AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2016 - 102

NEWS & NOTES

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

PILOT PROTECTION SERVICES

Don't get bugged

BY GARY CRUMP

Pilot Protection Services

Communicating about communicable diseases
IT'S OFFICIALLY flu season. The Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports
on its website that flu viruses can be detected
year round in the United States, but the bug is
most common during fall and winter. Although
the peak month for the highest percentage of
respiratory specimens that test positive for the
influenza virus is February, December through
March also are high on the chart.
The CDC is recommending for this flu season that the flu shot be an inactivated influenza
vaccine or IIV, and the recombinant vaccine
(RIV). The nasal spray vaccine (live attenuated influenza vaccine) is not recommended
for the 2016-2017 season. You can read the full
discussion on the CDC website (www.cdc.gov/
flu/consumers/index.html).
The benefits of getting a flu shot or not are
hotly debated. I get the shot every year and
although I've picked up some nasty upperrespiratory infections that seem to linger for
more than a few weeks, I can't remember the
last time I had what I considered a full-blown
case of the flu. And, those colds that got me
came after trips on one of our fine domestic
airlines. Not that the individual airline was
at fault, but being confined in the long skinny

TIPS FROM PIC

tube with many other people who still may
be contagious certainly lends credence to
the fact that these bugs are very sociable and
communicable.
We mention the use of medications quite
a bit in our conversations with members, and
since the types of infections we're talking about
include symptoms that make us feel rotten, we
tend to medicate either with prescription or
OTC (over the counter) drugs. Antihistamines,
decongestants, pain relievers, and cough suppressants are often packed together in one
dosing unit. That's quite a wallop when it comes
to potential side effects, which can include
drowsiness, sedation, and possible cognitive
compromise at general aviation altitudes.
The system of safety works when pilots
don't fly if they don't feel well. The vast majority of pilots adhere to that philosophy, and we
have a good system of self-regulation because
of it. You can check out our medications database to see if your drug of choice carries any
warnings or restrictions (www.aopa.org/go-fly/
medical-resources/medications-database).
GARY CRUMP is the director of medical certifica-

tion for the AOPA Pilot Information Center.

AVIATION FINANCE

Credit-based
lending, assetbased lending,
and cash-flow
lending: The
primary ways
lenders examine your ability
to repay a loan.
Aircraft Finance
President Adam
Meredith explains
more online
(www.aopa.
org/finance/
cash-flow).

Your first point of contact
BY KATHY DONDZILA

AOPA's Pilot Information
Center is your first point of
contact when you call or
email AOPA with aviationrelated questions. With more
than 70,000 collective hours
of flight experience, our
expert staff of pilots, medical
specialists, and flight instructors respond to more than
150,000 member questions,
including tens of thousands
of emails, every year.

102 | AOPA PILOT December 2016

Topics range from airman
medical certification, special
issuances, and allowed and
disallowed medications to
international flight planning, airport issues, airspace
notifications such as TFRs,
and myriad flight training and
aircraft ownership inquiries.
Our most popular topics this
year were aircraft purchasing,
flying to Cuba, ADS-B equipage, and third class medical
reform.

The PIC staff is integral to
the success of AOPA's fly-ins,
both airside and show side,
directing and parking arriving
aircraft, staffing the tents,
managing the campground,
teaching seminars, and organizing and guiding volunteers.
We produce webinars, podcasts, and short videos that
address popular questions
and current issues. This year,
more than 10,000 members
have viewed our webinar
series and more than 13,000
have listened to our podcasts.
PIC staff keep much of

the technical information on
AOPA's website up to date.
We write weekly questions
and answers for AOPA's
two eNewsletters and two
monthly columns for AOPA
Pilot-this one, and "Answers
for Pilots" (on page 108).
Please keep your questions
coming: Call 800-USA-AOPA
(872-2672) or email pilotassist@aopa.org-or, stop by
and talk with us in person at
a fly-in or airshow. We would
enjoy meeting you.
EMAIL kathy.dondzila@aopa.org

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/consumers/index.html http://www.cdc.gov/flu/consumers/index.html http://www.aopa.org/go-fly/medical-resources/medications-database http://www.aopa.org/finance/cash-flow http://www.aopa.org/go-fly/medical-resources/medications-database http://www.aopa.org/finance/cash-flow

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2016