Can you join the military with easily controlled/managed breathing allergies?

Is it normal for kids with allergies to sound like they are breathing heavily at times?

• My 4 year old has awful allergies, but has never been diagnosed with or seemed to have asthma. He;s been in good health lately, allergies are terrible where I live, even though I don't see a lot of drainage, every once in a while I'll notice his breathing sounds a bit heavy. He's always been a bit of a mouth breather because he has allergies and sometimes slightly enlarged tonsils. I am considering calling the doc, I just hate to because 1-I only notice it now every now and then, for instance when he got up this a.m., but 5 minutes later he was fine, so the odds of a doctor actually hearing it are low 2)He has had appointments 3 weeks in a row-he sees an ENT, he has ear tubes, then he saw the eye doctor, he has strabismus, and then his neurologist for his low muscle tone-he is actually a pretty normal kid but has I guess a lot of minor, non breathing related stuff going on. So yeah, I don't want to put him through one more trip if its nothing, but don't want to be wrong, either?

• Answer:

  I would be worried as well and all I can give you is my opinion based on what I, having been mother of a child with multiple issues, would do. I wouldn't do anything about it right now, but I would certainly keep it on the back burner to watch and follow up on. His low muscle tone might be contributing to labored breathing when he wakes up, or might even be the cause of it. Ask his pediatrician next time you see him. Of course, if his breathing significantly and rapidly worsens, you'll get him to the doctor immediately. I would want to tackle those allergies as soon as possible because bad allergies are a terrible drain on overall health and can affect a child's ability to learn (my experience with my child). And they can lead to the development of asthma as time goes on, though not always. I think my daughter was 7-8 when she underwent her first series of immunotherapy shots which had to be repeated after some years. My best to you and your child.