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Asthma
- Thread starter RVMS
- Start date
If you currently experience symptoms you will probably be dq'd from Aviation.
Sorry it sucks to hear it. There will probably be someone who will post after me that says a Waiver could be possible, but don't take it as a given.
Pursue the hell out of a waiver, but I'm going to be honest, it doesn't look good.
Dust
New Member
I think the age is 13. If you HAD asthma before the age of 13, you should be okay.
If you need an inhaler now then you're out. Bummer, huh? Do you wheeze at all when you run your sub-24 minute 3 miles?
RVMS, do a search of this forum for 'asthma'. There are plenty of posts..
When were you diagnosed? Were you diagnosed?
WAIVER: A history of asthma is considered disqualifying (CD) for aviation duties and training, even if the disease is very mild.
APPLICANTS: Waivers for applicants may be considered if all of the following are true:
1. The individual has been asymptomatic for a minimum of five years without medication.
2. Baseline pulmonary function testing (PFT) is normal
3. Methacholine challenge test is negative.
When were you diagnosed? Were you diagnosed?
WAIVER: A history of asthma is considered disqualifying (CD) for aviation duties and training, even if the disease is very mild.
APPLICANTS: Waivers for applicants may be considered if all of the following are true:
1. The individual has been asymptomatic for a minimum of five years without medication.
2. Baseline pulmonary function testing (PFT) is normal
3. Methacholine challenge test is negative.
The Renegade
LT, SC, USN
If it was childhood asthma with no recurring symptoms into adulthood then you could have had a chance. Current asthma symptoms, irrespective of the cause of reaction, mild or moderate, is a disqualification even for general enlistment (enlisted or officer accession). I'm guessing for an aviation contract its an even bigger "no" if not "hell no!!".
You have a current condition that obstructs the airflow to your lungs. Last thing the Navy need is an aviator that could potentially not breath in mid air while operating a multi-million dollar aircraft.
But I'm sure there may be some out there... so hell, throw it against the wall and see if it sticks.
My Experience
I went through the waiver process for asthma to get into NROTC. I'm assuming you will go through OCS?
Yes, the cutoff age is 13. If you had no symptoms at or past age 13, then you are good to go. If symptoms have occured past 13, no matter how small, this is considered disqualifying by DODMERB, and almost certainly as well by NAMI (or NOMI? I forget which one is which).
You said you have some symptoms when you are around cats, which sounds like allergic asthma, not exercise-induced.
There is a small chance you can get a waiver for this. Like DevilDog said, PURSUE THE HELL OUT OF A WAIVER. They will tell you it's not waiverable; that's a bunch of BS. There is a process, it's just not certain that you will pass. You will have to get a Pulmonary Function Test with Methacholine Challenge. If you pass this, based on my experience, you will most likely get the waiver.
If you have any questions, just PM me I'll try to help you as much as I can.
I went through the waiver process for asthma to get into NROTC. I'm assuming you will go through OCS?
Yes, the cutoff age is 13. If you had no symptoms at or past age 13, then you are good to go. If symptoms have occured past 13, no matter how small, this is considered disqualifying by DODMERB, and almost certainly as well by NAMI (or NOMI? I forget which one is which).
You said you have some symptoms when you are around cats, which sounds like allergic asthma, not exercise-induced.
There is a small chance you can get a waiver for this. Like DevilDog said, PURSUE THE HELL OUT OF A WAIVER. They will tell you it's not waiverable; that's a bunch of BS. There is a process, it's just not certain that you will pass. You will have to get a Pulmonary Function Test with Methacholine Challenge. If you pass this, based on my experience, you will most likely get the waiver.
If you have any questions, just PM me I'll try to help you as much as I can.
I don't have any asthmatic symptoms when I run, infact yesterday I ran the 3 miles in about 22.5 mins and was fine. (keep in mind I'm still getting into shape, I'm trying to make as compelling an argument as possible for the waiver process.)
And only around cats do i ever get symptoms... which does worry me about the Methacholine test. I am just going to run as much as possible and see what happens (although I have read that even world class atheletes with asthma can't pass the test.)
Thank you all for your support, this is exactly one of the reasons I want to join, good people.
And only around cats do i ever get symptoms... which does worry me about the Methacholine test. I am just going to run as much as possible and see what happens (although I have read that even world class atheletes with asthma can't pass the test.)
Thank you all for your support, this is exactly one of the reasons I want to join, good people.
Take the pulmonary function test. I had to do it last year to get in BDCP, and i got a waiver for my childhood asthma.. It also sounds to me to be more an allergic reaction that you might have rather than asthma, but I'm no doctor. They never asked me to get the other test done (methacholine?), and other than a quick question at MEPS it was no issue with my PFT results. I had read age 13 as well, on this site, though I don't remember being told that specifically when I was going through the process.
anghockey
Fleens? You're not Fleens!
When I was about 6, I would turn bright pink and start wheezing around cats and was misdiagnosed as having asthma. By age ten, I was playing A-team Squirt hockey and not using my inhaler, so we decided to get an actual test done. In my doctor's words, "I have the lungs of an olympic swimmer". I got allergy shots for cats and pollen etc for years and have no problem except in pollen season, when one zyrtec a day keeps me symptom free.
If it's just cats, I think you have probably been misdiagnosed. I'm going to hop on the bandwagon here and suggest you get the litany of tests to prove that you can breathe as long as a cat isn't thrown in your face.
If it's just cats, I think you have probably been misdiagnosed. I'm going to hop on the bandwagon here and suggest you get the litany of tests to prove that you can breathe as long as a cat isn't thrown in your face.
You don't necessarily need hystamines to hit your lungs to have a problem.
However, the tecnique looks interesting...
its pretty interesting stuff. For a few days I thought I developed asthma because of severe allergies to feline fur, but after slowing down my breathing for a few days I can go in the lion cage in a zoo, rub my face on a bunch of cats and run miles. The technique is mysteriously effective.