We wear them on long haul flights only llindy. As hubby usually wears trainers to travel, he put his on when he dresses, I put mine on when I'm sitting in the plane, as I always wear thong type sandals. The problem I have then, is I have to go to the loo on the plane in my stockinged feet.

Would you recommend them for a 5hr flight to Canada from the UK?

With my hands being so stiff from arthritis, I would need to put them on weeks before getting to the airport as it would take me so long!

They are not easy to put on on a plane but then I doubt they would be effective if they slipped on easily They certainly stopped my feet from always swelling during a long haul

I've worn full length - toe to groin - compression stockings on flights for nearly 25 years - long before DVT cases started to hit the headlines. I was fitted for them when I had to have surgery that would leave me flat on my back for up to a week and when I was discharged from hospital one of the nurses advised me to keep them and use them whenever I was travelling on flights or long train journeys where I would be likely to be sat in the same position for more than 3 hrs at a time. So I did as I was told and once I'd discovered the joys of no more swollen ankles etc I've worn them ever since when flying. Careful handwashing (rather than dumping them in the machine) means that they do seem to have held their elasticity.

Does mean of course that I can't ever travel in a skirt - full length trousers are the order of the day. I usually nip to the loo on the way to the gate and put them on then and it;s one fo the reasons why the loo is the first thing I head for on landing. I have managed to get them on in the loo on the plane as soon as the seatbelt sign goes off but I try to avoid this because of the grumpy looks from the queue who can't understand why I've been locked in there for so long.

Don't know what I'll do when they finally wear out - I have tried the knee length flight socks but they just aren't as good.

SM

SM
you need to look in running shops. OH has compression tights(?) that he has worn after an ultra marathon. Apparently lots do and swear by them.

I usually put mine on when I'm waiting in the departure lounge. I usually see others doing the same. I always wear loose trousers when travelling long haul so i'ts easy to put them on (well comparatively easy) they are great for stopping my ankles swelling but within a day of arriving in any hot country my ankles will swell up like balloons anyhow. I really find the stockings uncomfortable but the risk of a DVT outweighs any negative feeling about wearing them. I can't wait to get them off, I'm usually pulling them off as the plane is taxying in after landing.

I'm really not sure whether I would wear them for a short 5hr flight though, I will be flying to Eygpt in November and hadn't really thought about it, but I will wear them for the near 12 hour flight to South Africa next February.

you need to look in running shops. OH has compression tights(?) that he has worn after an ultra marathon. Apparently lots do and swear by them.

Hi Fiona, thanks for the tip - sounds as if they will fit the bill exactly.

they are great for stopping my ankles swelling but within a day of arriving in any hot country my ankles will swell up like balloons anyhow

Hi Judith, the one time I arrived at the airport and discovered I'd actually packed the full length surgical ones in the by then checked in case I bought a pair of knee high ones at Boots and I had the same experience. And they were much less comfortable too. When you say you wear stockings do you mean full length ones - mine come right to the top of the leg with different compression zones? If they aren't full length, then perhaps if you can get hold of a pair, you'll find it will make a difference.

SM

I got some red socks given to me when i went on a Virgin Flight to new york so I may wear these are my longhaul trip to Mexico. I presume these are what they are for and not just fashion lol.

They were given in a Virgin bag with other bits and pieces.

Having used the pill since I was 16 I am a higher risk of DVT so better wear them or get some.

mari wrote:

I got some red socks given to me when i went on a Virgin Flight to new york so I may wear these are my longhaul trip to Mexico. I presume these are what they are for and not just fashion lol.

They were given in a Virgin bag with other bits and pieces.

Having used the pill since I was 16 I am a higher risk of DVT so better wear them or get some.

Mari
The only time I flew with Virgin they ran out of amenity kits so I can't really comment about the socks you received but normally the socks that the airlines give out are for use when walking around in the airline after you have removed your shoes, I have lots of different ones from different airlines, but none are compression socks. Hopefully someone who has flown with Virgin can tell you if they are the correct ones to wear.

SMa wrote:

Hi Judith, the one time I arrived at the airport and discovered I'd actually packed the full length surgical ones in the by then checked in case I bought a pair of knee high ones at Boots and I had the same experience. And they were much less comfortable too. When you say you wear stockings do you mean full length ones - mine come right to the top of the leg with different compression zones? If they aren't full length, then perhaps if you can get hold of a pair, you'll find it will make a difference

SM

They are the knee length ones, I'll look for the full length ones

Thanks SM

Judith

Mari
The only time I flew with Virgin they ran out of amenity kits so I can't really comment about the socks you received but normally the socks that the airlines give out are for use when walking around in the airline after you have removed your shoes,

Mari, if these are the same as Virgin hands out on their flights to Havana then they are as Judith says, just a pair of socks that you can pad around in instead of shoes. They won't offer any protection against DVT. If you have been assessed by your GP as being at risk of DVT then have a word with them - you might be eligible for the full length ones on prescription which in my experience are much better than the knee high travel socks available over the counter.

SM

i use the compression socks you get in hospital when i travel to spain by coach, but dont use them on the short flights.
fortunately i have a friend that worked in a hospital, and she found a couple of spare pairs in her handbag that just fitted me nicely

Hopefully someone who has flown with Virgin can tell you if they are the correct ones to wear.

When I flew to Oz with Virgin (I still can't believe I did a direct flight) I just got a pair of ordinary socks to walk about in, two designs, either black with red heels and toes or black with purple heels/toes and other bits like a toothbrush/paste, eye mask and ear plugs, which are all wrapped up in a black bag with "shoe bag" written on it....obviously to pop your shoes in.
They're def not compression socks, I used mine for walking about the apartment in, and I have some here unused, if they were compression socks they would cause your legs to go like a balloon because they stop above the ankle joint/lower calf like ordinary socks do .....
Basic bandaging techniques from my younger days when bandaging a limb, the bandage should always go to the next joint EG: finger/palm of hand to elbow and in this case, either toe to knee or toe to groin....same applies to compression stocking, hence the correct term is stockings and not socks.
I never noticed if my ankles/feet had swollen....must have helped having them elevated on the footstool.?

Sanji

Hubby bought his flight socks and swears by them , mine are NHS issue came home with me after a short stay

Just found this, if anybody is interested in saving a few bob.

http://www.flightsock.com/

I wore flight socks, I got a DVT. So now I don't bother, I just get up and walk around the plane a lot.

Sunbear
I hadn't realised you had been wearing flight socks.
For me- it definitely means that my feet don't swell up. I used to have to takes loads of various footwear- some for normal size and some for the balloon size!

The only time I have worn them is when I was pregnant. You should have seen me trying to get these really tight socks on when I was 7 months pregnant. I could hardly even reach my feet let alone get socks on

My dad always has problems with his feet swelling, maybe I will suggest he gets some flight socks, it may help him.

I've had a PE and a DVT so I would ALWAYS wear flight socks. I wear them for journeys in the car too if they are over an hour long. I exercise my legs, ankles and toes almost constantly whilst sitting (second nature now). My husband and son don't wear them apart from when we flew to NZ and Canada

Hi
Used to just wear them on journeys over 4hrs, but since I have had a major op. 4years ago I wear them even on a short flight.
I put them on in the ladies just before we get on the plane...they are difficult to get on at best of times, dont know how anyone could put them on once on the plane...I am impressed they even attempt it
Oh the bliss when you can take them off when you arrive
M