DVT Please be careful!

[rols]

A programmer friend of mine started coughing up blood last week. He was diagnosed with Deep Vein Thrombosis. He would usually be at his computer at 7am and go right through to 9pm most days with perhaps one break for lunch.

Sound familiar?

Don't drink much water? Drink too much coffee, booze? Little time for exercise?
Stressful day?

This is a real and serious health threat and my friend was told he's lucky not to have died. And it's not just old people on long haul flights.

Computers and Deep Vein Thrombosis

By JAMES ANTHONY

Serious computer users have long had to put up with the comments that sitting too long at a monitor can damage your health and have laughed it off as non-technos who don't appreciate the finer points of the digital world or cyberspace.

However, news just out suggests that maybe the harpies of doom have a point - and that too much time at your computer can kill you!

Doctors are now saying that excessive hours sitting at your terminal can lead to fatal blood clots - the same thing as the potentially fatal Deep Vein Thrombosis, brought on by sitting in one position too long during lengthy plane flights.

There have been several recent cases of people dying after spending 18 hours or more playing on a computer and DVT could be the reason.

A reported non-fatal case in New Zealand brought the issue to medicos notice after the man in his early 30s suffered a swollen calf for 10 days after working at his screen for between 12 and 18 hours a day.

At times he would spend up to six hours at a stretch seated and for some weeks after getting the swollen calf was increasingly breathless until one day he passed out. The cause was a large blood clot that travelled from his leg and into his lungs.

If you do have to spend a long time on the computer doctors suggest the following:

Flex your toes and ankles
Drink water
Avoid alcohol
Get up and move about at least once an hour


Health & Safety - Computer use linked to deep vein thrombosis - 09/05/2006

Computer Users, Please Stand Up

 

[Splitlink]

Crikey, Mate, you've made me go all funny!I shall be walking all over the place tomorrow, driving my wife balmy!

Split

 

[0007]

Useful info.

On a lighter note - sounds like day trading is more dangerous than i thought !

 

[nine]

LOL yes 0007. Not just to your wallet.

FWIW ... I get up quite frequently for another reason as well ... Daytraders get entrained by the movement of the market and I think that's one of the reasons so many take trades that simply are not in their strategies.

 

[Crap Buddist]

Cheers Rols yeah very important, I know Ive run myself into the ground on more than one occassion the minds willing but the body? damn it needs maintaining and the thing is it doesnt require superman workouts to keep it ship shape really so why do we get all lazy sometimes?

Anyhow juggling ones balls can work up a bit of a sweat and get the ticker , er ticking over 90/100, good old upper and cardio vascular workout whilst do little ,cept for juggling balls.

Its quite relaxing once you get intot he flow of it and juggle without worrying how to catch your balls ,its therapy, with your balls slapping in your open hands in a nice regular stylie !

I can do 3 with tricks , over back etc, 4 balls is a bit ropey, but if you keep your balls nice n tight together you can juggle them whilst sitting down, which is nice.

"Spanking the monkey" on a daily basis is an obvious goer too.


Please share your desk workout .

Springs here now so time to get ready for the desk olympics.


ohh, when sitting at desk spell out the alphabet with each foot rotating and drawing the letters, thats a sensible little exercise.

 

[Splitlink]

Cheers Rols yeah very important, I know Ive run myself into the ground on more than one occassion the minds willing but the body? damn it needs maintaining and the thing is it doesnt require superman workouts to keep it ship shape really so why do we get all lazy sometimes?

Anyhow juggling ones balls can work up a bit of a sweat and get the ticker , er ticking over 90/100, good old upper and cardio vascular workout whilst do little ,cept for juggling balls.

Its quite relaxing once you get intot he flow of it and juggle without worrying how to catch your balls ,its therapy, with your balls slapping in your open hands in a nice regular stylie !

I can do 3 with tricks , over back etc, 4 balls is a bit ropey, but if you keep your balls nice n tight together you can juggle them whilst sitting down, which is nice.

"Spanking the monkey" on a daily basis is an obvious goer too.


Please share your desk workout .

Springs here now so time to get ready for the desk olympics.


ohh, when sitting at desk spell out the alphabet with each foot rotating and drawing the letters, thats a sensible little exercise.

