ramondelapaz

are anxiety medication included in onboard "basic medicine"?

it would make sense to have it i think but i do not know if medical laws might prevent FAs from providing it.

muji

It would not be given to anyone by a flight attendant.

A person needing an anxiety medication would have to have it prescribed by a doctor,
and then gotten at a pharmacy, before the flight.

Doc Savage

There were benzodiazepines in the BA medical kit when I helped out with a renal colic case a few years ago.

Loren Pechtel

There's no way a FA would provide it even if it is on board. That's the realm of a doctor.

Fleck

From what I see in the BA forum each morning, they should start dosing the G&Ts.

As to the OP's question--- lawsuits and drug seekers. The filthy attorneys and the addicts would ruin it.

We can't have nice things.

Annalisa12

When they announce "is there a doctor on board" how do they know that person is really is a doctor to dispense those drugs?

CKA1

The FA on a Westjet flight a number of years ago told a classmate (school trip) when she asked for a Gravol, that Westjet flights did not carry any medication of any kind. As we were all adults, they told her that she could have a shot of vodka, but other than that, they were not permitted to medicate anybody or carry medication.

I have been reliably informed by a FA friend of mine that anxiety medication opens up a whole can of worms. He's trained in first aid, not to administer, dispense or supply any kind of medication, OTC or not.

84fiero

It seems to depend on airline policy and laws of the airline's jurisdiction. Some want to see credentials others take the person at their word. After the recent Delta incident where the black female doctor claimed discrimination, I saw that Delta announced it would no longer require FAs to insist on seeing written confirmation of the credentials.

Tchiowa

Never mind medical laws, I don't think an FA is qualified to decided if, when and where that type of medication is appropriate.

CKA1

Hi,

I'm taking a first aid course, in fact I finish it tonight. We were taught that in a First Aid kit, you should not have OTC medication. Imagine being at a workplace (which for the Flight Attendant is on a plane in flight) and giving somebody a Tylenol or Aspirin and they turn out to be allergic. They die.

Now, imagine the family of the person who died. They're going to want (A) answers, (B) money and (C) potentially criminal charges.

I would imagine the airlines have insurance to cover this. I do in my personal business and when I graduate from school I will likely be covered by whoever I work for. But that doesn't mean I can't be sued for gross negligence.

In Alberta they call it the Good Samaritans rule. You cannot be held criminally liable for doing your best. That's why people who perform first aid in good faith are not liable. A first aider is legally obligated (in Alberta) to not provide or administer any substance which could be considered a OTC or prescription drug. It's called different things in different jurisdictions, but across Canada, except Quebec it's a similar idea.

Prescribing drugs or administering drugs are for your doctor and hospital staff. If somebody dies at the hospital, it's one thing. But if you die on an airplane because you reacted badly to something the FA decided to give you, I bet the FA and airline would be entirely at fault.

Chuck

chrisl137

It also depends on the context. I just took a wilderness first aid course, and they do teach some basics on administering medications (including epi pens and rescue inhalers), as well as other things like removing foreign objects, setting and splinting fractures, etc, that you generally wouldn't do in an environment where you can call 911 and have a well equipped ambulance there in a few minutes and be at a hospital a few minutes after that.

The WFA is for when you're a substantial amount of time away from appropriate care. It could include being on a flight over the ocean 3+ hours from anywhere, especially if someone is suffering anaphylaxis and needs a shot from an epi pen. They had practice pens and a protocol for how to both use them and follow up, assuming you might be days from medical care. There was also instruction on how to help someone use a rescue inhaler, which I think most regular first aid instruction says you shouldn't do (mostly for liability reasons). But something like aspirin or tylenol (or anxiety medication) isn't generally going to be a lifesaving treatment, so there's only downside to having it from a liability point of view.

CKA1

That's largely accurate. We did cover Epi Pens and inhalers, but if you think about it, if you are in a situation where you needed your Epi Pen (lets say you ate a peanut which caused a reaction) you are probably able to take it out of your pocket/or luggage and somebody can help you administer it, or you could do it yourself. I don't know of any reactions which would kill you in the 90 seconds it takes to locate your Epi Pen, and if there was a potential reaction, it would make sense you would be prepared.

Rescue inhalers are similar. While I wouldn't expect a FA to be in the practice of determining when you need to use one, (the patient should know themselves when they need it) the practical thing might be to have a "spacer" (a device which keeps the inhalant in the patient) on hand.

In both cases, it's acceptable for the FA to assist, just as any onboard doctor or medic would. If I were standing there, and somebody's throat and tongue had swelled up, and I had their Epi Pen in my hand, you bet I'd use it. And every FA should be able to do such.

Giving somebody an anxiety medication, or a motion sickness pill which is something not necessary to the continuation of life in a very short term situation, is not a good idea. The FA isn't a doctor, and no reasonable doctor would allow you to administer a potentially damaging drug. When I go to the doctor, he can flip to my file on a laptop and see what I've taken in the past, my medical notes, etc. A FA on a TPAC flight doesn't have that option, nor are they doctors.

While I would not suggest that you not administer OTC drugs to yourself (for example, keeping a baggie of aspirin if you need it) in an emergency, the liability of an airline keeping any kind of drug onboard is so great that they'd rather have somebody get a panic attack or toss their cookies instead of potentially being responsible for a medication induced death.

Chuck

ramondelapaz

a lady sitting in my row asked FA for tylenol on an OZ flight from ICN, FA gave her two caps right away.

LondonElite

This is pretty obviously a terrible idea. Apart from basic first aid, I would not expect a flight attendant to have any medical knowledge at all, so dispensing prescription medication obviously should not be part of their job.

RAAng

Pretty funny. All the alcohol you could want, but a benzo? Ohhh, gotta have a doctor for that one!