Brent Blue: The most common reason pilots fail is poor preparation, and the AME (Aviation Medical Examiner). I am using ''fail'' in the permanent sense, not the guy who need glasses, goes and gets them, and passes. All but a few conditions (now including insulin dependent diabetes) are certifiable. Most pilots fail because they do not bring the right documentation to the AME exam and/or the AME does not know what they are doing, and/or the AME is lazy. For instance, someone who has had cancer can pass the medical but needs documentation. Then the AME needs to call Oklahoma City (where the FAA's head office is located) to get permission. If the AME is lazy like a lot are, they just defer the applicant to OKC and then the paperwork nightmare restarts.

FA: Are there any recent new trends or changes in pilot medical disqualifying conditions?

Brent Blue: The most significant trend is that there are fewer problems getting most people certified. The FAA has been much more accommodating helping pilots with medical problems obtain their medicals. In the 1980's, it was difficult to get pilots certified with hypertension. Now, we can routinely get pilots certified post-bypass surgery! In addition, the FAA has streamlined the process of Special Issuance for many conditions due to some significant policy changes by Federal Air Surgeon Jon Jordan.

(Ed Note: A good resource site for FAA medical certification can be found at leftseat.com)

FA: Does the new Relief Band motion sickness prevention device work? Are there any other new motion sickness prevention scenarios that actually work?

Brent Blue: Relief Band is an FDA approved device which electronically stimulates the P6 meridian (an acupuncture point) on the palm side of the wrist. It looks like a watch. By stimulating this point, the peristaltic waves in the stomach which become erratic when a person is nauseated are calmed. It seems on the surface to be a 'snake oil' device, but our experience has been that 70% of users get 100% relief with the other 30% getting partial-to-no relief. These percentages are better than any medication and are without side effects. The band works for any kind of nausea and is FDA approved for motion sickness, chemotherapy, pregnancy, and post anesthetic nausea. It is the only FDA approved treatment for motion sickness which is legal in the cockpit by FAA standards.

FA: Pro's and con's of Aspartame use by pilots?

Brent Blue: There is a lot of bad press out there about Aspartame, mostly coming from a very small group of people on a crusade. I'd suggest that any pilot try food or drink with Aspartame on the ground first. If they do not have adverse affects there (like 99.99% of users), they are not going to have a problem in the air.

FA: Child restraint system update: What is and is not safe and legal?

Brent Blue: Basically, anything that is legal for a car is OK for aircraft. If the private aircraft has an inertial reel seat belt, a locking clip must be used.

FA: Could you outline some special Medical Certificate Issuance situations and procedures (i.e., Diabetes, Hypertension and Coronary Artery Disease).

Brent Blue: These are individualized and are available on the EAA and AOPA sites.

FA: Flying while pregnant! What sort of hazards are there, and what precautions are necessary?

Brent Blue: Essentially none. Precipitous delivery late in the pregnancy might be the only 'risk' but usually these type of deliveries are the safe ones!

FA: What are the pro's and con's of Lasik surgery and other radial correction procedures?

Brent Blue: The main pro of LASIK is the elimination of the need for distant vision glasses. This means no glasses at all during the night and non prescription sunglasses during the day. Personally, I find it much easier to scan for aircraft without glasses post surgery than before. The biggest con's are cost, risk of surgery (which is small), and possible long-term side effects, which are not known at this time. There definitely are some horror stories about LASIK but these are from a very, very small number of people.

Compared to LASIK, the older procedures like Radial Keratomy are just not being done very often. There also is a newer procedure that uses a lens implant, but I do not have any specific information about that procedure yet.

For more details, see my article on Avweb.

FA: Differential correction of distance and near vision by entering respective corrections in each eye?

Brent Blue: Legal only with LASIK and with a special break in procedure. Not 'legal' with contact lenses, but there is a work around here, which involves being tested at the AMEs office with glasses and flying with the differential lenses, since there is no FAR which specifically prohibits it. The only prohibition is that the AME cannot test the pilot with differential lenses and must tell the pilot that near vision contacts are seriously frowned upon by the FAA (e.g. no legal requirement).

FA: What constitutes proper hydration (and effects from lack thereof) on long/high altitude flights in pressurized and unpressurized aircraft?

Brent Blue: Basically what I call 'Blue's Rule.' Dehydration can affect cognitive abilities, increase fatigue, cause muscle spasms, and predisposed to blood clots. It is not the kind of thing a pilot should allow to happen to them especially on long IMC flights. You need to drink enough non-caffienated fluids that you need to urinate a minimum of every three (3) hours. This is a physiologic way to monitor hydration.

FA: Could you recommend any good onboard emergency medical kits/supplies?

Brent Blue: I developed one. The kit has literally has over a hundred items (more than can be covered here). There's a detailed write-up and excel sheet of the kit and its contents on AVweb.com, or at aeromedix.com

FA: What are the pediatric flight environment considerations for infants/small children, such as sinus blockage, ear pain, or fright involved with 3 dimensional motion? Is it important to have a second adult on-board for the first flight with a child?

Brent Blue: One option is pressure-regulating ear plugs. See the article about EarPlanes over on aeromedix.com for more information.