Information:

Diazepam and Fear of Flying information leaflet

 Normanby Medical Centre does not prescribe sedatives like Diazepam for fear of flying. There are several reasons for this:

·         Diazepam is a sedative, which means it makes you sleepy, more relaxed and can significantly delay your reaction times. If there is an emergency during the flight it may impair your ability to concentrate, follow instructions and react to the situation. This could have serious safety consequences for you and those around you.

  

·         Tiredness and drowsiness can cause problems disembarking the aircraft, following other countries customs procedures and onward travel such as transfers or layovers.

 

·         Sedative drugs can make you fall asleep, however when you do sleep it is an unnatural (non-REM) sleep. This means you won’t move around as much as during natural sleep. This can cause you to be at increased risk of developing a blood clot (DVT) in the leg or even the lung. Blood clots are very dangerous and can even prove fatal. This risk is even greater if your flight is greater than four hours.

 

·         Whilst most people find sedative medications like diazepam have a relaxing effect, a small number of people can actually feel more agitated or even aggressive after taking it.

 

·         Diazepam causes disinhibition and lead you to behave in a way that you would not normally. (Such as lack of restraint or disregard to social norms) This could impact on your own safety in a public place as well as that of other passengers and could also get you into trouble from a legal aspect at the UK airport, in the air and on foreign soil.

 

·         Despite having a UK prescription, Diazepam and similar drugs are actually illegal in a number of countries. They may be confiscated, or you may find yourself in trouble with the police if you are carrying any on arrival for your return flight

 

·         Diazepam stays in your system for quite a while. Many employers now require you to submit to random drug testing, you may fail this having taken diazepam.

 

According to the prescribing guidelines which doctors follow for safe prescribing, benzodiazepines like Diazepam are not recommended for use in phobias. Your doctor would be taking a significant legal risk by prescribing against these guidelines. They are licensed for very short term use during a crisis in generalised anxiety. If this is the case, you should be getting treatment, specialist care and support for your mental health and considering not flying until your mental health improves.

 

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 Tel: 0203 8131644

·  British Airways www.flyingwithconfidence.com Tel: 01252 793250

·  Virgin Tel: 01423 714900

 

Please note:

We do not prescribe Diazepam for dental or hospital appointments, if your dentist / consultant feels it is appropriate, they will safely prescribe any treatment required for your appointments with them.