Work from Home DVT Risks and How to Manage Them
What to Do If Working from Home Increases Your Risk for DVT
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a condition where blood clots develop in the larger veins of your thighs and calves. Sometimes, these blood clots can detach and travel through your blood vessels to your lungs. Here, they can become fatal pulmonary embolisms.
A major cause is not getting enough circulation throughout your legs — something, that happens more often when you spend all day working from home.
Read on to learn about the risks of DVT and what to do about them.
Sitting Still Is Your Greatest DVT Work From Home Risk
Long periods of inactivity are one of the most common causes of DVT. If you work from home, there’s a good chance that you are sitting at a desk or on your couch for hours at a time — day after day. You don’t even need a commute to get you up and moving.
This decreases the circulation in your legs and greatly increases your risk of developing DVT.
Take a Quick Motion Break Every Hour
A great solution to having to sit still all day is to take a quick break every hour.
Get up and walk around for a few minutes or stretch out your legs. Regular activity will help improve your circulation.
Wiggle Your Toes and Ankles While You Sit
You don’t have to be completely still while you sit and work. Keep your toes and ankles in motion with small wiggling motions.
This will keep your blood pumping and keep clots from forming.
Other High-Risk Factors For DVT
You’re particularly at risk for DVT if you work from home and fall into another high-risk category for DVT.
These include:
- Obesity
- Blood-clotting disorder
- Over the age of 60
- Recent surgery
- Frequent long-distance travel
Make Sure You Eat Healthily
A good diet full of healthy foods will lower your risk of developing blood clots.
Examples of a healthy diet include:
- Avoiding saturated fats
- Limiting sugar intake
- Limiting sodium intake
- Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables
Make Sure You Stay Hydrated
Drink plenty of water to lower your risk of DVT. Luckily, this should be easy to do from home.
You might get so caught up in your work that you forget to take water breaks. If so, set reminders on your phone to stop and drink water.
Wear Compression Socks
You can wear compression socks as an easy way to reduce your risk of DVT.
A study found that wearing compression socks in hospital patients reduced their chances of developing DVT from 27% to 13%.
This treatment method is particularly convenient if you’re working at home — you won’t even need to bother with shoes.
Use SCDs and IPCs
Other compression methods that can help prevent DVT include the use of sequential compression devices (SCDs) and intermittent pneumatic compression devices (IPCs).
These are tools that slip onto your legs and apply pressure to increase circulation.
They’re particularly recommended if you work from home and fall into other high-risk categories for DVT.
When to Talk to Your Doctor
Talk to your doctor to find out if you have a high risk of developing DVT. If so, continue the discussion to decide what prevention plan will work best for your lifestyle.
Most often, though, the best thing you can do to prevent DVT while working from home is to stay active and healthy.