How do transport drivers get on, I wonder, My father drove a bus for decades, he didn't die of that- I suppose they do get out for a cup of tea at the end of the journeys.

 

[Crap Buddist]

How do transport drivers get on, I wonder, My father drove a bus for decades, he didn't die of that- I suppose they do get out for a cup of tea at the end of the journeys.

Good points Split. In fact I did and do think think applies to all desk bound jobs doesn't it ? telesales, admin, accountants on and on......

Maybe people can also be at higher risk too. I mean if you smoke you have "sticky blood" which is thicker than blood in non smokers. So that wont help either. Knock tha fags on the head and your blood will flow better and you will have improved circulation.

But there is a range of flow exercises ,such as the foot alphabet, that can simply be done to stimulate blood flow. Maybe the foot action of the bus drivers depressing the clutch,brake,gas pedals is a mini workout so drivers should be ok.

Personally I do stretches and things but I can flop a trade on and just monitor it over a few hours, I can fire up a BBQ and trade and do other stuff these days at the same time, but Ive done my stint of intense screen time over the years, plus on top of that for me is the challenge of being riddled with Arthritis too, since early teens, still not 40 yet and thats been a real ball ache ,chronic fatigue/pain is normal, so me pulling a few years of mental hours on top desk bound hasn't done my immune system too good. But your taught "mind over matter" push on and thats been my normal attitude.

As my Gran used to say "Health is wealth"

Lets keep the blood flowing.

 

[Splitlink]

Over recent years, I have found that I need a cushion to sit on, if I sit too long in a chair. It's as if trading has, literally, brought about the fact that I am, now, sitting on the bones of my a**e -

Split

 

[Crap Buddist]

I was thinking of that gamma, but and not sure about Rols's friend ,but the act of travelling to the Bank will benefit people, steps taken , walking etc. I think they recommend people do 5000 steps a day. The average active American does less than 2K a day apparently.

Anyone working from home banging in 12-16 hours may be walking less than 1000. Not good. Maybe one of those under desk pedal pushers will help.

You can get those small pedometers for a few quid, that will highlight how much movement one does throughout the day.

So the average bod going to work is likely to be exercising to get there and also working less than 12 hours usually. So I can see how the blood flow is moving a bit more for them.

 

[rols]

I was thinking of that gamma, but and not sure about Rols's friend ,but the act of travelling to the Bank will benefit people, steps taken , walking etc. I think they recommend people do 5000 steps a day. The average active American does less than 2K a day apparently.

Anyone working from home banging in 12-16 hours may be walking less than 1000. Not good. Maybe one of those under desk pedal pushers will help.

You can get those small pedometers for a few quid, that will highlight how much movement one does throughout the day.

So the average bod going to work is likely to be exercising to get there and also working less than 12 hours usually. So I can see how the blood flow is moving a bit more for them.

The only time he went out was to collect the kids from school and that was driving. I suggested he get a dog, they force you to take at least one walk a day and are man's best friend. My dog starts whining when a trade starts going the wrong way (so do I) and I haven't put in a stop. I read a report recently that dogs also know when their owners are coming home from about a five mile range. Gives a whole new meaning to Dogs of the Dow.

 

[Crap Buddist]

The only time he went out was to collect the kids from school and that was driving. I suggested he get a dog, they force you to take at least one walk a day and are man's best friend. My dog starts whining when a trade starts going the wrong way (so do I) and I haven't put in a stop. I read a report recently that dogs also know when their owners are coming home from about a five mile range. Gives a whole new meaning to Dogs of the Dow.

Yeah agree with the dog, always had dog/s Now there is a special bond, women dont always get it for some reason? few years back my wife used to say (before she found some sort of inner peace outside of a shopping mall) ,"right that dog aint sleeping in here anymore", his bedding and pillows would be put out into the hallway, followed by mine ! lol

I know if I take my dog out for a quick pee its 350 steps RT. I suppose the advantage I'm working from at the moment is my trades tend to last between 4 -12 hours, one trade every 480-1000 bars. Observational Trading I'd call it , passive. So once Ive placed a trade I can do other things and now the suns beginning to make an appearance actually had a few hours in sunshine this week outside.


