Allergies

[cluelessmom]

I have a son (9th grade) who has expressed interest in the military academies. He has allergies to dust mites, certain grasses and cats. When he was younger he did shots, but hasn't had them for 2-3 years. He now controls the allergies with allegra and flonase. His only symptom is nasal congestion. (We live in a valley which is suppose to be one of the worst areas for allergies. When we visit other areas his allergies don't bother him at all). Would this be a disqualification to attending the academies? Thanks.

 

[mom2five]

We're in the same situation, except my son is older. He suffered terribly with allergies to local plants/trees when we lived in one state; he took shots, meds, etc. After we moved to another state, he was fine. He's currently an alternate for the CGA class of 2012. DODMERB put him on remedial status and asked for all his allergy medical records. He was treated for allergies up until age 15 (he's now a 20-yr old college student with nothing except occasional seasonal allergies). We're on pins and needles waiting to see if he is gets "qualified". It will be interested to see how they handle this type of situation. Maybe someone else out there has some experience with a situation like this?

It's possible this thread could get moved to the DODMERB forum....

 

[RetNavyHM]

As long as the allergy shots were discontinued at least 1 year before the DoDMERB physical examination, and the allergies (to pollen, grasses, trees) are well controlled on either OTC or prescription medications there should be no issues with DoDMERB. They will request an allergy questionnaire and possibly medical records regarding the allergies, that is standard operating procedures for DoDMERB.

Food and/or chemical/metal allergies are looked at differently.

 

[Zaphod]

Just out of curiosity...

I am surprised that allergies that require prescription meds (or, for that matter, ANY meds) would be OK. While it's not much of a factor while out at sea, I can certainly see it being one in the Army or USMC.

Is there any reason given as to why this is not considered a more serious condition than they seem to think it is?

 

[RetNavyHM]

Any allergies used to be a disqualifier, with the ones that are controlled with OTC meds being the ones to get waivers (this was as of about 5 years ago). They have since relaxed the regulations since most of the prescription and OTC meds are non-drowsy, and don't cause the lethargy or mental confusion of the ones that us old timers remember from our youth.

Add to that the fact that more and more young folks are being prescribed medication for allergies and the folks who write the medical regulations realized that they were excluding a rather large population from service.

So they have relaxed the standards a bit. Good, bad or indifferent?? I really don't know....

 

[Zaphod]

Add to that the fact that more and more young folks are being prescribed medication for allergies and the folks who write the medical regulations realized that they were excluding a rather large population from service.

I knew that had to be part of it. Same with eyeglasses, I guess.

Glad you refreshed my memory, though. I seem to recall allergies being a big no-no in my day (sadly, FAR longer than 5 years ago).

Good, bad or indifferent?? I really don't know....

Yeah. I reckon time will tell. Plenty of data available, what with all the operations going on these days. We'll know soon enough, one way or the other.

Thanks, Doc!

 

[kp2001]

You have to remember that the allergies that are being waived are things that give you runny nose/stuffy nose/watery eyes etc. These are not the allergies that cause your throat to swell and stop breathing.

The medications are easily attainable in a foward operating area with current medical logistics and we can give you a ton of the medicine at one time and it won't go bad. This makes it easy for those deployed to stay on their meds and if they did happen to run out then it's not really a huge deal, just an annoyance.