How would this stop me from working in the army?

ok so im female and fit compared to the average girl I train everyday, can do 14 chin ups etc I enjoy the active lifestyle thats why i wanted to join the army. Ive applied to the TA's (since im studying nursing at the moment) but over the phone they asked if ive any medical problems. The only thing i have is chronic rhinitis which is basically like hayfever but all year round and nasal polyps it started 2 years ago but i tested negatve for allergies. I take a nasal steroid spray and it doesnt stop me from doing anything its more a nuisance to me more than anything. The recruiter spoke to a nurse, rang me back and said that cause its an ongoing thing i cant join.

What I dont get though is how would it stop me from doing anything in the army? People join the army wearing glasses and i would have thought good eye sight is better than a perfect nose lol. You can aim and shoot with a bad nose but not poor eye sight. If its a matter of needing a nasal spray well i wouldnt die without it I could go a few weeks before symptoms would bother me. The same cant be said for glasses. Also in relaity im sure people use inhalers/sprays in the army ive heard of people being precribed them.

Just wanted opinions/advice

I dont want to work on a ward all my life i want an active lifestyle so do you know any careers that are similar to the army??

Anything which requires constant, ongoing treatment is generally a no-no with all the Forces - and you can't compare them to glasses.

With your condition you don't know how the symptoms are going to react. Sure here if you went a few days/weeks without treatment it's not too bad. But what about when you're on ops, only getting 5/6hrs a sleep everyday, are run down and in a foreign country with potentially drastically different weather and general climate? You can't predict how/if you'll cope. Neither can the Forces. but they will look at it as an unnecessary risk.

It's the same with mild asthma, they won't even let you work in a non-combatant job if you've has symptons in the last three years

You can argue all you like - if it is on the list of not allowed medical conditions, you are not getting in - sorry.

People who are serving and using medication did not have those conditions upon joining. Once they are trained it would be too expensive to throw them out, although the PAP10 path of throwing people out who can't deploy is being used a lot more now.
They won't recruit people with those conditions as they are a higher risk of worsening than those who don't have them. It isn't the cost of the treatment but the fact that the condition requires treatment that is the problem. The Forces fills the places with healthy people every year, so they don't need to take a risk on those who are are not fully fit and free from conditions needing treatment.
I know you don't want to hear that, but the other two Services tend to have the same criteria as well.

It wasnt on the list when the recruiter looked he said that he asked one of the nurses there and she made a decision then he rang me back. It wasnt an army doctor that said no it was a TA unit nurse. Not being fully fit means things that affect your duties like asthma (it affects running), diabetes and Id say poor eye sight because some people i train with have trouble seeing over 100m lol, how is this classed as fully fit in a battle? They might not require medication but they need glasses and will never have good eye sight. Im trying to understand it not argue. There are people in the army that I would be more medically fit than or at less risk so its not that I couldnt do the job.

It wasnt on the list when the recruiter looked he said that he asked one of the nurses there and she made a decision then he rang me back. It wasnt an army doctor that said no it was a TA unit nurse. Not being fully fit means things that affect your duties like asthma (it affects running), diabetes and Id say poor eye sight because some people i train with have trouble seeing over 100m lol, how is this classed as fully fit in a battle? They might not require medication but they need glasses and will never have good eye sight. Im trying to understand it not argue. There are people in the army that I would be more medically fit than or at less risk so its not that I couldnt do the job.

In.
Your.
Opinion.



Which, in this instance, counts for precisely sod all. Sorry.

http://www.raf.mod.uk/careers/rafcms/mediafiles/8AC4A6D0_5056_A318_A8628AA28D2D8DAE.pdf

That is the RAF list - the other Services are very similar. Your condition is on there.

Your definition of 'fit' is not the same as the military one. Your view of glasses is not correct and comparing it with your condition is not sensible. They know how eyes would react to a chemical or biological attack, but as for your condition? No idea, but probably very bad.
Things are on the list of prohibited conditions for a reason and they are very well founded. None of us here are sufficiently trained in military medicine to explain this to you, but neither are you. Your medical condition is a bar to entry and we can't explain ot to your satisfaction - sorry.

Eyesight requiring corrective lenses is not an ongoing treatment, it does not alter dependant on environment. Once wearing glasses the individual is no different to any other. Your condition differs because you actively require the nasal treatment on a regular basis and how it reacts to adverse weather/climates is unknown and potentially debilitating.

http://www.raf.mod.uk/careers/rafcms/mediafiles/8AC4A6D0_5056_A318_A8628AA28D2D8DAE.pdf

That is the RAF list - the other Services are very similar. Your condition is on there.

It's alright OP, spend enough time in Kandahar and you'll want to stop taking the nasal spray so you don't have to tolerate the stench.

Go and be an Adventurous training instructor, work for Outward Bound or some place like that.

One of my cadets got rejected as he had asthma as a child but because he was still prescribed inhalers until less than 5 years ago he was rejected and told to reapply when the five years was up. The reason is a clear one, if he was out on operations and his medication ran out or was lost and he has an asthma attack, he is now a liability. The same can be said for hayfever, if you run out of medication in a foreign climate full of pollen or things that cause it to flare up, how can you operate effectively? How can they get the medication to you quickly? Glasses are completely different, your life is not threatened if you lose them whilst out in theatre. It's harsh as yes, serving personnel can contract conditions that require medication but by not recruiting those with the conditions you minimise the risk.

It's a reliance on medication, regardless of symptoms, their effect or timescale. Just because it doesn't affect you badly doesn't mean others are the same and if they bend the rules for you then they must for everyone. I know it's difficult but you wanted to know why it would stop you from joining and that is the reason. I was told that if I had a reliance on any medication for any condition I would be hard pressed to join.