Medical Disqualifications

[FlightItch]

What are some of the medical Disqualifications? I have a very slight history of asthma just after the age of 13. I no longer have Asthma. I am 22 now.

What I would like to do is Jion the ANG get a degree. Then go active and get flying for the military. does this sounds like a good idea?

[frog_flyer]

i advise you to research. If you have, i advise you to return to school and refine your searching techniques.

i believe that ANY history of asthma after age 12 is DQ'ing, but from what I hear you can get just about anything waivered.

to others... has anyone ever gone ANG -> AD?!


ahhh crap i seee what you're sayin now. enlist ang then try OTS. word.
if you're enlisted in ang your best shot is gettin a slot with that unit
And you need to head to UPT before... 27 i think? so get going on that degree.
and i'm sure you're aware that you need to be a US Citizen... hoping you're just having a bad day at the keyboard )

[jtrain609]

Are you on any maintence meds on a daily basis?

[FlightItch]

No... nothing I haven't had a perscription in a while

[MDPilot]

From what I understand, asthma after 12 requires a waiver just to get in the AF (much less go to UPT), which are very rare these days. But more importantly, the AF medical community believes that there is rampant misdiagnosis of asthma for young people. What you need to do is take a Methociline test now and pass, then as far as the AF is concerned, you don't now or never did have asthma. No waiver reqd, bingo you're in. So go take the test!

Copied from another website:
"....go to a respritory specialist and take the Methocoline Challenge. I had to do this for my FCIA. I was told when I was younger that I had asthma. I didn't have any trouble from it except when I was younger. The flight doc had me take this test. He said if I passed it, I never had asthma. I did. The Dr said that I probably had a bronchial infection or something like that when I was younger and the Dr said I had asthma.

This test is a sure way to see if you have asthma. If you pass it, you don't have it, if you fail, you do. After I passed this, I took the paperwork and test results to the flight doc. He put it in my file and said that's all. I don't have asthma so no waiver needed."

[jtrain609]

He doesn't have to go this far.

He never had asthma if he's not on any medication right now. What the Air Force really hates about asthma is the daily maintence medications. If you're in a ditch somewhere they don't want you wondering what's gonna happen because you ran out of your Advare. If you don't have any perscriptions for asthma right now, including a rescue inhaler, then you don't have asthma and I wouldn't report it.

Rescue inhalers don't matter much, but daily medications are killers. I'm on Advare, Singular and Prevacid for my asthma and a few other things wrong with me and the fact that I need the medications is what killed any chances to get into any branch of the military.

[MDPilot]

Originally Posted by John Herreshoff

He doesn't have to go this far.

He never had asthma if he's not on any medication right now.

Well, AFI 48-123, Medical Examinations and Standards disagrees with you. Listed under Disqualifing Conditions is:

A7.16.1.9. Asthma of any degree, or a history of asthma, reactive airway disease, intrinsic or extrinsic bronchial asthma, exercise-induced bronchospasm, or IgE (Immunoglobulin E) mediated asthma.

A3.12.4.

Asthma, including reactive airway disease, exercise induced bronchospasm or asthmatic bronchitis,
reliably diagnosed at any age.

*Note: Reliable diagnostic criteria should consist of any of the following elements: (a) substantiated history of cough, wheeze, and or dyspnea which persists or recurs over a prolonged period of time (generally more than 6 months), or if the diagnosis of asthma is in doubt, (b) a test for reversible airflow obstruction (greater than a 15 percent increase in FEV, following administration of an inhaled bronchodilator) or airway hyperreactivity (exaggerated decrease in airflow induced by a standard bronchoprovocation challenge such as methacholine inhalation or a demonstration of exercise-induced bronchospasms) must be performed. Bronchoprovocation or exercise testing should be performed by a board certified pulmonologist
or allergist.

Looks like what he has to do now is show that his previous diagnosis was incorrect, thus the test I mentioned. But, what do I know.

[jtrain609]

Did he report it? How does anybody know he had anything wrong with him if it isn't on paper?

Get what I'm sayin'?

BTW: I've been told by a few recruiters that it's possible to pass the medical and then 'develop' a condition. They told me that it would be a horrible, unethical thing to do, but that if I wasn't POSITIVE I had asthma that the same thing might happen to me.

[MDPilot]

I'm trying to answer the man's question about a medical condition and what the AF has to say about it.

I'll let you grapple with the ethical questions of lying about your health on applications. Just pencil whip a extra couple of hundred hrs in the old logbook, while you're at it.

[88MPH]

Originally Posted by MDPilot

I'm trying to answer the man's question about a medical condition and what the AF has to say about it.

I'll let you grapple with the ethical questions of lying about your health on applications. Just pencil whip a extra couple of hundred hrs in the old logbook, while you're at it.

Hell, Yeager flew with a broken arm for Bob's sake!

I used an inhaler occasionally from age 9-12, I didn't have ANY issues when I enlisted at 19, and nothing was ever said about it. It's not at all uncommon for pre-pubescents to deal with "temporary" asthma. If it's not something that required constant supervision, or in-patient care... I wouldn't sweat it.

Or you could tell MEPS about every in-grown toenail and write your own bus ticket back home.

[falconvalley]

btw, for AF, ANG, and AF Res, you can turn 30 on your first day of UPT without a waiver. That's the age for now, at least.