Dr Desai urged people using this form of contraception to “stay mobile” during long plane flights to avoid potentially deadly blood clots, reports Daily Mail.
Desai, who is the medical director at Skinfluencer London, went on to explain that the most common in-flight risk for people taking combined hormonal contraception (CHC), which contains both oestrogen and progesterone, is a venous thromboembolism (VTE) blood clot, which can include deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE).
Deep-vein thrombosis is when a clot forms in the deep veins of the leg and a pulmonary embolism is when a small piece of a clot from somewhere else in the body becomes stuck in the veins of the lung, says Dr Desai.
Both of these conditions can be life-threatening and should be treated immediately.
The medical professional urged people to keep moving on long-haul flights by taking regular walks and “moving the ankles up and down to activate the calf muscles”.
The medical professional explained to MailOnline that the risk of a VTE is small - occurring in only five to twelve out of 10,000 healthy women every year who take a CHC, in comparison with the two per 10,000 women a year who do not take a CHC.
However, she said the risk of a VTE increases during long-haul flights.
She explained: “The estimated risk of a VTE from a long-haul flight is one case per 106,667 flights of less than four hours, one case per 4656 flights of more than four hours, and one case per 1264 flights of more than 16 hours.”
Dr Desai alleges that the risk of a VTE is even higher for women who are pregnant in comparison to those taking the contraceptive pill.
Echoing Dr Desai’s warning, physician associate Simi Solaoa revealed in a now-viral TikTok clip: “If you’re taking a contraceptive pill, especially the combined pill, which contains oestrogen and progesterone, there’s a small risk that you could develop a DVT.”
If you’re taking a contraceptive pill, there’s a small risk that you could develop a DVT. Photo / AP
She warned her 3000 followers: “Another risk factor of developing a blood clot is being on a long-haul flight and being pregnant.”
Dr Desai said that a telling sign of the condition is swelling of the calf, pain in the midline of the calf, redness and discomfort.
She added: “The symptoms of a pulmonary embolism include shortness of breath, increased respiratory rate, increased heart rate or palpitations, sharp chest pain or pain behind the chest bone.”
Symptoms can also include coughing up blood and feeling dizzy or lightheaded.
To decrease the risk of blood clots, the medical professional urged people to keep moving on long-haul flights by taking regular walks and “moving the ankles up and down to activate the calf muscles”.
She added: “Wear graduated compression stockings on the flight. They have a higher pressure around the ankle, which gradually decreases up towards the knee to encourage the blood flow in the deep veins of the leg up towards the heart.”
Finally, she encouraged travellers to stay hydrated by drinking lots of water and turning down alcohol and caffeine during the flight.
