Eight Hour Coding Session Causes DVT

NickFitz writes "The BBC reports that a UK programmer collapsed with Deep Vein Thrombosis after an eight hour programming session. The potentially life-threatening condition is more commonly seen in air passengers on long haul flights, but this should serve as a warning to many Slashdot readers (including me) that screen breaks aren't just for resting the eyes."

Comments

I have had deep vein thrombosis

[Simon Brooke]

Not funny, but not a great hassle either. I have to get my blood tested every three or four weeks, and get my warfarin dose adjusted. It's a nuisance when I fall off my bike, because I tend to bleed a lot.

I'm supposed to get up and move about fairly regularly during the day, and mostly I remember to do that. And I do need to take regular exercise (which is why I cycle a lot). But it's something you can live with. I don't like having to take warfarin, but it isn't the end of the world.

Re:I have had deep vein thrombosis

[icepick72]

Interestingly enough, warfarin was originally developed as a rat poison and is still used that way today. I remember warfarin bait being sold at the local feed and seed store. It makes rats bleed to death (thinning blood).

It just seemed a factoid fitting for Slashdot. Of course the right dosage can help people which need it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warfarin

Similar Situation

[umbrellasd]

Do taichi in the NOC every hour or so. Takes up really little space. It's really low-key exercise, so people don't wig out and you don't have to work up a sweat. You can learn the shortform in a couple months and it takes about 5-7 minutes to go through it.

After a few months, you won't need drugs and you won't have to worry about DVT. And you'll end up really good at it, :-). Anyway, I have a similar job and that was the most economical solution that I found.

Re:what I do

[alienmole]

Repetitive leg motion while sitting doesn't necessarily mean restless leg syndrome. It's much more likely to be an ADD/ADHD symptom - the motion is a way to calm yourself and keep yourself focused. (Try consciously stopping the motion and see what effect it has on your ability to focus on what you're working on.) There are also other conditions that can lead to such motion, which have to do with nervous tension as opposed to restless leg syndrome. Restless leg syndrome is when people feel an uncomfortable sensation in their legs when sitting still, which goes away as a result of motion. Usually, just wiggling the legs isn't enough - it require real motion, like walking around. I think it's quite likely that restless leg syndrome is part of a mechanism to protect against diseases like DVT, but some people may be overly sensitive to it.

Re:what I do

[Anonymous Coward]

I have often wondered if the habit of wiggling the legs was related to the body's instinct to do what it has to do to protect itself, just like shivering when cold, or pumping adrenaline when stressed.

I have done this since I was a kid. My parents, social contacts, as well as many others found my incessant wiggling to be an annoyance ( understandably ), yet if I tried to restrain myself, I would be quite uncomfortable. It took some doing but I could learn not to do this when others were around.

I remember how hard it was not to wiggle in church. The pews were hard, and it seemed as if had my iliac bone pinching off some vein when I sat. I could relieve the pressure if I squirmed and sat cockeyed, but that was so annoying for others that I would not do it. I could never figure how people could ever sit still for sooo long!

This whole condrundrum resolved itself as I found myself getting away from everyone else so I could let nature do what it wanted to do... but the way things are built these days, it seems I could get the whole building vibrating with my approx. 4 Hz. wiggling.

Today, I am around 53, and am showing signs of DVT. I wear those elastic stockings. If I do not, my calves and ankles fill with fluids and become quite swollen ( and shades of blue and purple ).

I cannot sit still for too long... ( and worse yet, stand still ).

But I can walk for hours. As long as I am moving, I am ok. But hold me up in a line or to stand to talk to somebody and I have to sit pretty fast. From what I can tell, since the veins run through muscles in my legs, their periodic contractions act as a secondary heart pump to push the blood back up to my heart. The heart is not a suction pump - and has no way to pull the blood up from my lower body. It has to be pushed up.

Its my speculation that I am the recipient of some genetic variance that gave me a weaker venous structure which is literally ripping itself apart from hydrostatic pressure, and my subconscious is handling it the best it can.

I almost continuously do this when sitting. Subconsciously. Its like a process running in the background. I'm aware I am doing it, but the process to turn the calf muscles on and off are completely running in the background, like digestion or respiration.

I'm posting AC because I don't want my medical history flaunted in public. But there may be other younger people out there who are seeking answers to their intense desire to throb their calves relentlessly - and get some speculation from an older guy who does it and what may be coming. ( no, it doesn't build nice strong calf muscles... I wish it did ).