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