View Full Version : British Airways Pilot Medical - Hayfever?
Aerospace101
28th Apr 2006, 11:42
Hi
I have fairly mild hayfever (sneeze & sometimes congested nose) during May/June, and have used the standard Chemists off the shelf Hayfever Relief 'one a day' (Boots; 10mg Loratadine). I have flown light aircraft in the past few years when taking these and had no drowsyness or sinus problems.
what is the view of BA on Hayfever?
And should I approach my AME for a prescription medicine (the ones approved by CAA)?
Many Thanks for any help on this topic.
Hand Solo
28th Apr 2006, 11:46
I have hayfever and it isn't a problem for BA as long as you only take approved medicine. I believe the only approved medicine goes by the trade name of Telfast, which is fexonfenadine hydrochloride.
Niland
28th Apr 2006, 12:05
Loratadine (Clarityn) Desloratadine (Neo-Clarityn) or Fexofenadine (Telfast) are all ok I think since they are proper non-drowsy anti-histamines.
Have a read of the wikipedia article if you're interested in the subject ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-histamine ) I'm sure there are one or two inaccuracies but it's fairly informative.
Hand Solo
28th Apr 2006, 12:18
Be wary of Clarityn or similar. Just because they claim to be non-drowsy does not mean they are approved by the CAA. It's been a couple of years since I discussed it with my AME but Clarityn was not approved back then.
Aerospace101
28th Apr 2006, 14:33
Thank you for your responses.
Do you know the official BA medecine list; apart from Telfast?
And would I be right in saying that Telfast is prescription only?
Niland
28th Apr 2006, 17:12
Thank you for your responses.
Do you know the official BA medecine list; apart from Telfast?
And would I be right in saying that Telfast is prescription only?
Yea I believe it is, I tried it out after my Doctor suggested it and it was excellent and non-drowsy, though a little beyond my requirements (I suffer from a fairly mild dust allergy)
I've ended up getting by with just using a nasal spray called Fluticasone.
Check with the CAA / BA on all those things. Good luck finding a solution!
I would't even mention it to BA. You could ask the CAA if what you're taking is approved or ask what IS approved, then find an approved medication that works if you really need it. If you've got a class one, that's all BA will be interested in. Plenty of BA guys have a couple of months hayfever. I had it pretty bad in my 20s, had loads of tests { discoveered I was allergic to certain treee pollen in May and some fungal spores in Sept/Oct}and ended up taking no meds and putting up with it. Slowly during my 30s I grew out of it and now rarely get it (50s). Apparently it is fairly normal to grow out of it as you age. Flew for BA 30 years,no problems.