I guess we all know it's not the healthiest job...

[Dolley]

from the external news section on the easyJet intranet:


Long-haul air crew 'can develop mental disorder'

Air crew who work long-haul shifts can suffer a series of ailments and even mental disorders over time.

That is the finding of a new study published in the latest issue of The Lancet, with scientists from Liverpool John Moores University discovering an array of medical complaints.

Problems included menstrual cycle problems among women and transient psychotic disorders in air crew who were repeatedly making long-haul trips.

The regularity of the trips was not found to improve tolerance, with traditional effects such as jet lag and sluggish mental activity persisting even after experience of the journeys.

Lead author Jim Waterhouse and his team concluded more work was needed to establish exactly how different time zones affected the body.

"A more detailed understanding of the molecular changes associated with time zone changes is needed, with a view to developing drugs to promote clock adjustment, and further assessments of new sleep-promoting and alertness promoting drugs," they wrote.

The scientists said one of the key factors in the disruption caused to sleep cycles and internal cycles was the imbalance in patterns known as circadian rhythms, which dictate functions such as core temperature and sleep.

Among the other conclusions was the discovery that flights eastwards generally resulted in worse side-effects than those westbound.

By avoiding light at the new destination and trying to remain awake during the daytime, researchers said it was possible to ameliorate the problem but said more study was needed to determine how stimulants could be used effectively.

[Flying_Sarah747]

Personally I think as long as we sleep when we can and get some sort of sleep at some point it can't be that bad. I know they say that after not sleeping your brain functions are reduced, and reaction times are slower, but I think over the time I've been doing lonh haul that I've adapted and I feel just as alert coming off a night flight from Singapore as I do if I've woken up after a nights sleep.

When I first started it was a different story, I was no use to anybody after coming off a night flight, but I believe that your body can adapt to it!

Obviously it's not all that great for you though!

[prunezeuss]

The study presents nothing new...east is least..west is best and so on.
What needs to be investigated are the affects of cortisol on the pre frontal lobe and the changes in blood viscosity and the related reduction in the oxygen carrying function of blood.
Lack of oxygen to the brain, in particular,causes the death of cells.
There is also evidence to suggest that the cabin crew population has a greater incidence of certain types of cancer:
In particular ..breast cancer in women and testicular cancer in men.
Brain tumours are also relatively high amongst long serving longhaul crews.
Airlines have never been forthcoming with the information they have regarding the detrimental affects of flying on the human body.
Nor have Cabin crew unions for that matter.The information would be used to limit the flying careers of everyone to about five years.
In the mean time we are treated like mushrooms..kept in the dark and fed on bull****e

[Virginia]

Is it true you can't be an organ donor after flying for a certain amount of time?:ooh:

[pinkus]

I have heard that Virginia but I don't know how much truth their is to it.

In Australia for example you just tick on your drivers license form if you agree to be an organ donor It does not ask any further questions as to your occupation.

Does any one else find that they are getting progressively stupider with this job? I trail off half way through sentences forgetting what I was talking about.:ugh:

I have also found that if I go out drinking straight after a long flight, sometimes I get RIDICULOUSLY drunk. Last week I did it and was throwing up all that night and the next morning off 5 drinks in a 3 hour time frame. I guess it it something to do with lack of oxygen in your blood.

[sinala1]

Does any one else find that they are getting progressively stupider with this job? I trail off half way through sentences forgetting what I was talking about
Yes, I did when I first started flying! Then I stopped noticing... does that say someth

Oh look, what a lovely day outside!

Now what was I talking about again? Oh yeah, thats right, did you want chicken or beef?

:E



Seriously though, I did notice it when I started flying, then about 18 months in I seriously stopped noticing - I must have adapted to my newfound unintelligence :E "Me fail english? Thats Unpossible!"

(The Simpsons fans out there will get that one)

[Trishaturbulance]

Does anyone else suffer from the menstrual cycle problems mentioned in that report?

