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Old 05-19-2009, 02:12 PM
 
Location: Wichita,Kansas
2,732 posts, read 6,746,794 times
Reputation: 1371

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I used to have recruiters talk to me and i explained i had..
Asthma and it would probably disqualify me.
They told me to lie about it .
Ive pretty much grown out of it and need medicine rarely.
Could a mild case get a waiver?
Does it have alot to do with the gas chamber?(during boot camp)
Im too old to think about the military but what other things are..
People commonly disqualified for??Just Curious.
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Old 05-19-2009, 02:19 PM
 
2,790 posts, read 6,330,136 times
Reputation: 1955
Actually, this is a really good question. I know someone who had asthma as a toddler, but has virtually outgrown it, not having an attack in nearly ten years. He has asked if I thought he could get into the service and I frankly don't have any idea. Is it something that would show during on his physical exam? I would curious to hear from resuriters and anyone who has personal experience.
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Old 05-19-2009, 05:08 PM
 
251 posts, read 765,181 times
Reputation: 151
you could lie about it but if symptoms begin to show, it might be grounds for discharge.

Quote:
Originally Posted by averagejoe76 View Post
I used to have recruiters talk to me and i explained i had..
Asthma and it would probably disqualify me.
They told me to lie about it .
Ive pretty much grown out of it and need medicine rarely.
Could a mild case get a waiver?
Does it have alot to do with the gas chamber?(during boot camp)
Im too old to think about the military but what other things are..
People commonly disqualified for??Just Curious.
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Old 05-19-2009, 09:11 PM
 
Location: Angeles City, Philippines
299 posts, read 1,149,695 times
Reputation: 163
Default Military Requirements,etc and Asthma?

averagejoe76,

I can't say if you will be disqualified or not. However, I joined the AZ NG in 1963 and then went Navy in 1964, with a history of asthma. I had had asthma since 7 mo old, had a lot of history of documented attacks while my dad was AD USAF. However, had not had an attack in over 10 years nor was I on any medications. I notified both the NG & Navy upon upfront and brought along with me the documentation of asthma and also several doctors (Pulmo types) that I was no longer suffering with asthma.

In 1965 my asthma was exacerbated due to painting out the bilges on the DD-450. I had been over come with the fumes and my asthma was back, for good. After that started having asthma attacks more and more and by the end of my 20 years was using both a maintenance and rescue medication, but, not daily and not serious enough to be ref to a Med Board.

My advice is be upfront about your asthma, honesty thingy, and then if you start having asthma problems they can't blame you for not notifying them and most likely would deal with your asthma to your benefit.
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Old 05-19-2009, 09:16 PM
 
3,422 posts, read 10,869,387 times
Reputation: 2006
Have you talked to your dr about maybe changing your diagnosis to reactive airway disorder? That is, if it is mild enough. I knew someone whose son was in Kindergarten with mine and the pediatrician diagnosed him with reactive airway disorder because he could always upgrade it to asthma if it got worse but once the asthma dx was on the record, it could hurt his chances of joining later down the line. (Dad was in the Air Force and while 5 is a little young to make a career decision, the train of thought was that since Dad is making a career out of it, son might want to follow in his footsteps.)

I don't know anything about waivers for asthma so I can't help with that. sorry.
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Old 05-19-2009, 10:08 PM
 
4,317 posts, read 5,757,316 times
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I would not lie about it. It could come back to haunt you and could face charges. The recruiter should be turned in for telling you to lie.
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Old 05-20-2009, 08:40 AM
 
Location: Fly-over country.
1,765 posts, read 7,303,981 times
Reputation: 922
That's a hard issue to waive becuase of what the military expects you to be able to do once you're in. It isn't becuase of some lightweight CS gas training event. IF anything, that stuff is good for clearing your lungs (and nose, and eyes, and if you get enough, probably your ears too.)

- you need a full medical history
- they'll give you the physical, you'll fail it for history of a breathing problem and they should order some tests
- the first test is easy, it's like a short breathing test
- the second test is much harder, and they hesitate to order it since it's expensive. It's called an MCT (something challenge test, just google it). You sit in a booth and inhale a chemical and they look for the difference in your breathing or capacity or something. (Most seem to fail this one.)

Whatever you do, don't lie about any medical issue. If the recruiter tells you to hide it, talk to his boss. DO NOT agree to fib to the recruiter and then spill the beans at the doctor thinking he'll be your buddy. If you go in armed with good medical records to show your history, you have a shot at getting waived in. If you list it up front, you'll go step by step through the medical tests without pressure.
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Old 05-21-2009, 03:35 AM
 
Location: The land of milk and honey...Tucson, AZ
303 posts, read 1,557,856 times
Reputation: 226
That's an automatic DQ. Once you go to MEPS and tell them you have asthma they'll write a big DQ on your name tag, but you'll still need to through the MEPS process. I'm pretty sure there isn't a waiver for asthma.

I had asthma when I was young and I told my recruiter, but he told me not to tell anyone else, so I didn't. As a result, I served 9 years in the Navy without any asthma problems. The gas chamber wasn't a problem either.
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Old 05-27-2009, 07:28 PM
 
Location: Minnysoda
10,659 posts, read 10,674,920 times
Reputation: 6745
yea my kids in the NG right now........
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Old 05-28-2009, 04:54 AM
 
Location: On the Chesapeake
44,888 posts, read 59,882,454 times
Reputation: 60433
I had asthma as a kid, outgrew it, listed it and passed all my flight physicals with no problem. This was 1980 at Pensacola NAS. One guy in my class was DQ'ed after x-rays showed lung damage from asthma which he claimed had never been diagnosed.
A strange note: I quit smoking at age 40 in the 90's and the asthma recurred. To this day I'm on maintenance medication for it.
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