even more evidence that long-distance travel can double your risk of developing a fatal blood clot. Obviously, this is a hot topic, with travel at it’s peak; even in a struggling economy, those foregoing expensive plane flights are piling into the SUV and driving long distances to eke out a summer vacation.

The fact is that any long trip, whether it be on a plane or in a car, can dramatically increase your risk of developing deep-vein thrombosis, or DVT. DVT refers to blood pooling in the veins after prolonged periods of inactivity; it becomes deadly when a clot dislodges and travels to the lungs, restricting the flow of oxygenated blood-flow to the heart (known as a pulmonary embolism). There was that sad case some years ago of the war reporter, David Bloom, who died of a pulmonary embolism after spending months of flying with the US troops in cramped quarters. Preexisting conditions like a prior case of phlabitis, or taking certain medications like birth control pills, can increase that risk even more.

Luckily there are several preventive measures you can take to travel safely. First – no medication or supplement takes the place of standing up and stretching your legs every two hours. If you’re packed in the minivan headed to Yellowstone, be the hero, give into the kids’ pleas for a pit-stop, and do a few turns around the ice cream stand. When the in-flight movie is over and you’re reaching for your laptop, put it down and walk the plane aisle for a few minutes instead.

And there are several natural remedies that work to prevent clotting. I have my patients pre-medicate before long trips with 2 each of garlic and Vitamin E, and a fish oil tablet. If they have poor circulation, I will add 2 tablets of Ginkgo. All of these work beautifully as anti-clotting agents.