Allergies in the CAF 2003 - 2015 [Merged]

[IWannaBePPCLI]

what about mild allergies to ragweed and the normal stuff? I have them but i only get a stuffed up/ runny nose.  Is this a problem?  If not, i sneeze every once in a blue moon for it too, I hope I am still accepted. :-   any help here is appreciated.

 

[MikeM]

Minor allergies like that are common and you should not be rejected for it. I know many people with common allergies and they got in with no problems.

 

[fleeingjam]

Dude, after calling the rejection letter authors (who deserve a nobel prize) it can be concluded that the forces will not take ANY chance with a disease or allegry. And yeah, sure you may think this is stupid but there are actually bee's on afghanistan, and your bud may get stung and become a strain on his unit.

But good luck anyways.

P.S i think he can get needles once in a lifetime which can protect him against bad influence from Bee stings.

 

[Torlyn]

Dude, after calling the rejection letter authors (who deserve a nobel prize) it can be concluded that the forces will not take ANY chance with a disease or allegry. And yeah, sure you may think this is stupid but there are actually bee's on afghanistan, and your bud may get stung and become a strain on his unit.

But good luck anyways.

P.S i think he can get needles once in a lifetime which can protect him against bad influence from Bee stings.

Nope, you can't.  (The needle aspect.  Impossible to counteract that particular allergic reaction in such a fashion)  And why should the forces take chances?

T

 

[dekingston]

I am wondering about allergies. I have two which are to pork and ragweed pollen, personally I think that they are not to serious. How would that affect my medical. I know the pork can be avoided in most cases, and the pollen is a seasonal thing.

 

[m_a_c]

Just wanted to find out some information.  My wife is looking to join the reserves, she has a severe allergy to Cashews, that's it for anything serious.  Will the CF have an issue with that during the recruiting process?  Can she still join?  I know people in the CF with severe bee allergies who carry the needle kit and there seems to be no problem with that.  Thank you for your help. 

 

[X Royal]

Although I don't claim to know the answer as far as recruitment goes I am a first aid /cpr instructor. With allergic reactions an epi-pen will provide relief although it maybe only temporary. It is always highly advisable to seek medical  help as soon as possible after using an epi-pen. The history you have given shows that your next reaction could possibly be even more severe. Also the conditions you will face in the infantry are not the best for keeping the epi-pen in good shape(ie:extreme hot & cold and extreme physical activity). If you were to break your epi-pen than got stung you could be in real trouble. I would guess that the Medical Officer would investigate  his situation very closely.

Good Luck

 

[jbeach95]

I worked with someone last summer who is reg force infantry and is allergic to bee stings. He just carried an EpiPen (or a few) with him and let everyone know about his allergy.

 

[Northern Touch]

Just wanted to find out some information.  My wife is looking to join the reserves, she has a severe allergy to Cashews, that's it for anything serious.  Will the CF have an issue with that during the recruiting process?  Can she still join?  I know people in the CF with severe bee allergies who carry the needle kit and there seems to be no problem with that.  Thank you for your help. 

MY first medical was turned down because I had a "suspected" a16 year old allergy to walnuts.  I was told because they use nut products in the IMP's I wouldn't be able to eat them and therefor I was turned down.  I had to get a note from my doctor and allergiest saying I was no longer allergic to the nut.  Your wife should still go ahead and see what they say at the recruiting center, but there is a possibility her hitting a snag in the recruiting process.

 

[MyDreamCrashing]

Hello, I've wanted to join the Canadian forces for a long time now. I finally get to my test aptitude test. I passed. Now, it time for my interview it went surprisingly well. But, when I finally got to the medical. The doctor asked about my allergy. I said I was deadly allergic to peanuts and I get a small rash if I eat crab. Sadly he tells me my chances of joining the reserves forces are low. I am seriously heart broken. This is the only thing I ever wanted in my life. I am cursed with these allergy and my chances don't seem too high. I did the physical test I passed everything except for the grippe test. I doubt my chances of joining are good anymore. Well, I just wanted too know if you guys would think I had a good chance of joining.

 

[kincanucks]

Sorry no.

 

[chriscalow]

Have you been on allergy shots?  I know my mom developed a pretty bad allergy to bananas.  Her throat would close up and all that..  She went on allergy shots.  Its been a few years, she went in for an allergy test and surprisingly it came back saying she no longer had any reaction to bananas (as well as several of her smaller allergies).  She now eats bananas with no problem.  I know this is just one person and how they reacted to treatment, but if its your burning desire to serve, then maybe its worth looking into?  Hope this helps.

 

[Dreadnought]

Hey man read my post on the medical rejection letter.  Its in this section.  I too have a slight allergy to crab atleast I think I do.  I just said that one time when I ate crab I think I got a rash. Basically my medical was rejected and now I have to go see an allergist to get cleared.  So my suggestion is that you book you allergist appointment right now because I wasted my time waiting for that dang rejection letter to come in before I booked mine.  And you know how our med system works so it will be awhile before you get an appointment with an allergist.  My career choice is dwindling before my eyes as well , I know how you feel man.  But suck it up and good luck with everything.  Just remember that other people had it worst.

 

[Bograt]

Please excuse this question, and I do not mean to hijack your thread. When I was in school, I never met anyone who was allergic to peanuts. Is this a recent development in human evolution? I do not mean to minimize this condition, but it appears a lot of people are allergic to peanuts or sea food. What causes this?

