All things LASIK surgery (aircrew/other -- merged)

[FlightSergeantRose]

The CF should not be turning people away based on a thesis of their own making without any substantiated facts; not even remotely proven at all.

 

[jutes85]

By the way whats the exact program you did called?

Well, my program is called "Vision Freedom", although it is written by a different person then that of the website I gave you. My program is written by an ex-pilot. I bought the booklet he had a while back but never really had time to actually do the excersises until a couple months ago. It has really helped me, like I said, it naturally improved my vision by 50%, i‘m very happy.

P.S. If any of you guys are considering LASIK or any other kind of surgery, Canada is the right country for it. A doctor in Vancouver has something like a 99% success rate.

 

[Korus]

BadBird, the CF didn‘t make up their own thesis. Many other organizations have similar policies. It‘s a relatively new procedure, the fact of the matter is no one knows for sure how eyes will react, even over the long term. What happens if, 10-20 years down the road, people start having trouble due to long term effects?

However, there are studies being made into the effects..

 

[FlightSergeantRose]

Is there a website for one of those studies so I may inquire?

 

[Korus]

Do a search on http://www.google.ca .

I‘m sure you‘ll find something there.

 

[FlightSergeantRose]

I was asking because if you say there are studies then you must know of some specifically. By giving me a search engine I guess you dont.

 

[furyofmojo]

......

I am starting to worry a little bit about even getting the lasik. I think my eyes meet the minimum requirement for Officer in infantry without lasik, but I was hoping to get his done regardless of the military. Im now thinking I should wait it out a little.

Hmmmmm do you guys know how long the lasik procedures have been around for? I‘ve tried to research a little but they all just summerize the same arguement; that there is a chance of lossing night vision. They don‘t actually tell you how long its been around for and what kind of actual studies have been done so far.....a sides from the purely speculative opinions of doctors.

I am wondering, seeing as how this topic seems to be fairly popular, if anyone would like to share some specifics on this topic. Some opinions and informations from medics or someone of that sort would be really useful.

Thanks.

 

[Korus]

I was asking because if you say there are studies then you must know of some specifically. By giving me a search engine I guess you dont.

Don‘t pull that BS on me.

I‘m giving you a search engine because I don‘t have the time to look for websites for you. There are plenty of articles reporting findings of various studies that i‘ve come across, but they‘ve all been in print, and to be honest It haven‘t been paying attention to it in the past year or so. Keep in mind that just because something doesn‘t have a .com URL doesn‘t mean it doesn‘t exist.

If you need some direction, try looking for information on the study the US Navy started in the early 90‘s (1993, IIRC). I know the US Army is condcting studies as well. These studies have been big on changing the US military policies on laser eye surgery.

 

[nULL]

the military seems to be an organization largely based on the physical attributes of an individual. some things, like lack of muscle/weight you can work on...albeit slowly. when it comes to delicate and inheritable characteristics though, such as eyes, you may just have to recognize that you‘re SOL. i can sympathize with anyone wanting to become a pilot, but can‘t because of their eyes. on one hand, i‘m setting myself up NOW to be an attractive candidate...getting in shape, getting prior military experience(hopefully!), finishing my degree (2 years left!!!)...even though it may not matter in the end. i‘m having problems enough putting myself through a poli sci degree, let along pilot school.

go beat up your parents for screwing you over, because when it comes down to it, it really was THEIR fault, not the governments. they have a vested interest in getting the most for their money, and genetically inferior pilots aren‘t it.

 

[medic65726]

Originally posted by Royal:
[qb]The skull is made up if plates, a hard blow to the head can cause swelling of the brain, plate movements and general pressure build-up inside the skull. Physics would dictate that pressure escapes through the path of least resitence. Put the pegs in the holes and you have weakened cornea = BLOW-OUT! Remember, people at risk for irreversible injuries are not going to get into the military, we can‘t take the risk. [/qb]

You might want to have a chat with someone with an emergency medicine background about what happens in severe head injuries. The plates of the skull move only if they are fractured, your brain is inside a bony vault and swelling/pressure will push your brain out of the base of your skull (transtentorial herniation) before it pops out of your eyes. Increased intracranial pressure can put pressure on the optic nerve, affecting pupillary response and vision (which is OK, because you should be deeply unconscious by that point). The only other thing that could happen to your eye is that it gets avulsed (popped out) by blunt force trauma to your head. All of these things can happen to anyone, regardless of pre-existing conditions.

 

[ludacris]

I know this topics been touched upon a few times, but after getting laser eye surgery, does it restrict you from anything... does the canadian army approve of the procedure?

 

[tabernac]

It would be the Air Force that contols that. Even though you are a griffon pilot, you still belong to the Air Force.
To add to the subject, does anyone know whether people with glasses can become pilots? Same thing with the eye surgury. Is it an approved procedure?

 

[Stephen]

No and no. 20/20 unassisted vision to become a pilot. That means no surgery, no contacts, no glasses.

 

[tabernac]

S***. stupid rules. Sure hope your wrong. How did you find out anyway? The online recruiting site was of no use. I expect that no one even awnsers the emails they recieve.

 

[Thompson_JM]

Sorry Monkey... but last i checked its true..

if you dont have perfect vision from the get go, then no pilot for ya. Im really sorry.

 

[Michael OLeary]

The requirement for pilot training is "at least 20/20 vision uncorrected." Once trained some deterioration and correction by contacts or glasses may be within the existing restrictions.

22 Questions with four Canadian CF-18 Pilots - see question #11)

Prepare for Takeoff - (see page 4 for requirements)

 

[Jarnhamar]

Go join the infantry.

 

[tabernac]

So it has to perfect. Not just slightly corected? Like within the 2 accepable levels? Ever since my dad read me an article about the lack of CF-18 pilots, I have wanted to be a pilot. As for the infantry... right now, no. In a couple of years, I might reconsider, but it would take some coaxing. Hows the pay for an engineer?

 

[combat_medic]

Several people have already told you. 20/20 uncorrected, unassisted vision. Absolutely NO glasses, no contacts, no laser eye surgery, nothing. Please listen to what people are telling you. There isn‘t leniency in this case, and several dozen people have already asked this question.

 

[Jarnhamar]

Join the infantry. You can fly helicoters and CF18s after you join. Its like a QL5 course or something.