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a view from the back of a commercial flight of the passenger cabin
Image credit: Getty/AlxeyPnferov

Should I take aspirin when I fly?

Dr Mark Porter explains whether to take aspirin and how to help reduce your risk of DVT on a long flight.

By Dr Mark Porter | Published - 31 May 2024
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Q. We are due to fly to New York next month and I have read that swallowing an aspirin before take-off reduces the risk of blood clots. Is that true?

Dr Mark's reply

The risk of an otherwise healthy person developing a serious complication from a deep vein thrombosis caused by a single long-haul flight (more than four hours) is much smaller than most people think, at around one in 6,000.

The National Institute for Health and Care excellence (NICE) specifically advises against taking aspirin (unless already prescribed), as it believes the risk of a bleed outweighs any benefits.

Do stretch your legs regularly and consider wearing compression stockings, but get them properly fitted at a pharmacy.

I would avoid flight socks based solely on your shoe size as we all have different shaped ankles and calves.

Dr Mark Porter

Written by: Dr Mark Porter

With 26 years experience in practice and a partner in a busy South Gloucestershire surgery, Dr Mark is also resident doctor on BBC One's The One Show, presents Radio 4's Inside Health, writes for The Times, and has popped up on celebrity versions of The Weakest Link and Mastermind.
Dr Mark was awarded an MBE in 2005 for services to medicine.

View author page
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