 

[Torlyn]

The doctor asked about my allergy. I said I was deadly allergic to peanuts and I get a small rash if I eat crab. Sadly he tells me my chances of joining the reserves forces are low.

Is there any logic behind this? Is there actually a legit reason that a person cannot get into the forces because of a peanut allergy or a crap meat allergy? Are people force fed crab and peanut butter in BMQ? From the outside, it seems kinda wacky to not let someone in for that reason.

Pieman et al,

Pursuant to our discussion last night, I couldn't find the information, but I'm sure I saw it here somewhere.  The IMP's contain nuts or traces of nuts, thus would eliminate any potential employee who has said allergy.  Sorry.

Bograt: Peanut allergies are relatively new, same with the current increases in asthma and related breathing problems in children.  (I used to work at the Children's Hospital)  They are also so infrequent that I can understand why the military is unwilling to cater to these needs.  (No offence to those allergic)  Check out http://www.allerg.qc.ca/peanutallergy.htm , it's got some great factual information.

T

 

[rmc22208]

Is there actually a legit reason that a person cannot get into the forces because of a peanut allergy or a crap meat allergy?

The forces medical standards are based on the premises that it is possible to be deployed in forward operating areas where no medical assistance is available.

There is a number of policies that have been developed over the year to make sure people that are hired are not put in that kind of situation if they have a one of the "specific" known health conditions.  (I don't know the exact list)

By no means, I am not trying to excuse the system for applying strict medical hiring policies, but from my experience this would be the logic behind the rigidity of enrollment rules for allergic conditions.  I recalled from my training in CTC Gagetown, I guy that was allergic to peas had to be hello-out because his allergic reaction caused him to choke.  If this would have been an operation where no med support was quickly available, his life could have been in real danger.

I hope you best in trying to remedy this situation.  One thing you may want to discuss with your family physician is to get tested for these allergies, to see the severity of your reactions.  If the results are favourable, this might be of help.  Carefull, this is not a medical advice, consult your doctor for that matter.

 

[DFW2T]

Wow...that blows.  Back in 97-98 I "missed the cut" for a tour in Bosnia only to find out a fella with a hand carried breathing apparatus  went on tour.  As I remember,  a lot of people (who also missed the cut) were a little torqued, to say the least.  This person was reserve and the guys I'm referrring to were Reg...so I don't understand....maybe the rules and regs have changed for resevists.

 

[carpediem]

Anecdotally, there seems to be more allergies, especially peanuts, and awareness about them now then when you (and even more so, me) were in elementary school.

There are a lot of theories as to why this may be the case, be very critical of what you read. However, for those of us who don't harbour conspiracy theories here are two mainstream websites, the first being the government of Ontario, with some information.  It seems allergies are quite common, about one or two people in every hundred.

As many people have mentioned, the best thing to do in these cases is to go see your doctor, preferrably a specialist in the field (an allergist). Diagnosis made when one is young may have changed in adulthood. Go see your doctor!

Sites:

Ontario Govt http://www.healthyontario.com/english/news_details.asp?channel_id=0&text_id=1041 ( "Peanut allergies may not be permanent"

http://www.anaphylaxis.org/index.asp

On a personal note: From my experience with my own children, Dr. Ham-Pong (Department of Pediatrics, University of Ottawa; consultant, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario; private practitioner.) here in Ottawa was very good. (Goggle his name for lots of articles and info).

 

[Northern Touch]

The doctor asked about my allergy. I said I was deadly allergic to peanuts and I get a small rash if I eat crab. Sadly he tells me my chances of joining the reserves forces are low.

Is there any logic behind this? Is there actually a legit reason that a person cannot get into the forces because of a peanut allergy or a crap meat allergy? Are people force fed crab and peanut butter in BMQ? From the outside, it seems kinda wacky to not let someone in for that reason.

I was also turned away the first tiem for a "suspected" allergy to walnuts.  I went to an allergist, got a note saying I wans't allergic anymore and that cleared everythign up.  On my rejection letter, (which I thought I kept, but I can't find at the moment) it said something along the lilnes that a nut allergy or any other possible allergy will place medical restrictions on your file.  Why?  Well, its simple, what happens if your deployed and you come accross some peanuts or get stung by a bee and have a serious medical reaction?

Plus, on Ex's what is it your eating?  IMP's.  Now some of those IMP's could very well be made with nut products.  So now, your in a forward operating area with nothing to eat but an IMP that your deathly allergic to.  That isn't very good news for you, the rest of your section/platoon and the forces.

Ya it sucks, but I can totally understand it.  Especially with the amount of foods that are made wiht nut products today.  You would be surprised to see how many things are made with peanut oil and other nutty stuff.  I think its more along the lines that it "could" happen, and then you become a liability.  Thats just my 2 cents tho.

 

[Kendrick]

"It could happen" indeed.  When I joined up I needed a dental surgeon's note, because I was finishing up an ortho treatment, and the report noted a possible need for light surgery to remove teeth or something.  Such a thing would have been quite a liability in the field.

Also, for allergies, I've seen quite a few allergic to wasp and bee stings, and walk around with a special medical thing (a shot of some sort) in case it would happen.  Isn't there a similar thing for other allergies?