Oldwell Surgery has decided that going forward we will not be prescribing medication for fear of flying – commonly diazepam or lorazepam. This decision has been made by all the GP partners.
We have made this decision on up to date safety information and whilst appreciate patients may have had it in the past, we won’t be able to prescribe this in the future.
There are many risks with this medication – firstly it is contraindicated (not allowed to be used) for phobias, of which a fear of flying is one. It is not safe to go against prescribing guidance.
Diazepam is a sedating drug and there are dangers associated if there is an emergency on the flight needing action. It can impair your ability to focus, carry out tasks or follow instructions. This could have an impact on your safety as well as the safety of others.
A small number of people react the opposite way than expected when taking this medication. Instead of being sedated they can become confused, hostile and aggressive which would not be safe, particularly on an airplane.
Given the above we are no longer prescribing for this situation.
We appreciate that fear of flying is very real and very frightening. A much better approach is to tackle this properly with a Fear of Flying course run by the airlines and we have listed a number of these below.
Easy Jet – www.fearlessflyer.easyjet.com
British Airways – www.flyingwithconfidence.com
Virgin – www.flyingwithoutfear.co.uk