Nut allergy DQ?

[LTMOM]

My DD was awarded AROTC/Nursing scholarship. BUT she has a history of a mild tree nut allergy/sensitivity. Mild, takes benadryl if needed. But is this an automatic DQ at her physical? Even for staff corps who will always be in a medical setting? We were so disappointed to read this on this forum. Passing an oral challenge is the only way to be cleared? And what exactly is a pass on an oral challenge test?? No symptoms at all? This has been her dream.

 

[Humey]

From what i read on this this forum, the Army is a lot more lenient when it comes to allergies especially if it is a tree nut allergy. I think peanut allergies are a bigger issue as peanuts seems to be everywhere in food processing while tree nuts arent as common. However dont go by me, it is what I read here. I am sure there will be others who can respond and will give you a more definitive answer

 

[Falcon A]

LT Mom -- our expereience was that DoDMERB will issue a DQ because of the tree nut allergy. AROTC (since your DD has been awarded the scholarship) will pursue a medical waiver for her condition. They will most likely start with some paperwork requests and may then ask for a blood test to check her IgE levels. They may or may not ask for a supervised "nut challege" (it is the AF that aseems to always ask for the nut challenge to prove you no longer have the allergy.) Our experience is that the Army medical waiver authority will take all data into account in making the decision on whether to grant the waiver (type of nut, severity and number of reactions, etc.) Our son was granted a medical waiver for his tree nut allergy by the AROTC medical waiver authority so he could use his 4-yr AROTC scholarship. Each case is evaluated separately.

Best wishes to you and your DD and sincere thanks to her for being willing to serve.

 

[LTMOM]

From what i read on this this forum, the Army is a lot more lenient when it comes to allergies especially if it is a tree nut allergy. I think peanut allergies are a bigger issue as peanuts seems to be everywhere in food processing while tree nuts arent as common. However dont go by me, it is what I read here. I am sure there will be others who can respond and will give you a more definitive answer

LT Mom -- our expereience was that DoDMERB will issue a DQ because of the tree nut allergy. AROTC (since your DD has been awarded the scholarship) will pursue a medical waiver for her condition. They will most likely start with some paperwork requests and may then ask for a blood test to check her IgE levels. They may or may not ask for a supervised "nut challege" (it is the AF that aseems to always ask for the nut challenge to prove you no longer have the allergy.) Our experience is that the Army medical waiver authority will take all data into account in making the decision on whether to grant the waiver (type of nut, severity and number of reactions, etc.) Our son was granted a medical waiver for his tree nut allergy by the AROTC medical waiver authority so he could use his 4-yr AROTC scholarship. Each case is evaluated separately.

Best wishes to you and your DD and sincere thanks to her for being willing to serve.

Thank you so much for the detailed response! I'm thrilled to hear your encouraging story. We've started the process and have seen an allergist. I may reach out to you in the future with questions. Happy Thanksgiving

 

[Falcon A]

Thank you so much for the detailed response! I'm thrilled to hear your encouraging story. We've started the process and have seen an allergist. I may reach out to you in the future with questions. Happy Thanksgiving

I am NOT a doctor... IMHO ... I would only go to the allergist IF you’ve been asked to do so by DoDMERB as part of a remedial. It is too late to get ahead of the issue at this point. By going to an allergist on your own now will not “cure” anything and you will just create more data for DoDMERB and/or the AROTC medical waiver authority to review ... and depending on the allergist the information may be detrimental to your case. DoDMERB will want their own docs to do any testing.

 

[ORD1812]

Hey @LTMOM . I'm an applicant to USMA 2023 with a pretty similar case. I just had all my initial exams completed and am going to be going through the waiver process, most likely. I don't have much info to offer you now other than the reassurance that others are in the same boat. When things start rolling with DoDMERB I might be able to offer you some helpful information.

 

[sheriff3]

OP, DQ will likely be automatic based on your description. If your daughter was a 4 year scholarship recipient then a waiver is automatically requested. Our DS was DQ'd for food allergies back in 2012 jeopardizing his 4 year scholarship. We took him to a retired( but still practicing ) Army allergist MD. Ran some tests and determined he was no longer allergic. Dr. wrote a great letter with his findings and sent in the test results to support the negative diagnosis. Waiver was granted 90 days later. My advice is to find a retired military (preferably Army) allergist to examine your daughter. If the findings are favorable submit to DoDMERB. Spending $100 for a dream and a $100k is the way to go. Go through my previous posts for a view of our journey. Best of luck!

 

[LTMOM]

OP, DQ will likely be automatic based on your description. If your daughter was a 4 year scholarship recipient then a waiver is automatically requested. Our DS was DQ'd for food allergies back in 2012 jeopardizing his 4 year scholarship. We took him to a retired( but still practicing ) Army allergist MD. Ran some tests and determined he was no longer allergic. Dr. wrote a great letter with his findings and sent in the test results to support the negative diagnosis. Waiver was granted 90 days later. My advice is to find a retired military (preferably Army) allergist to examine your daughter. If the findings are favorable submit to DoDMERB. Spending $100 for a dream and a $100k is the way to go. Go through my previous posts for a view of our journey. Best of luck!

Thanks so much for this information! Will read about your journey, if I can figure out how to find it... How did you find your retired military allergist? Google?

 

[Pima]

Do you live near a military base/post? I know with the AF they contract docs on top of their ADAF docs. If so, contact that local installation hospital, specifically the allergy unit, explain your situation and ask if they use a contracted allergist. If they say no, ask them who they use as a Tri-Care referral.