Programmers I guess have to be keying away all the time ? That is intense attachment to the screen. Dont think I could hack that.

 

[trendie]

I had a break from T2W for about a week in mid-March.....

yep, blood clots!!

I did have a swollen and painful calf for a couple of days a few weeks back, but thought it was some sort of cramp, and slapped some Deep Heat on it and thought nothing more.

Then, over a period of 3 days, I started to feel bad, particularly feeling general pain in the lower rib-cage region on the left-side. (I missed Mothers Day because of this)
Then, the pain became more specific, and the pain was on each inhalation; weirdly, it was ok-ish when upright, but painful when I lay down, so I only felt really bad at night when trying to sleep. It took me longer to get to the doctor because I thought the problem had gone in the morning when I got up, so wrote it off as aches-and-pains!

The doctor suspected a "pleurotic" (sp) episode, but had the foresight to send me to hospital for clarification.
They thought it might be a chest infection, but one of the blood tests showed an anomoly.
Further tests that very day said "high probability its a blood clot on the lungs"!
Was told that I would not be allowed home that evening.

I had only 2 instances of coughing up blood, and the pain was almost all gone after being given an injection in the stomach. (think it was heparin, a fast-acting anti-coagulant)
Then I spent 3 more days in hospital as another anti-coagulant took effect. Its called warfarin, and I believe its the active ingredient in rat poison!
total hospital time was about 7 days.

I am now going to the hospital every week to give blood samples, as the "INR" has to be between 2-3, dieally 2.5.
The INR is the measure of how much the clotting has been slowed down. For example, and INR of 2 means the blood will take twice as long to clot if you are cut, when compared to a standard base-line sample.
The reason for the anti-coagulant, (misdescribed as "blood-thinner") is to prevent the existing clot from getting bigger, and allow the body time to break the clot down and dispose of it.

I tend to slouch, so I tend to sit on my legs, half-cross-legged, as it forces me to sit up - that clearly didnt help the already bad habit of being at the screen all hours.

Pulmonary Embolism my doctor wrote in my medical notes.

Prior to this event, I have never had to visit a hospital as a patient, and only visited doctors for jabs for when going abroad.

The experience was interesting.
There was a "VQ scan" where they inject you with radio-isotopes so the scan can track more finely the blood vessels. I was radio-active for a day, and I fully expect to acquire super-human characterstics fairly soon. :cheesy:

Then there was a CT scan, and the body feels very very warm as the scanner passes over you in sections, ie, you feel a great warmth on your nose and cheeks, then the warmth moves as a 2-inch-or-so band across your neck, then the chest.

Thumbs up for the NHS for the speedy and effective analysis, and diagnosis. Also for being comprehensive in their elimination of any cardiac or other potential causes of the problem. (had an ultrsound scan of my heart done, and saw the valves in my ventricles doing their stuff. :-0 )

doing more stretches and have a stepper, so I do about 2K (5 lots of 400) steps over and above my normal chair-to-fridge trips.
I now do more hour-long walks per week; 1 each on weekends and 2 more mid-week.

When you're not trading, move the heck away from the screen.

 

[rols]

I had a break from T2W for about a week in mid-March.....

yep, blood clots!!

I did have a swollen and painful calf for a couple of days a few weeks back, but thought it was some sort of cramp, and slapped some Deep Heat on it and thought nothing more.

Then, over a period of 3 days, I started to feel bad, particularly feeling general pain in the lower rib-cage region on the left-side. (I missed Mothers Day because of this)
Then, the pain became more specific, and the pain was on each inhalation; weirdly, it was ok-ish when upright, but painful when I lay down, so I only felt really bad at night when trying to sleep. It took me longer to get to the doctor because I thought the problem had gone in the morning when I got up, so wrote it off as aches-and-pains!

The doctor suspected a "pleurotic" (sp) episode, but had the foresight to send me to hospital for clarification.
They thought it might be a chest infection, but one of the blood tests showed an anomoly.
Further tests that very day said "high probability its a blood clot on the lungs"!
Was told that I would not be allowed home that evening.

