Travelers Blood Clots

 

Broadcast: May 7, 2003
By Nancy Steinbach

This is the VOA Special English Health Report.
People who travel on long trips should know about a condition that can develop deep inside the legs. This condition is called deep vein¹ thrombosis. A thrombosis is a blood clot², a condition where some blood thickens and blocks the flow. Clots³ develop in the legs when blood cannot move easily back to the heart. Doctors say this can happen when a person sits too long in one place.
Blood clots1 can kill if they move to the heart and lungs and cause what is known as a pulmonary embolism. Recently an American television reporter, David Bloom, died as he covered the war in Iraq. Medical experts believe a clot formed in his leg because he slept every night in a very small space inside a military vehicle.
Mister Bloom had felt pain behind the knee. Military doctors had urged him to seek treatment. Finally the clot moved to the artery2 leading to his lungs. Oxygen could no longer reach the heart.
Such blood clots are a risk for people who travel in airplanes, trains, motorcycles, buses and cars. Doctors say some people have an increased risk. These include people who have had clots in the past, as well as pregnant⁴ women and those who take birth control pills. People who are overweight and those with heart disease or cancer also may have a greater risk. Others include people being treated with estrogen3, and those who have had a recent operation.
The experts say the chances of a clot also increase if a person does not drink enough water. They say travelers who sit for hours should drink plenty of water--not liquids that contain alcohol or caffeine. Another thing to do is to increase the blood flow to the legs. This could mean wearing support stockings or taking an aspirin⁵ a few hours before the trip. Also, people should not sit for a long time with their knees pressed back against their seat. Walk around every hour or so. Or at least make sure to move the feet and legs.
Doctors say anyone who has pain, swelling⁶ or red skin on a leg during or after a long trip may have a blood clot. Signs that a clot may have already reached the lungs include chest pain, shortness of breath, coughing and a fast heart rate. Anyone with these signs should seek examination by a doctor immediately. In many cases, the condition can be treated with drugs that thin the blood and prevent clots from moving through the body.
This VOA Special English Health Report was written by Nancy Steinbach.
1． clot [klCt] n. （血液等的）凝块
2． artery [5a:t[rI] n. 动脉，要道
3． estrogen [5estr[dV[n] n. 雌激素

1 vein   

n.血管，静脉；叶脉，纹理；情绪；vt.使成脉络

参考例句：

• The girl is not in the vein for singing today.那女孩今天没有心情唱歌。
• The doctor injects glucose into the patient's vein.医生把葡萄糖注射入病人的静脉。

2 clot   

n.凝块；v.使凝成块

参考例句：

• Platelets are one of the components required to make blood clot.血小板是血液凝固的必须成分之一。
• The patient's blood refused to clot.病人的血液无法凝结。

3 clots   

n.凝块( clot的名词复数 )；血块；蠢人；傻瓜v.凝固( clot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• When you cut yourself, blood clots and forms a scab. 你割破了，血会凝固、结痂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Milk clots when it turns sour. 奶变酸就凝块。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 pregnant   

adj.怀孕的，怀胎的

参考例句：

• She is a pregnant woman.她是一名孕妇。
• She is pregnant with her first child.她怀了第一胎。

5 aspirin   

n.阿司匹林

参考例句：

• The aspirin seems to quiet the headache.阿司匹林似乎使头痛减轻了。
• She went into a chemist's and bought some aspirin.她进了一家药店，买了些阿司匹林。

6 swelling   

n.肿胀

参考例句：

• Use ice to reduce the swelling. 用冰敷消肿。
• There is a marked swelling of the lymph nodes. 淋巴结处有明显的肿块。