Aviation Medicine

I'm a non-prior who has completed the initial flying class 1. I posted a while back about floaters in my eye that started occuring after my initial flying class physical. I went to an opthomologist who said not to worry about them, but to get them checked out annually just to be cautious. I know floaters are not disqualifying as long as they don't disrupt normal vision. I would like to keep watch of the floaters as the doc said, but I also know I'd never want to outright mention a medical issue to the AF that didn't inhibit performance. My question is, once you're in the AF, can you go to a private doctor or opthomologist for an opinion, or are you at the mercy of the…

Will being a left handed person affect my chances? If so, should I tell the Air Force that I'm mostly left handed (I'm actually moderately ambidexterous)? Also, will it be a problem in flight school? Thanks.

AN ANSWER TO END THIS THREAD I am almost 5 weeks post-op and I am getting my ducks in a row to make a waiver application for PRK. I just talked to my helpful contact at Brooks regarding the issue discussed above. You MAY apply for the waiver/FC1 as early as 3 months post-op but must have the cyclopentolate (dialted) exams at 3 months and 6 months instead of 6 months and 12 months. You will be required to have a 12-month exam as well but your waiver should be approved/declined before then. See section 5.1 of the doc pilot2B posted earlier. I believe this is the root of the confusion - you MAY NOT actually go to Brooks for MFS/FC1 before you are 12 months post-op,…

Hi folks, I am planning on getting back to flying here in Korea at Osan, though I need to go get my FAA med. done first. My question is about eyesight, I can not always see 20/20 with my right eye. Sometimes I can, sometimes on a bad day I can not. However I don't want to get a restriction on my license because of something that could be pseudomyopia or ciliary spams, I am planning to get an through eye exam done here on post and order contacts, though can you wear them for the FAA exam? As far as I know, for a first class, you need to have 20/20 corrected or uncorrected, if it is corrected, then it has to go on your license. I was wondering if anyone out there h…

I have a fairly unique question... I have been healthy my whole life, and currently hold a 1st class medical certificat, Private Pilot Certificate, and have never had any history of mental illness... however, I went to college as a freshman last fall and had some problems adjusting to living away, then on top of everything my girlfriedn who I had been with for 2 years broke up with me. I left the school because I didn;t like the flight program. I then attended a community college near my house and went to see a psychiatrist to see if I had anything wrong with me. He concludd that I just had an adjustment disorder and I asked him if i could go on medication, and he s…

I am wondering if I could be screened out at brooks. I already have my FC1 but what are they checking at Brooks? I mean does anyone know exactly what they check? Blood pressure.. that type of thing?

Hi all, A few days ago I was contacted by the National Bone Marrow Registry. I had registered with them in 2003 and now it appears that I am a possible donor. I don't think it would be a problem, but does the USAF or Brooks give any grief to guys going for their flight physicals who have gone through this process? The lady at the Registry who I spoke to was very nice and said they work with DOD a lot because they have a lot of military donors. She didn't think it would be a problem, and neither did I, but I just want to make sure. I really want to go through with the process and help someone out. Thanks...

Yea, not the most fun topic, but this is what caused the C5 squadron in Newburgh to not seek a medical waiver. The details are what hurt me. November 2003. Had a slight case of bright red blood only when wiping, and only in small amounts. I contributed this later to food from the dining center, but I get checked out several times anyways. It was intermittent for a month, then in December, no more bleeding, and still none to this day. They (military docs) decide in December to send me to a civilian doc for a colonoscopy in January '04 depite my insistence that I've had no bleeding. The colonoscopy day rolls around and I get to see the butt doc and am prepped for the pr…

So I'm headed to Brooks this summer and was curious if bunions are anything to be worried about? For my DODMERB I had to get a letter from a podiatrist saying I had no problems with any type of miliary footwear. This was just a letter, and not a waiver. Also, do you know if you can get DQ'd for having a bunionectomy? My bunion is moderate, but I'd prefer just to get it fixed and not have to worry aobut it. I have no pain or complications from it, other than it being an eyesore. Thanks.

recently had my fc1a which went smoothly. got recent results back from my last pap and they came back abnormal graded low severity. i'm going into the doctors in a week to have further tests for HPV... assuming this is the case, how long do i have to wait for my flight physical to be considered for approval...(like do i have to have a certain # of clear paps before its submitted, or a certain amount of time?) :(

April 27, 2005 This thread will serve as my personal diary to help me follow my progress in improving my vision with the help of eye exercise introduced by the See Clearly Method program. I thought it would be a good idea because it seems there are many on these forums who wonder a lot if this stuff really does work. I haven't been to an eye doctor in over a year and a half so I can assume my vision is somewhere in between 20/50-20/70 with slight astigmatism. Last time I checked it was 20/40 but it probably got worse by now. Whatever it is, by the end of this year I will correct my vision to 20/20 or better, with no astigmatism (this program claims to be able to correc…

I donate plasma for a little bit of extra money while I am in school. Is this going to affect my physical results? I am just wondering if it is still okay to do before I go to Brooks at the end of the summer.

