Contact your doctor immediately on the very first signs of blood clotting; this way you can make sure that the problem does not become very serious. Some of the most common symptoms of blood clotting are numbness, intense burning or throbbing in ankles and hands, dizziness, sudden increased redness, swelling in the feet or legs and chronic headaches.

Drink plenty of fluids, especially while you are traveling. Also, try to keep a distance from alcohol and cigarettes. Include spinach and other dark leafy greens such as kale in your meal. These are high in vitamin E which acts as a blood thinner. Add flax seeds, legumes and olive oil to your diet.

Support socks are especially designed for the purpose of preventing blood clots. It has been observed that weak veins have trouble in overcoming the gravitational force; hence, these veins become unable in avoiding the pooling of blood in the legs. This pooling of blood ultimately leads to blood clotting. The extra pressure required for pushing the blood up out of the lower legs is provided by the support socks.

You can even take the help of over the counter drugs in order to prevent the formation of blood clots. The non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are very effective in such cases. One such drug is aspirin which can prevent the formation of blood clots as it helps in thinning your blood. However, these medications must be taken only when they have been prescribed by your physician as their prolonged use can lead to liver and kidney damage. You must certainly contact your doctor if you have any doubts about the dosage.

Being inactive for long periods of time leads to the formation of blood clots, therefore, it is always recommended that if you are doing sedentary activities, then you must introduce frequent exercise breaks in between. This will help you in keeping your blood circulating. If you are in your car or plane, then you can try the foot and ankle exercises. This can be done by pressing against the floor, raising and lowering the toes and rotating the ankles.

Sitting in one posture for a long interval of time is responsible for the formation of blood clots in most of the cases. So, walk around every hour if you are in a spatially constrained place such as train, automobile or airplane. Rather than just sitting out for the entire duration of the trip, do some stretching and moving around the chair.

Make sure that you don’t remain totally immobile for long periods of time unless the doctor has suggested complete bed rest for you. Even in the case of complete bed rest, make sure that the doctor has prescribed a physical therapy for you. This will help you to keep the blood in you legs flowing, otherwise, it may pool eventually leading to blood clots.

One important thing that you need to keep in mind is that you shouldn’t ignore any sort of pain, throbbing or numbness in your legs. Color changes, such as redness or a bluish tinge, or any sort of swelling in your legs may be an indication of blood clots. Always pay attention to your leg problems, this is especially important in situations where you are immobile due to illness, traveling or or other health conditions.

Occurrence of blood clots is more common in people who are over 60 years of age. However, anyone having restrained mobility may develop blood clots. The first thing that you need to do in order to prevent blood clots is to do a self assessment of certain risk factors. Some of the risk factors are varicose veins, swollen legs, bed rest or restricted mobility, planning minor surgery in the near future and obesity. You are at an increased risk of developing blood clots if you fall in any of the above mentioned categories.