Military members will be referred out to Tri-Care insurance providers. Many of these docs are retired or Guard/Reservists. They know exactly what the military is looking for when it comes to waivers because if the military has to refer them out (economy) it means a higher level of testing that they don't or can't offer on base/post.

I would add that to remember DoDMERB DQs, but it is the commissioning source that will be in charge of the waiver process. IOWS, be careful reading into if someone did not get a waiver. USMA is a different commissioning source than AROTC. AROTC may grant a waiver, whereas, USMA may not. Vise a verse.

 

[LTMOM]

Do you live near a military base/post? I know with the AF they contract docs on top of their ADAF docs. If so, contact that local installation hospital, specifically the allergy unit, explain your situation and ask if they use a contracted allergist. If they say no, ask them who they use as a Tri-Care referral.

Military members will be referred out to Tri-Care insurance providers. Many of these docs are retired or Guard/Reservists. They know exactly what the military is looking for when it comes to waivers because if the military has to refer them out (economy) it means a higher level of testing that they don't or can't offer on base/post.

I would add that to remember DoDMERB DQs, but it is the commissioning source that will be in charge of the waiver process. IOWS, be careful reading into if someone did not get a waiver. USMA is a different commissioning source than AROTC. AROTC may grant a waiver, whereas, USMA may not. Vise a verse.

Thanks for the information! I think we are at the "wait and see" part of this process. Waiting for information to post on the physical, and taking it one step at a time. This is valuable info, ....holding our breath to see if we need it.

 

[sheriff3]

Google, state medical board. Google board certified retired military doctors.

 

[HopefulMomMarine]

We just went through this and was granted a waiver. Find a doctor who will pick apart the allergy. Our issue was sensitivity. Blood work means nothing. He tested very high for peanut butter and eats it almost everyday.

 

[Falcon A]

We just went through this and was granted a waiver. Find a doctor who will pick apart the allergy. Our issue was sensitivity. Blood work means nothing. He tested very high for peanut butter and eats it almost everyday.

Hopeful -- can you share which medical waiver authority granted the waiver?

 

[jmarquez]

Thank you so much for the detailed response! I'm thrilled to hear your encouraging story. We've started the process and have seen an allergist. I may reach out to you in the future with questions. Happy Thanksgiving

I am NOT a doctor... IMHO ... I would only go to the allergist IF you’ve been asked to do so by DoDMERB as part of a remedial. It is too late to get ahead of the issue at this point. By going to an allergist on your own now will not “cure” anything and you will just create more data for DoDMERB and/or the AROTC medical waiver authority to review ... and depending on the allergist the information may be detrimental to your case. DoDMERB will want their own docs to do any testing.

Thanks for that insight. My son has similar case..waiting for response from DodMERB. I was wondering if we should go ahead and see an allergist.

 

[LTMOM]

Thank you so much for the detailed response! I'm thrilled to hear your encouraging story. We've started the process and have seen an allergist. I may reach out to you in the future with questions. Happy Thanksgiving

I am NOT a doctor... IMHO ... I would only go to the allergist IF you’ve been asked to do so by DoDMERB as part of a remedial. It is too late to get ahead of the issue at this point. By going to an allergist on your own now will not “cure” anything and you will just create more data for DoDMERB and/or the AROTC medical waiver authority to review ... and depending on the allergist the information may be detrimental to your case. DoDMERB will want their own docs to do any testing.

Thanks for that insight. My son has similar case..waiting for response from DodMERB. I was wondering if we should go ahead and see an allergist.

Is your son ROTC?
In my limited experience, I would advise only seeing an allergist if you are sure the allergy is gone and want to do a challenge test to use those results to prove that it is no longer an issue.
You may want to start gathering all his pertinent allergy related medical records for if/when they are requested. This forum has been THE BEST in guiding and providing advice. We are still in the process.

 

[NEED2KNoMo]

Hey @LTMOM . I'm an applicant to USMA 2023 with a pretty similar case. I just had all my initial exams completed and am going to be going through the waiver process, most likely. I don't have much info to offer you now other than the reassurance that others are in the same boat. When things start rolling with DoDMERB I might be able to offer you some helpful information.

Can you share details? Were you granted a waiver? My DS has a tree nut/peanut allergy, but through immunotherapy can freely eat all allergens.

 

[LTMOM]

Can you share details? Were you granted a waiver? My DS has a tree nut/peanut allergy, but through immunotherapy can freely eat all allergens.

@NEED2KNoMo
This forum has members/moderators who are more knowledgeable on this subject. DD was successful in getting a waiver for her AROTC scholarship. I've read here that Army may be more willing to grant waivers. (?) Great news that DS has had immunotherapy and can freely eat all allergens. I would advise you start getting copies of all that testing /paperwork to be ready to submit.

 

[NEED2KNoMo]

Thanks for the information! I think we are at the "wait and see" part of this process. Waiting for information to post on the physical, and taking it one step at a time. This is valuable info, ....holding our breath to see if we need it.

@NEED2KNoMo
This forum has members/moderators who are more knowledgeable on this subject. DD was successful in getting a waiver for her AROTC scholarship. I've read here that Army may be more willing to grant waivers. (?) Great news that DS has had immunotherapy and can freely eat all allergens. I would advise you start getting copies of all that testing /paperwork to be ready to submit.

Thank you! I believe we have paperwork in order, but are just hoping that a waiver review is even requested...apologies if I'm not using proper terminology. Happy to hear your DD was granted a waiver...