Am I crazy?
 

I am considering making a sling for a foot rest, for my 15.5 hour long coach flight to Hong Kong.
I will need a 14" piece of PVC pipe and a couple of 8" bungee cords.
I'll run the cords through the pipe and hook the ends somewhere on the seat in front of me or on my tray.
This will allow me to bring up my legs a little.
If it doesn't work, I will toss it in the trash.
Has anyone out there ever tried something like this?
I am buying compression hose for these 3 separate international trips I have in the next 6 weeks ... I hope I can get them on.
My vascular doc says that DVT is a real threat and moving your legs 'may' not be enough.
He says everyone shou;d wear the socks. Everyone.
I feel 1000x better if I can bring my legs up a little. I have always used a carry on for this purpose but will not have one on this trip.
Thoughts?
No haters, please... this is very serious for me.
I lost a 34 year old coworker 2 weeks ago to DVT.

Great idea! You might want to patent it before some aspiring young entrepeneaur (ack can't spell - businessperson) sees it, patents it, sells it and make his/her first million!! :)

I believe I've seen something that compresses around the leg using a hand pump or mouth pressure-ask the doctor.

He prescribed 20-30 mmHg compression socks and said they would really help.
Not being able to raise my feet up has always been a peeve on a plane. I have seen these little stool thingees that fold as flat as a small magazine, but they are only 6" off the ground. I can do that with a backpack.
I'm going to try this... and report back :)

Yes, you are because the TSA will probably confiscate it justas they took away my bicycle locking cable assembly since they said it could be used as a weapon.

You know, this might just be the ONE TIME when you could economically justify flying in Business Class

Why don't you just store that backpack under the seat in front and pull it out for your footrest????????? put a jacket in there for resistance... also much more useful on a trip than a chunk of pipe....

I doubt that they will let you bring pipe and bungees on board to build your contraption... looks too much like a slingshot weapon...

What airline are you flying - I may have a suggestion for you.

@Gary... I'm thinking I will get it past the TSA people at the CO terminal at DFW. They are laid back! Coming back I am 100% they would not allow it. But on that flight I have bulkhead, so I'm good :)

@DebitNM... CO now. I miss my AA VIP Upgrades :(

ok, I had thought I might have a solution, but not for CO.
Hope it works out for you.

I was just at the local Dollar store... Nylon laundry duffel was $3...small Blanket (could also keep you warm)$3... you could just toss them away after trip...

If you make the sling, make sure it doesn't actually hinder circulation. Don't rest the backs of your ankles on it, for example (for the same reason you shouldn't cross your feet on the plane.)

Remember than another part is to stay away from salty foods (including almost all airplane food :-) and that sodas contain more than most people realize.

Ok... people seem to be worried about the pipe.
I thought of an alternative.
1, 18-20" bungee and some duck tape. Take a magazine and roll it up (aound the bungee) and tape!
I saw some cute plaid duck tape on clearance at Target!

I'll be using it for my feet... most likely resting the arch of my foot on the 'device'.

Oh, and Gary... that is actually a great idea!

Please be aware that anything you attach to the seat in front of you could turn out to be very annoying to the person sitting in that seat--especially if the amount of pull on that seat changes every time you change the position of your feet.

I confess that the longest flight I've been on is only nine hours. With those large jets, it's simple enough to get up and walk every hour or so. When the flight attendants aren't in the aisles, you can actually walk laps.

I do think I'll buy the stockings when we take the plunge and head to Asia in the next year or so....

I use compression socks. Available at Amazon for half the price of a prescription pair. Ditto JeanH. Hike around the plane every hour or so.

"<i>hook the ends somewhere on the seat in front of me or on my tray.</i>" Where? If you use your tray - wouldn't this contraption be under your knees and you could be in worse trouble than w/o it. And I very seriously doubt you could attach it to the seat in front.

"<i>I have always used a carry on for this purpose but will not have one on this trip.</i>" No carry on of any sort? And if you don't have a carry on do you expect to just carry this stuff on board? Using a carry on as a foot rest seems MUCH more practical

You are going to be on a two aisle plane --just get up every hour or two and take a stroll.

I have no suggestion (but I would definitely complain if your use of that contraption was attached to my seat and made me bounce around!). However, I just want to commiserate - we returned from Southeast Asia yesterday and for the first time in our lives, flew business class (using miles). Just the ability to raise/support our legs made all the difference in our comfort level. We flew coach to Egypt a couple of years ago so I have a good basis for comparison.

sf - welcome home and yes it makes a BIG difference. I was about 33 or so years old when I went to Thailand via the worst flight arrangements - I did not make them - they were made through our church - and I could not believe how BLOWN up my ankles and feet were when we arrived I was really pretty worried and had pooh-poohed the compression socks idea because of my age.

I would do business class if possible.

Mom, we know someone (a friend of my son and his fiancee) who got DVT on a flight to Europe when she was 23 or 24!