CAA/JAA Aviation Medical & related issues
Join Date: May 2004
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Eat two tubs of Flora a day
14 bottles a day and my arteries are clean as brand new plastic drainpipes and my liver is hard as nails.
I'll get me coat.....if I can find it!
Seriously though, good point by hogespa28 and the other thing to remember is that the renewal standards are lower than for the initial so if, in the couple of years since your last medical (whilst you're doing your training) your eyesight does deteriorate a tad the chances that it will have worsened beneath renewal standards are unlikely whereas it may well have deteriorated beneath initial standards.........FFS, that was a mouthful!!!
Join Date: Feb 2004
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When the CAA test for cholesterol they dont do an acurate test.
When a cholesterol test is done you must fast (nothing but water) for 12 hours, which you dont do prior to having a Class 1 medical.
Go to your normal GP and ask for a test, you will fast for this and the result will be more accurate.
My cholesterol results when I had my class 1 came back high, but the real (fasting) test came back normal.
Its good that you stopped eating the bad food though.
When a cholesterol test is done you must fast (nothing but water) for 12 hours, which you dont do prior to having a Class 1 medical.
Go to your normal GP and ask for a test, you will fast for this and the result will be more accurate.
My cholesterol results when I had my class 1 came back high, but the real (fasting) test came back normal.
Its good that you stopped eating the bad food though.
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Already been throught the second round of tests, and did the fasting both times also...
Its related to family history that I was unaware of (damn genetics!).
As far as laying off the kebabs and bad food I for the most do eat well and hit the gym reguarly. Why I felt the post was necessary was for people like myself who think and feel like they are in great health may have an underlying problem they may be completely unaware of
Its related to family history that I was unaware of (damn genetics!).
As far as laying off the kebabs and bad food I for the most do eat well and hit the gym reguarly. Why I felt the post was necessary was for people like myself who think and feel like they are in great health may have an underlying problem they may be completely unaware of
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Before I spent the money on the CAA I went to my GP with the requirements for a class 1 med and asked if he could go through them and test what he could. He was more than happy to oblige and as I rarely see a GP I thought I'd make use of my taxes!
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I did the same, my family also has a history of high cholesterol, so I went and got checked out by my GP beforehand (also making use of my taxes as I hardly ever go either). Reading was a bit on the high side, but not too bad so I bought those Flora Cholesterol lowering drinks and had 1 a day for 2 weeks before the class 1.
When they tested it for the class 1, it was normal.
When they tested it for the class 1, it was normal.
Join Date: Nov 2003
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Aviation Medical - What to Expect
Following on from my recent post looking for information about what to expect from the Class One initial medical, I thought I'd put up this new thread as information for anyone else looking for similar insight.
PHASE ONE - Eyes
A very routine eye test involving reading letters from a chart, reading numbers from a book to test for colour blindness and reading passages from another book wearing different lenses. Exactly as you'd expect in Vision Express, but Vision Express are using more hi-tech equipment these days.
PHASE TWO - Ears
Take your seat in the nice sound-proof booth, a la Family Fortunes, and place a headset on your head.
The operator will send different sounds to the earphones at different pitches. You begin by showing him a clenched fist and must open your hand when you hear a sound. Very straight forward.
PHASE THREE - ECG
Get ker kit off, well, part of it atleast. You'll lie shirtless on a bed and have sensors placed around your body. One on each ankle and about five or six around the chest. You'll be told to relax as the ECG machine measures your body's electrical activity. Again, nothing to worry about here.
PHASE FOUR - Lung capacity
A two part test to measure lung capacity. The first part measures, simply, how much air you can get in to your lungs. You'll be asked to breathe in and then breathe out slowly.
The next phase will see you asked to again breathe in but this time to expel the breath as quickly and strongly as possible.
Keep going til you really, really have nothing left inside you. Head rush is normal! As is coughing. Nice!
PHASE FIVE - The Full Physical
Wear your Sunday best underwear for it's all you're gonna keep on. Strip down and take a seat on the bed. The Doc will test your reflexes, listen to your heart beat and check your ears.
He'll take a look in your mouth, too.
As for the fondling of the 'two veg', this ain't done anymore! The Doc will simply lower your choice of undergarment slightly to reveal the upper groing, ask you to cough and that's you! There's also no finger up the pooper, which may upset some of you.
PHASE SIX - Height and Weight
Stand on one of those old scale things where your height and weight are measured at the same time. Your BMI has to be under 35 to be accepted, so this is an easy check you can do at home before going for the formal medical. If your BMI is over 35, I wouldn't bother until you lost a bit of weight or got taller. I know which is easier.
PHASE SEVEN - Blood and Urine
Get drinkin', for you're gonna need the fluids. You'll need to provide a half cup of wee (you know those wee paper cups airlines provide inside the loos) and place it on a tray.... Be warned, there may be other samples on there when you reach in to get your empty cup. Yum. The blood thing is straight forward. You'll be, er, pricked, and blood squeezed from your finger. This blood will be tested for diabetes and cholesterol.
That's really it. I started at 9:00am and was done by 10:30am. I'm still at CAA at the moment awaiting an additional little test but it's nothing serious.
Hope this information is of interest to others of us facing our initial class one.