I came off the pill two years ago, six months after returning to a flying job, and still have not returned to a regular cycle. I had put it down to the fact I'd been on the pill for over 10 years, but now I'm thinking it's probably the job that's the cause!

I also suffer from a very short attention span, am forgetful, and feel I'm getting stupider and stupider the older I get. I get frustrated during conversations when I can't remember the word I need to get my point across, and also forget what I'm talking about mid sentence too. I thought it was down to lack of mental stimulation in the job, but perhaps my brain is dying. :(

[flyoneday]

try brain exercises such as doing mental sums,playing soduko n other challenging games.
we do a great job!

[Dolley]

I originally started this threat just because I thought some people might be interested but I'm actually amazed about all the information, may it be personal or more general, coming up.

This has nothing to do with the job being great or not, this is just about health issues/risks and experiences that might or might not be related to the job.

I only fly short haul and the only thing I noticed is that my general immune system isn't as good as it used to be. I'm getting way too many colds, infections and little minor things like that although I'm taking vitamins, eat as healthy as possible, don't smoke or drink and lead a generally healthy life style (with the exception of general exercise -just can't be bothered after running up and down the cabin all day) and I never used to be one for having problems with this kind of stuff. Plus, I'm convinced my hearing isn't as good as it used to be. But at least my brain seems to work as always as far as I can tell!

I heard about the organ donor bit too but can't claim any official source so I don't know if it's true either.

One of the main reasons why I haven't applied for long haul (although I get quite tempted from time to time) is that I know my body clock is quite sensitive and I'm worried that long haul flying will mess it up big time and I will end up never, ever getting over the feel of constant jet lag...and I'm just not confident that I would get used to it. I used to work night shift in a different job for a while and I most certainly never got used to that!

I wonder if pilots get more information (by the companies) about the health risks involved (or if they know as much as we do...any pilots out there let us know.

[Dolley]

Just found this in the pilot forum

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=270135

Quite interesting, but it shows that they don't necessarely know more than we do...

[Juud]

Miserable subject, good thread Dolley. :ok:

There is a good reason why an airline will minimise what they tell us about fatigue; here's the quite: there are important legal and economic implications of recognising fatigue as a cause that mean that it is rarely addressed
If we know too much about it, we might force our unions to act on the information. Wouldn't do, would it?

In the mean time, there is a lot of info available on the web. Read it at your own risk; it's not happy reading. But it does explain a lot of the symptoms most of us have in varying degrees.

A short & simple page is here (http://www.ilo.org/public/english/protection/safework/gender/trade_union/chapter2.pdf).
Something a tad longer but well worth the read you'll find here (http://medind.nic.in/iab/t04/i1/iabt04i1p10.pdf).
An easily readable article that highlights the stark reality of lay-over life is here (http://www.flyana.com/fatigue.html).
A short explanation about the difference in fatigue as experienced by ourselves and by pilots is http://www.dlr.de/me/publikationen/abstracts/asma2002.samel.html

The Lancet doesn't just publish any rubbish, in fact they are very very strict about the research they publish. If this is what they write, I would certainly believe that these are the facts. Pretty bad, isn't it?

On a personal note, if you had trouble working night shifts (without time-difference!) then I think you are wise in not opting for LH.
It takes a heavy toll, and after a couple of near-misses in the past, I now try not to drive a car the day I arrive from a LH flight, and preferably not the day after that either.
But with leave getting shorter and shorter, this is of course not an option for most people.

Hearing getting worse is a no-brainier. Look at he noise levels we work in. It does affect our hearing, no doubt about it. The longer you FA for a living, the higher you will have to turn up your set to catch the nine o clock news. ;)


Virginia, you keep telling us you'll quit flying as soon as you can get yourself a nice little office job, so I wouldn't worry about organs unfit for donation.
Unless you're considering donating your brain? :eek:

[iain8867]

Hi Dolley

I think normally you will find, long haul and short haul, that your incedents of colds, bugs and the like do increase, it is probably being in a dry, warm and pressurised enviroment with however many people who may be suffering with these bugs. So it isn't like your immune system isn't as good as it used to be. More likely that you are coming into contact with more!

