This Airbag Keeps Clots at Bay

[Guest guest]

I saw the article below in wired news. As I sit most of the

day either at work or at my computer and as I now have one swollen

foot, I am thinking that the device mentioned might be good for me,

but I have not yet tried it. I have no financial interest in the

product.

 

Alobar

 

 

 

This Airbag Keeps Clots at Bay

By Kristen Philipkoski

02:00 AM Feb. 26, 2003 PT

http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,57809,00.html

 

A retired British Airlines pilot has invented a device that could

save the lives of long-haul airline passengers as well as computer

users who can't tear themselves from their screens.

 

Once mainly a concern for frequent fliers crammed into economy-class

seats, deep vein thrombosis, or blood clots, have recently struck

computer users as well. Experts call the version that afflicts

computer users e-thrombosis.

 

Paul Richards, a pilot for 33 years who saw one of his passengers

nearly die from a blood clot, came up with an elegant solution. It

comes in the form of a plastic blow-up device called the Airogym.

 

It resembles those inflatable travel pillows sold at drugstores. The

idea is to press down on one side of the pillow with the ball of each

foot alternately, pushing the air from one side of the pillow to the

other.

 

The exercise is not what you'd call strenuous, but it gets the blood

circulating throughout the legs, preventing blood clots that can be

deadly if they travel to the lungs, experts say. It also prevents

ankles and feet from swelling during long flights, according to an

Airogym spokeswoman.

 

The Airogym is available from Zeon Healthcare in the United Kingdom

http://www.zeonhealthcare.com/products.asp

and by calling Going in Style,

http://www.goinginstyle.com/gis/index.asp

E. Traveler Gear.

 

 

Emirates Airline, of the United Arab Emirates, is clearly sold on the

idea. Based in Dubai, the airline gives a complimentary Airogym to

each of its passengers.