Cheers
PHASE ONE - Eyes
A very routine eye test involving reading letters from a chart, reading numbers from a book to test for colour blindness and reading passages from another book wearing different lenses. Exactly as you'd expect in Vision Express, but Vision Express are using more hi-tech equipment these days.
PHASE TWO - Ears
Take your seat in the nice sound-proof booth, a la Family Fortunes, and place a headset on your head.
The operator will send different sounds to the earphones at different pitches. You begin by showing him a clenched fist and must open your hand when you hear a sound. Very straight forward.
PHASE THREE - ECG
Get ker kit off, well, part of it atleast. You'll lie shirtless on a bed and have sensors placed around your body. One on each ankle and about five or six around the chest. You'll be told to relax as the ECG machine measures your body's electrical activity. Again, nothing to worry about here.
PHASE FOUR - Lung capacity
A two part test to measure lung capacity. The first part measures, simply, how much air you can get in to your lungs. You'll be asked to breathe in and then breathe out slowly.
The next phase will see you asked to again breathe in but this time to expel the breath as quickly and strongly as possible.
Keep going til you really, really have nothing left inside you. Head rush is normal! As is coughing. Nice!
PHASE FIVE - The Full Physical
Wear your Sunday best underwear for it's all you're gonna keep on. Strip down and take a seat on the bed. The Doc will test your reflexes, listen to your heart beat and check your ears.
He'll take a look in your mouth, too.
As for the fondling of the 'two veg', this ain't done anymore! The Doc will simply lower your choice of undergarment slightly to reveal the upper groing, ask you to cough and that's you! There's also no finger up the pooper, which may upset some of you.
PHASE SIX - Height and Weight
Stand on one of those old scale things where your height and weight are measured at the same time. Your BMI has to be under 35 to be accepted, so this is an easy check you can do at home before going for the formal medical. If your BMI is over 35, I wouldn't bother until you lost a bit of weight or got taller. I know which is easier.
PHASE SEVEN - Blood and Urine
Get drinkin', for you're gonna need the fluids. You'll need to provide a half cup of wee (you know those wee paper cups airlines provide inside the loos) and place it on a tray.... Be warned, there may be other samples on there when you reach in to get your empty cup. Yum. The blood thing is straight forward. You'll be, er, pricked, and blood squeezed from your finger. This blood will be tested for diabetes and cholesterol.
That's really it. I started at 9:00am and was done by 10:30am. I'm still at CAA at the moment awaiting an additional little test but it's nothing serious.
Hope this information is of interest to others of us facing our initial class one.
Cheers
Last edited by Eddy; 12th Jun 2007 at 20:31.
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Very useful info, thanks!
I still got a few questions about medical, does it matter if you have any allergies/hayfever etc. ? And the second one, if you do class one and fail, can you do it again anytime you want ?
I still got a few questions about medical, does it matter if you have any allergies/hayfever etc. ? And the second one, if you do class one and fail, can you do it again anytime you want ?
Hovering AND talking
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As with anything, declare it at the medical. There are some hayfever remedies which are allowed and some that aren't; you'll need to take advice as to which.
Cheers
Whirls
Cheers
Whirls
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I'm still at CAA so will ask the question about the allergies. I wouldn't imagine that it'll be an enormous problem, but as we all know there are some allergies that are more, um, dangerous than others. I'll get back to you with a response later today.
In relation to failing the Class One, I'm not entirely sure that you'd need to come back to try again. The kind of things that they've tested me on today are the sort of things that if broken now, will never be fixed. If I failed today I'd probably resign myself to the fact that I couldn't get the Class One at all.
BUT, if you chose to re-do the exam, I don't imagine there to be any time limit on how frequently or infrequently you can go for the exams.
In relation to failing the Class One, I'm not entirely sure that you'd need to come back to try again. The kind of things that they've tested me on today are the sort of things that if broken now, will never be fixed. If I failed today I'd probably resign myself to the fact that I couldn't get the Class One at all.
BUT, if you chose to re-do the exam, I don't imagine there to be any time limit on how frequently or infrequently you can go for the exams.
Hovering AND talking
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There is no treadmill test as standard so no running or jogging. "Fit" has been defined above with the lists of tests that one goes through.
Cheers
Whirls
Cheers
Whirls
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I'm pretty sure my BMI was a little over 25 (not much though) and they didn't bat an eyelid.
Also, about the hayfever point, just tell them. I suffer from it and told that, and I also told them I use a certain nasal spray to correct it, at which the doctor also didn't bat an eyelid.
Plus, if you didn't declare something and your certificate was issued, then something happened in flight as a result of that condition, you could land yourself in all sorts of bother. Best to just be honest.
Also, about the hayfever point, just tell them. I suffer from it and told that, and I also told them I use a certain nasal spray to correct it, at which the doctor also didn't bat an eyelid.
Plus, if you didn't declare something and your certificate was issued, then something happened in flight as a result of that condition, you could land yourself in all sorts of bother. Best to just be honest.
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Is it just me or did anyone else not have to strip down to just their underwear for the physical? I just got told to take my t-shirt off so he could use the stethoscope.
Also he never "revealed my upper groin" and asked me to cough; he must have liked the look of you Eddy!
Also he never "revealed my upper groin" and asked me to cough; he must have liked the look of you Eddy!