My body clock didn't like long haul when I started, but I am luck that now I can sleep any time and anywhere!! just got my system to realise that when I can sleep it has too. Don't suffer too much with jet lag, but when I get home day one is always just chill about the house.

As someone said earlier, keep your mind active, I enjoy sudoku and crosswords when I can, even on breaks on board the aircraft if I have time.

My airline monitors things like cosmic radiation, publishes its finding to us too, and for healthy eating each year we are asked for suggestions for the crew meals. We get a resonable selection of both healthy and the stodge:) I like the stodge lol They also had the company doctor write a report "the good sleep guide". They do seem to look after us.

So I think really it comes down to each one of us to look out for each other and ourselves

Iain

[Dolley]

Thanks JUUD for all those useful and interesting links!

IAIN, as much as I agree that we have to look out for each others and ourselves it would be great if more information would be provided and they would make 'health education' part of the initial and recurrent training.

At the end of the day how much do you know about cosmic radiation? I know very little and I consider myself informed compared to most of my colleagues (just on this subject, not in general ;-)).

And cosmic radiation is just one of many bits and pieces all having an influence on our bodies in the longterm so you can't really look out for yourself because you can't feel anything happening, if something is happening.

I guess we all just have to make the decision ourselves if the job/money/lifestyle is worth the health risk. Other jobs have health risks too and some of them probably much worth than ours but it would be nice to be provided with more information by the industry so that the individual can make an educated decision and not one along the lines of 'I'll be alright.'.

[Pandora's Box]

I've also heard you cant be an organ donar.

Also heard these:

Your womb starts to tilt after 7 years of flying
Repeated miscarriages
Trouble conceiving...All to do with radiation

Not to mention every day problems.....Swollen ankles, feet and stomach, backache, armache after opening and closing door 8 times a day and headache after screaming kids :eek:

[Flying_Sarah747]

I've definately noticed that I'm becoming more forgetful. I'll do really odd things like put something down and literally the next second I can't remember for the life of me where I've put it, or I'll be thinking about doing something in my head, then all of a sudden just completely forget what I was thinking and have to seriously think hard to remind myself.

I NEVER used to be like that, so I wouldn't be suprised if it is the effects of long haul flying, or more likely sleep deprivation caused by the long haul flying! Oh dear!

[Zeus Ex Machina]

Several years ago I read a piece in a US broadsheet.
It concerned the death of a woman in a car accident.
The doctor doing the autopsy was a little perplexed.
The doctor asked a colleague how old the woman was.
The woman was 42
The doctor was amazed...he considered her organs to be those of a 70 year old.
What did she do he asked?
Response:she was a flight attendant and had been so for 18 years.
Food for thought.

[djvirginblue]

Guys, all of this that you mention is very worrying. I have been flying short haul for little over a year and continue to get colds. I have been struck down as we speak with a huge head cold. I only had one 2 months ago. I too also eat very well, exercise religously and take multi vitamins. Does that mean my immune system is deteriorating?? I hope not. Does anyone know of anything they take that has given their immune system a bit of a boost. I really can't stand to get colds and flus every few months and can't imagine it is doing wonders for my overall physical health!

[Dolley]

dj:

Sounds pretty similar to my situation...

Anyway, I noticed it's slightly better when I'm really strict about my sleeping pattern. So what I'm trying now is making sure to get at least 8 hours sleep and so far it seems to work. Means I don't get a lot done during my work week (I'm on a 6 days on, 3 days off pattern) but feel not so burned out on my 3 days off either so I can make easily up for it.

[Claudinho]

Yes its kinda true its 50/50.