Does anyone know the policy as far as eczema goes for a pilot? I've heard it is an automatic DQ if you currently have it but what about if you might have had it as a kid?

Ok, so here is a really weird questions, but one that I think is interesting. A lot of cadets at my Det want to be pilots, but a few of them are decided to go to Med school to be Flight Surgeons! I have a friend in the Navy who is a flight surgeon, (dang good one too! I guess he almost got flight surgeon of the year for the whole Navy!) This friend gets to fly F-18's and all too! What a deal! My question is: Have you ever heard of anyone being a pilot for 10 and then going to Med school after that? To either be a doc and/or flight surgeon. Highly unlikely I know, but just wondering. I do know that many people change careers and go to med school in their late 30'…

Hey I was diagnosed with Benign Familial Hematuria, aka Thin-Basement-Membrane Nephropathy, years ago (I'm 18). I was tested and found that my kidneys are completely healthy. It only shows up intermittently. As far as the rest of me goes, I am healthy, and I'm not affected in any other way. So, I just got back from my DODMERB for my ROTC scholarship, and my urine test came back with a positive on blood: 2+ and 8-12 RBC/HPF. I wasn't that surprised, but I found a list of conditions that are disqualifying for FC1, and "progressive or recurrent hematuria" is one of them. My question is, would my situation be considered disqualifying and, if it is, are there waivers ava…

If I am going for a pilot slot in AFROTC, what are the odds of getting a waiver for color some color blindness ?

I have seen that sleep apnea is a DQ but does anyone know if it is waiverable. An instructor at my school wants to apply for a flight slot but has had sleep apnea. He says it has been cured and that he has the paperwork on it. Any help would be great. Thanks.

Doc, Is IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) a DQ condition for pilots?

I have a question concerning hypoxia; I did a search on this site and couldn't find any previous threads on this subject. I retired from the USAF in 2001 after many years of flying on the AC-130U Gunship; big fun, I still can't believe they paid me to do that job, haha, I would have paid them. Since my retirement I've been doing "contract" work flying over the friendly skies of Kosovo for the US KFOR and NATO. Lately we've been spending a lot of time around 13K MSL for up to 6+ hours unpressurized while flying over our targets. We have the wimpy civilian nasal cannula type O2 system on board. I've noticed that I'm experiencing hypoxia while climbing through 11.5 for 1…

I have a quick question regarding Thalassemia Minor. It's a gene that I've received from my family that shows wacky blood levels. I produce more blood cells than normal. It does not affect me at all, just shows up in my blood and I've always had it. I was recently picked up for a pilot slot and I am waiting to see when I go to Brooks for my flying class I. I'm no longer anemic, I've been taking folic acid to raise my hemaglobin/hematocrit levels and they are normal. Is this condition waiverable? I'll provide more details if needed, but I can't stress enough how it does not affect me at all. Thanks.

Aside fomr my vision, which is still in the limits, I have had a weight problem my whole life. I tried atkins lost a great amount of weight but found after I decided to get off of it about half of it came back. I have begun a low calorie diet, and to help out I have been taking Calcium Pyruvate to help out, it is a natural drug (I know that doesnt speak for much so was ephedra) but it is meant to increase your bodies expenditure of calories in rest mode and thoruhgout the day. I have not felt any side effects, I took hydroxycut a few times back when ephedra was still legal and I was full of energy, I feel no different on this. I have noticed in just 2 weeks doing it (h…

I went to an ENT specialist and he said I have a deviated septum. He suggested a Septoplasty and a Tubinectomy. My concern is I am about to take the FCIA exam in the near furture. Will the surgery have a negative effect on getting the physical certified? Would it be best to have the surgery before or after the physical? Also if the surgery is completed before the physical is there a specified time for recovery before the physical can be completed.

I have kind of low gum lines in my mouth. When I had braces my orthodontist said I should get gingival augmentation to build my gums up. I never got it done. My gums don't seem to be receeding beyond their current level. They are kind of freakishly low though. Should I get the augmentation just to be safe?

Poland’s syndrome (Brachymesophalangeal triphalangy type), a congenital deformity consisting of ipsilateral absence of the pectoralis major muscle and in some cases syndactyly. My brother has the above condition. He was able to attain an FAA Class 1 flying physical but is required to get a 1,000 test done every year to renew it. It's a long shot...but is that wavierable?

I was reading a post about "The Myopia Myth" and was interested in using the reading glasses method to try and calm "ciliary spasm". When i talked to my eye doctor about it she said I dont have myopia, I have astigmatism which cant be fixed or mitigated. she wrote on the perscription -.75,175 and -.75,015 so im wondering since the myopia.org website says people with myopia less than 1 diopter, can possibly get back to 20/20 by using myopter or reading glasses. I wanted to do this but im not sure if since i have astigmatism that method wont help.