I had only 2 instances of coughing up blood, and the pain was almost all gone after being given an injection in the stomach. (think it was heparin, a fast-acting anti-coagulant)
Then I spent 3 more days in hospital as another anti-coagulant took effect. Its called warfarin, and I believe its the active ingredient in rat poison!
total hospital time was about 7 days.

I am now going to the hospital every week to give blood samples, as the "INR" has to be between 2-3, dieally 2.5.
The INR is the measure of how much the clotting has been slowed down. For example, and INR of 2 means the blood will take twice as long to clot if you are cut, when compared to a standard base-line sample.
The reason for the anti-coagulant, (misdescribed as "blood-thinner") is to prevent the existing clot from getting bigger, and allow the body time to break the clot down and dispose of it.

I tend to slouch, so I tend to sit on my legs, half-cross-legged, as it forces me to sit up - that clearly didnt help the already bad habit of being at the screen all hours.

Pulmonary Embolism my doctor wrote in my medical notes.

Prior to this event, I have never had to visit a hospital as a patient, and only visited doctors for jabs for when going abroad.

The experience was interesting.
There was a "VQ scan" where they inject you with radio-isotopes so the scan can track more finely the blood vessels. I was radio-active for a day, and I fully expect to acquire super-human characterstics fairly soon. :cheesy:

Then there was a CT scan, and the body feels very very warm as the scanner passes over you in sections, ie, you feel a great warmth on your nose and cheeks, then the warmth moves as a 2-inch-or-so band across your neck, then the chest.

Thumbs up for the NHS for the speedy and effective analysis, and diagnosis. Also for being comprehensive in their elimination of any cardiac or other potential causes of the problem. (had an ultrsound scan of my heart done, and saw the valves in my ventricles doing their stuff. :-0 )

doing more stretches and have a stepper, so I do about 2K (5 lots of 400) steps over and above my normal chair-to-fridge trips.
I now do more hour-long walks per week; 1 each on weekends and 2 more mid-week.

When you're not trading, move the heck away from the screen.

Hi Trendie

Thanks for sharing your experiences and thank God that you received such a speedy diagnosis and subsequent recovery.

I think many of us don't realise how the hours can slip away while we are effectively being hypnotized by our monitors. Hours without exercise and fluids. Many months of this can have a detrimental effect on our health, which without, our everyday lives would be much diminished.

I read recently that 55,000 lives a year would be saved in Britain each year if people drank tea without milk, due to the medicinal effects and stroke reducing benefits of
black tea, a benefit neutralized by the addition of milk.

In Malcolm Gladwell's book 'The Tipping Point', one of the many noteworthy observations he makes, is that quite often the most important changes and benefits in our lives actually only require a ridiculously small amount of change, so small are many of these changes, it seems that the majority of us dismiss them.

 

[Crap Buddist]

Yeah, cheers trendie and speedy full fitness to you mate. Have you considered getting one of those air walkers ? not too big and very controlled exercise with zero joint impact, might be worth considering if you have the space. You can pick them up for less than £100 off ebay.

I can empathise with your posture situation .

You might be aware of it already but I'll stick it here in case someone with back/stress problems stumbles into this thread

Now you might want to check out basic Alexander technique to aid spinal realignment and improve posture. Involves laying on your back knees bent ,arms down by your side, head supported with a couple of books. (which is the distance from the back of your head to the wall when standing against the wall, that thickness of books you want when laying on the floor acting as a pillow)

Lay in that position for 10/15 mins. You will notice aches and pains, note were they are, shoulders, neck, hips, back. etc this is your body realigning with just gravity as the force.

This exercise is open to anyone. But be warned when we get on 30/40 's because we may of been slouching for 30 /40 years,(mind you I've seen 20 year olds struggling to get out of the position too) the pain can be quite material, especially when moving out of the position. I need to roll into the recovery position on my side and wait for 5 minutes for sensation to come back and the pain to subside. generally swearing.

But its a very good exercise to improve posture and open up ones lung capacity/rib cage expansion. Also an excellent relaxation technique (leaving aside any pain one may feel)

THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO THE ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE


Pilates/Alexander Technique, Pictures

People dont need to wait for back posture problems to land home before trying this simple exercise, in fact its recommended as a prevention /relaxation technique.

 

[pedro01]

An hour a day in the gym is the best solution IMO.