Comments on: Swollen Ankles When Flying: 8 Questions and Answers

By: Irene S. Levine

Irene S. Levine — Wed, 22 Aug 2018 16:44:52 +0000

In reply to valerie gray. Most airlines provide beverage service with water. You can also purchase a large bottle of water after you pass through security.

By: valerie gray

valerie gray — Mon, 20 Aug 2018 15:45:29 +0000

How can you keep hydrated when every small bottle of water costs £2. You cannot take any water onto the plane for”security ” reasons

By: Irene S. Levine

Irene S. Levine — Fri, 10 Aug 2018 13:16:58 +0000

In reply to Janine Mudaliar. "Being seated in one fixed position in a cramped space for a long period of time causes fluid to leave the blood and move into surrounding tissues." This is more likely to occur in a plane than a car because there is less space and opportunity to move around. It's important to wiggle your toes, move your feet, and stand up and walk around, whenever possible.

By: Janine Mudaliar

Janine Mudaliar — Thu, 09 Aug 2018 04:29:17 +0000

My sister-in-law always gets swollen ankles on even a relatively short flight (3-1/2 hours) but not on much longer road trips of several hundred kilometres. She does everything possible – excercises; walking, elevation of legs, etc. – but nothing works. She said that as soon as she comes back home the swelling goes down. I was a bit dubious, until this happened to me also. Long car trips cause a little edema, but a 33-4 hour flight has my ankles and feet hugely swollen, and staying like that for days and days. When I came home, all of the swelling had gone by the next morning. So, I’m not sure that it has a great deal to do with inactivity.

By: Irene S. Levine

Irene S. Levine — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 13:28:16 +0000

In reply to Michele Legge. Hope it helps!

By: Michele Legge

Michele Legge — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 08:29:22 +0000

What a great article people often avoid writing about these things as they think they are not interesting. Will bookmark for our next flight great tips to help stop the cursed swollen ankles.

By: Irene S. Levine

Irene S. Levine — Thu, 06 Oct 2016 13:19:34 +0000

In reply to Sue Reddel. You are one of the few. Many people dread putting them on.

By: Irene S. Levine

Irene S. Levine — Thu, 06 Oct 2016 13:18:12 +0000

In reply to Rachel Heller. I think genetics makes some people more prone than others. You may be among one of the lucky ones!

By: Rachel Heller

Rachel Heller — Thu, 06 Oct 2016 08:08:53 +0000

So far — knock on wood — I’ve been lucky and never had swollen ankles. I always drink a lot of water on flights, and, of course, that means I make multiple trips to the toilet, which lets me stretch a bit. And in most planes I’m too tall to be able to cross my legs, so I don’t do that either. Thanks for the tips, though. I suppose it’s just a matter of time till this starts happening to me too on long flights!

By: Sue Reddel

Sue Reddel — Wed, 05 Oct 2016 16:17:51 +0000

Great article Irene! I’m a huge believer in compression socks and wear them on all flights. I even use them for trade-shows or all day walking they make a big difference.

By: Irene S. Levine

Irene S. Levine — Mon, 03 Oct 2016 20:54:52 +0000

In reply to Mary Charlebois. People make the mistake of thinking that cruises are sedentary but most travelers do far much more walking and standing than they usually do.

By: Irene S. Levine

Irene S. Levine — Mon, 03 Oct 2016 20:53:58 +0000

In reply to Suzanne Stavert. You look like a leg-crosser!;-)

By: Suzanne Stavert

Suzanne Stavert — Mon, 03 Oct 2016 19:32:23 +0000

Your timing is epic. This has never happened to me before except just a few days ago. We took a red eye from Kauai (used miles, you take what you can) I noticed that both of my feet were swollen in the car on the way home. Kind of freaked me out! Since is was an overnight flight, I only got up once. I also crossed my legs a great deal. I won’t let this happen again.

By: Mary Charlebois

Mary Charlebois — Mon, 03 Oct 2016 19:21:57 +0000

Very helpful, thank you. It happened to me once on a cruise and just recently on a 4-hour fight. For me getting my feet above my heart always works. That and loads of water. –MaryGo