Over the counter (OTC) medications are available in a variety of formulas that allow the general public to treat common ailments without going to a doctor. These can range from seasonal allergies, the common cold, pain relief, and digestive issues. It is inevitable that these medicines, although deemed safe in the correct dosage, still have the potential for side effects. Furthermore, combining OTC medicines may also have severe side effects that can cause harm to the body, including internal bleeding, high blood pressure, or heart and liver damage. Combining common OTC medications with alcohol has inherent dangers that may exacerbate a minor condition or cause other harm
Perhaps some of the most dangerous OTC medicines are the ones that have been in use the longest in terms of human factors, particularly 1st generation antihistamines, as these have a tendency to cause drowsiness because they cross the blood-brain barrier (Tiligada, 2020). They also have an average half-life of 4 to 6 hours, but can stay in your system for 12 to 24 hours depending on the dose and medicine taken (Geo Diet, n.d.). This presents unique challenges for the UAS operator as they may not be aware of the side effects the medicines have nor recognize the effect on performance. These effects can be mitigated by adhering to policies that prevent the operation of a UAS with 8 hours of taking any medicine that has the potential to cause drowsiness. Although the Federal Aviation Administration limits blood alcohol levels in pilots to 0.04 percent or less, many companies involved in transport category or commercial aviation have stricter “bottle to throttle” rules ( Title 14 CFR Part 107, 2020). Only by developing and actively enforcing them will companies be able to mitigate the safety risks associated with OTC medicines. The culture of safety begins at the leadership, and if the leadership shows an active interest and enforcement of the companies policies, the lower level workers eventually adopt the same attitudes (Tear, 2020).
As with any task, fatigue, and stress increase the chance for errors, response times are increased and the wrong action may be initiated by the pilot compounding a small error and elevating it to a catastrophic event (Socha, 2019). The larger issue is learning to recognize that the pilot is fatigued, as it is mostly subjective because stress and fatigue affect individuals differently based on physiological conditions. There could be pressure at home that affects the concentration of the remote pilot, the urgency to get the job done by upper management, or in the case of a small operator, the need for income. The key to managing it though is to recognize that the pilot is under stress and take steps to mitigate them before the flight even begins. Effective use of crew resource management, once widely adopted by transport category operators, could be modified for use in UAS operations. Ultimately, the decision to fly is up to the pilot, the key is to be objective enough about the condition of one’s self to make the correct choice when it comes to safety.
References
Title 14 CFR Part 107. (2020, April 20). Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems. Retrieved from eCFR: https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=e8a0f77f629a483e8d785fbf24fd9f56&mc=true&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title14/14cfr107_main_02.tpl
Geo Diet. (n.d.). Pharmacology of antihistamines. Retrieved from Geo Diet: https://geodiet.com/pharmacology-of-antihistamines/
Socha, V. H. (2019). Impact of pilots, tiredness on the outcome of psychological testing. Tranport Problems, 14(2). doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/10.20858/tp.2019.14.2.5
Tear, M. J. (2020). Safety culture and power: Interactions between perceptions of safety culture, organisational hierarchy, and national culture. Safety Science, 550-561. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2018.10.014
Tiligada, E. E. (2020). Histamine pharmacology: from Sir Henry Dale to the 21st century. British Journal of Pharmacology, 469-489. doi: https://doi-org.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/10.1111/bph.14524
Patrick Carroll 