Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Lifestyle and home remedies
By Mayo Clinic staffIf you have factor V Leiden, take extra care to avoid situations that contribute to your risk of developing blood clots, including:
- Sitting for long periods of time, such as on long car or airline trips. When your legs remain still for long periods, your calf muscles don't contract, which normally helps blood circulate.
- Prolonged bed rest, such as during a long illness, or paralysis. When your legs remain still for long periods, your calf muscles don't contract to help blood circulate.
- Injury or surgery. Injury to your veins or surgery can slow blood flow, increasing the risk of blood clots. General anesthetics used during surgery can dilate your veins, which can increase the risk of blood pooling and then clotting.
- Oral contraceptives or estrogen replacement therapy. You'll need to discuss the risks and the benefits of estrogen-containing medications with your doctor if you have factor V Leiden.
- Being overweight or obese. Being overweight increases the pressure in the veins in your pelvis and legs.
- Smoking. Smoking affects blood clotting and circulation.
If your factor V Leiden requires you to take anticoagulant medication, take extra precautions to keep from injuring yourself and to avoid bleeding. Follow these suggestions:
- Avoid playing contact sports or engaging in other activities that could be dangerous or could cause you to fall.
- Use a softer toothbrush and waxed floss.
- Avoid shaving cuts. Shave with an electric razor.
- Be cautious with household tasks involving knives, scissors and other sharp tools.
