People should live active lives and avoid staying in one position for a long time, especially when travelling, a haematologist, Dr Babajide Durogbola has advised.
Durogbola said in Abuja that living a sedentary life style could predispose a person to different forms of diseases.
He said that a sedentary lifestyle could lead to a condition where the blood circulation is minimal or nonexistent in a part of the body, which could cause a clot to form.
“Sedentary lifestyle is used to denote a type of lifestyle with no or irregular physical activity. ’’
The haematologist also explained that a blood clot occurred when blood turns from its fluid state to a solid state.
He said that such occurred in the body to stop the person from bleeding to death when they get cut.
According to him, abnormal or inappropriate clots, which occur within the blood vessels in the body can be bad.
“Abnormalities of clotting refer to situations in which there has not been any trauma or injury to a vessel in the body and yet a clot is formed. ’’
According to Durogbola, when this abnormality occurs in the venous system, it is referred to as Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT).
The venous system in the body then returns deoxygenated blood from the body to the heart and lungs and take oxygenated blood from the lungs to the body.
A clot which occurs on the way to or from the heart, in the legs or lungs could dislodge and cause problems.
Durogbola said that a dislodged clot in the lungs and heart could lead to breathlessness, rapid breathing, chest pain, coughing up blood, collapse and in rare cases sudden death
He added that when DVT occurs in the legs, it is characterised by pain, swelling and redness of the limb, adding that there was no age restriction for DVT, although more commonly observed in the elderly people who experience reduced mobility.
He explained that drinking heavily and smoking cigarettes increased the chances of the disruption of the blood vessels and predisposed a person to clot formation.
The haematologist added that clots could form in areas of the body were there was sluggish flow of blood from the heart.
“If you are travelling in a luxury bus or vehicle, you should stop once in a while to stretch your legs and move around.
“If you are flying for many hours in a plane, you should get up and move around the cabin.
“Exercise yourself because just staying in one place could cause a clot to form.”
He advised people to reduce their alcohol intake, cut cigarette smoking as well as try to reduce their fats and oil consumption as an antidote.