Medications at USNA

Joined
Aug 14, 2017
Messages
72
Hello,

Are midshipmen allowed to bring medication to their dorms to use (e.g. skin cream for rare eczema outbreaks, etc...)? Is there any regulation in that regard?
 
Yes and no. Plebe Summer they confiscate most medication. But If it is needed and prescribed you will keep it after verification. After Plebe Summer things are much less regulated. After Plebe Summer many Mids keep the typical Tylenol and cold medicine around.
 
Yes and no. Plebe Summer they confiscate most medication. But If it is needed and prescribed you will keep it after verification. After Plebe Summer things are much less regulated. After Plebe Summer many Mids keep the typical Tylenol and cold medicine around.

But it has to be medication that you listed on DoDMERB, right?

What if you're prescribed a medication after you pass DoDMERB and get an appointment? Will you still be allowed to use it?
 
Not necessarily. You could be prescribed medication for an ear infection right before I Day and still report. You mentioned eczema in your post. If you show up with eczema medication and it's not in your DoDMERB, I would expect issues. If I remember correctly that is still something that requires a waiver and would be something that catches attention. On I Day there is a final check by doctors. For most it's a quick stop, but those with waivers they definitely check things one last time. This isn't something to worry about if you were honest on DoDMERB.
 
Not necessarily. You could be prescribed medication for an ear infection right before I Day and still report. You mentioned eczema in your post. If you show up with eczema medication and it's not in your DoDMERB, I would expect issues. If I remember correctly that is still something that requires a waiver and would be something that catches attention. On I Day there is a final check by doctors. For most it's a quick stop, but those with waivers they definitely check things one last time. This isn't something to worry about if you were honest on DoDMERB.

If I did have eczema until age 11, but still keep a cream with me in the case that it flares up, do I still list it on my DoDMERB? I don't want the fact that I carry something just in case to ruin my chances altogether.
 
A search of Eczema on the DoDMERB forum may answer this question. Besides, if you haven't needed the cream since you were 11, why are you worried about now?
 
Answer the DODMERB question exactly how it is asked. Don't bring cream if you haven't used it in 7-8 years. If something happens you can go to medical for it to be checked out. If this is a bottle from 7-8 years ago, its way past expiration more than likely. If it's current then you would have a current prescription and would need to keep that in mind when answering DoDMERB.
 
Answer the DODMERB question exactly how it is asked. Don't bring cream if you haven't used it in 7-8 years. If something happens you can go to medical for it to be checked out. If this is a bottle from 7-8 years ago, its way past expiration more than likely. If it's current then you would have a current prescription and would need to keep that in mind when answering DoDMERB.

Are over the counter meds okay though?
 
Yes. They take many of those Plebe Summer though. After the summer you can pretty much do as you wish in this category.
 
I see from your posts on the Service Academy DoDMERB forum you state:

· “got a remedial requested for eczema that I haven't had seriously since 12”

· But then you ask a hypothetical “if I have a bout of EXTREMELY MILD eczema about once a month,” & continue “and that I usually use a cream and it goes away overnight,”

· Looks to me like you think it's eczema, but you then say you self-diagnosed it, so who knows?

· You then question the words used in the question such as “chronic” or “recurring”

· Any condition such as the one you describe that occurs “about once a month” would definitely be classified as “chronic”.

· My internet search found that eczema after the age of 8/9 is a DQ & that waivers are extremely rare. This is from blog-type sites that I don’t feel are accurate enough to post a link to: one needs it to be from DoDMERB, but I couldn’t find the disqualifier age or the %’s of successful waivers.

· Several Service Academy Forum posts came up during my Google search which I assume you’ve already read.

· With all of the above, if the monthly recurrences of your skin condition haven’t been diagnosed yet by a physician, it’s unknown exactly what you have; without that, your questions are academic. Go to a doctor, post the diagnosis, & then maybe some forum members can help.
 
No meds are allowed when you show up, PERIOD!! You must get all you MEDS from medical. There are some questionnaires prior arrival so Medical knows your situation. If for some reason you have an medical incident during Plebe summer, Medical needs to know any and all medications in your system. Mama is not there to answer questions while you are passed out on the table. When Medical issues you meds they are logged into you files.
 
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