They say your heart,lungs etc gets smaller after 5 years... what i personally think is BS... :P

Our body works like a water bottle..

When desending... the water bottle gets sucked in... when on the ground its releases itsself. Thats how our body works..excatly the sameway so dont listen to those of kind rumors :ok:

[Flying_Sarah747]

Me and a lot of my friends all agree that taking multi vitamins works wonders. I take ones that boost my immune system and have zinc in them. When I first started long haul flying from short haul flying I was getting sick with colds every month, but since taking the multi vitamins I never get colds. I didn't get a single one this winter period, so for me that was the answer!

[haughtney1]

From a F/D perspective...I whole heartedly agree with Sarah....I take garlic (which apart from keeping the more amorous female CC away:p ) has virtually stopped me suffering from the head colds I used to get on a regular basis.

I'd also suggest some sort of exercise, with at least a portion of that being vigerous...I'm constantly amazed at the adaptability of our bodies if we do a few simple things:ok:

[Claudinho]

Your 100 % right. Those tablets help alot !

[Dolley]

I thought garlic is for your heart and blood???

Anyway, I eat plenty of garlic in my normal food (to the delight of everybody who knows me), I guess I don't need the tablets. I do take multi vitamins though but I still get my fair share of colds...

[flyblue]

An interesting (American) CC fatigue study http://www.apfa.org/images/PDFs/fatigue_report.pdf

[EYtruth]

Guys,

this artical was published few days ago in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It's so degrading for us.
Check:

http://www.7days.ae/en/2007/04/03/psychos-in-the-skies.html

P.S I guess pax will have less requests (reasonable or non-reasonable) during flight after this article :}

[G-AVIN]

It's interesting what you all say regarding colds and "forgetfulness" ,I work in a Transport Office on the nightshift 17:00 to 05:00 4on 4off ( not in an aviation industry I should add).
During my shifts I see upward of 40 different people who are in and out of the Office most of the time.
Generally I seem to suffer from the same almost permanent cold/cough etc that you have described previously.
As to the memory don't even go there !
This leads to me to wonder is it the unsocial hours that drags your immmune level down rather than the altitude ?
Or is it the contact in a confined space with other people ?

Gavin

[Pandora's Box]

Guys i have a couple of sad stories regarding this job being unhealthy and also dangerous...

Had a lady on a flight a couple of weeks ago and she was wearing a sars type mask, i asked her why she was wearing it (incase it was anything i needed to be concerned about) and she said she picked up a life threatning disease on a flight once so now everytime she flies she has to wear this mask to protect herself. That could quite easily be one of us one day :(

But this is a very sad story......A couple of days ago was on a flight. When i was boarding my paxs, an absolutely stunning girl came on in a wheelchair, she was about my age (late 20's), she could'nt even do the stairs and had a walking stick with her during the flight, bless her. As i got chatting to her, she told me she used to be Cabin Crew but she had a freak accident during a flight which has left her like that. I dont want to give any more detail as to what happened to her as its not my place to say....

However guys, please be careful at work, dont take anything for granted. Make sure your extra careful when opening lockers and always make sure any equipment above your crew seat is well and truly secure for when you are sitting their.....That last story really upset me and i will never take anything for granted again

[sosmix]

If crew are worried about breast and testicular cancer - become vegan! Lots of evidence that dairy products are the main cause of these + brittle bones (sorry - Osteo - whatever it is!). In UK and America we have the highest rates of these diseases and are the biggest dairy product consumers.

[back2flying]

Good thread.

Since it's the rumour network I'll add another one - I heard that after flying for a number of years you can't be called as a court witness either.

Unfortunately after 10 years of flying I can't remember how many years it had to be, which countries it applied to ... or who told me!!

:)

[Dolley]

lol that's a new one to me.
Never heard of it and can't really see a reason why either.

Not necessarily health-related but still interesting (if true).