Know Your Limits
by Dr. Phil Parker
QAnother aviator I know was recently told she was starting to experience menopause. I related my
past experiences including times
when I didn’t feel real comfortable driving a car let alone flying
my Bonanza. What does the FAA
think about this?
The FAA only lists 15 absolutely
disqualifying medical conditions,
and menopause most definitely is not
among them. In fact, there is no mention
of menopause in any of the medical
standards.
That stated, FAR 61.53 clearly places
responsibility on the Pilot in Command
to self-certify they are safe to fly. In
most circumstances, pilots going
through menopause have no difficulty
continuing to fly. If the changing
physiology requires pharmaceutical
supplementation (e.g. hormones
or osteoporosis prevention), these
medications can usually be taken
without restriction after a temporary
grounding trial. In more severe cases
where recurrent headaches develop
or psychoactive medications such as
antidepressants are required, an aviator
would have to recover to the point of
no longer requiring antidepressants
before petitioning the FAA for a Special
Issuance or “waiver.”
Those experiencing more severe
symptoms can find more information
regarding medications at www.
AviationMedicine.com and may want
to consult an aviation medicine expert
regarding their particular situation.
QI take several over the counter
supplements and wondered what
the FAA policy is regarding these
items?
The subject of herbal products and
nutritional supplements is complicated
by many confusing claims of efficacy
and safety, a lack of thorough scientific
investigation, the absence of regulation,
political and economic interests, highly
variable quality control and production,
and most of all, a general lack of reliable
sources of valid consumer information.
Excellent scientifically based, nonbiased books on the subject include
Herbs of Choice by Varro E. Tyler,
Rational Phytotherapy: a Physician’s
Guide to Herbal Medicine, by Schulz,
Hansel and Tyler, and the American
Herbal Products Association’s Botanical
Safety Handbook, edited by McGuffin,
Hobbs, Upton and Goldberg. The PDR
for Nutritional Supplements and PDR
for Herbal Remedies are also excellent
sources of information.
For a more involved discussion of
these products from a regulatory, safety,
and efficacy standpoint, please see the
“Herbal Medications and Nutritional
Supplements” article that is posted on the
Virtual Flight Surgeon’s web site, which
is online at www.AviationMedicine.
com.
To get back to your specific questions,
it turns out that there is no formal
FAA policy specifically addressing
nutritional supplements or herbal
remedies, and their use by aviators,
therefore, is not prohibited. Also, since
the FAA considers these products food
additives or nutritional supplements
and not medications, there is no
reporting requirement on your FAA
Airman’s Medical Application, Form
8500-8, for use of these compounds.
If these are prescribed during a visit
to your doctor, the pilot/controller
is obligated to report any visits to
healthcare providers in the last three
years. The key FAA regulatory guidance
would be FAR 61.53 that requires an
airman to “self-certify” before each
flight that she has no known medical
condition that would preclude safe
performance of aviation duties.
The prudent pilot/controller should
not perform duty for several days after
starting the use of these herbal or
nutritional products to verify that there
are no safety compromising side effects.
Also, if the condition that triggers
the use of the product potentially
compromises safety, then you should
not fly or control until the condition is
resolved.
Remember that just because something is deemed “natural” or “herbal”
does not mean that it is necessarily
good for you or even safe. Some radical
examples would be tobacco or even
arsenic. However, there are some not so
obvious examples such as Kava (Piper
Methysticum) that can depress the
nervous system with effects similar to
Valium and has been linked to severe
liver toxicity, and Ephedra, which was
banned in 2004 due to cardiac risks. ✈
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Dr. Phil Parker (WAI #29733) is the Vice
President for military and general aviation safety for Virtual Flight Surgeons
Inc. Dr. Parker is also a Private Pilot.
Additional information regarding these
topics and others can be found at www.
AviationMedicine.com.
Please send your questions about
FAA medical issues to Aviation for
Women at: alaboda@wai.org
or Aviation for Women Magazine,
18735 Baseleg Avenue,
North Fort Myers, FL 33917
