Skin conditions (dermatitis, eczema, psoriasis) Board decisions

The Board has determined that the veteran's neurodermatitis warrants a 50 percent rating, reflecting the severity of his condition as described by the medical evidence and testimony.

The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including a left wrist fracture, skin rash, low back condition, sleep disorder, lung condition with shortness of breath, and rheumatoid arthritis. The veteran's claims were based on direct evidence rather than any presumption or secondary relationship to service.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for chloracne, tinnitus, prostate cancer, and a psychosis. The claim for increased rating for degenerative changes of the fifth distal interphangeal joint of the right hand was also denied. The RO reduced the veteran's previously assigned 10% evaluation for pseudofolliculitis barbae condition but did not restore it.

The veteran's claims for headaches, skin disorder, circulatory disorder, and low back disorder were all denied. The veteran was granted a 10% evaluation for his headaches.

The veteran's service-connected disability does not materially contribute to his impairment of ability to prepare for, obtain, or retain employment consistent with his abilities, aptitudes, and interests. Therefore, he is not eligible for vocational rehabilitation training and self-employment assistance.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a skin disorder due to herbicide exposure, as well as his claim for an increased rating for shell fragment wound scars and his requests for earlier effective dates for service connection for PTSD and tinnitus.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for an effective date earlier than April 13, 1999 for a 100% rating for PTSD based on an initial award and denied his claims for increased ratings for bilateral pes planus with calluses and hammertoes and tinea pedis.

The Board found that the veteran's chloracne, which was previously diagnosed as sebaceous cysts and later changed to chloracne, is manifested by constant exudation, itching, and disfiguring scars without evidence of ulceration, extensive exfoliation or crusting. The disability does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.

The veteran's service-connected folliculitis is currently rated at 10 percent, and the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted based on the evidence of record.

The Board denied service connection for tinea versicolor and granted a 30 percent disability rating for hiatal hernia effective August 2, 2000. The veteran's symptoms of hiatal hernia were not well documented until the August 2000 VA examination.

The Board has denied the veteran's request to reopen his claim for service connection for dermatitis herpetiformis, finding that new and material evidence has not been presented. The claims file did not contain evidence linking any current dermatitis herpetiformis to the veteran's active service.

The Board finds that the veteran's acne vulgaris, hypertension, headaches, and back disorder are all service-connected as they were diagnosed during or shortly after his active duty.

The Board denied an increased rating for non-specific dermatitis of the hands, finding that the condition did not meet criteria for a higher rating based on extensive lesions without ulceration or systemic manifestations.

The VA denied an increased rating for the veteran's dermatophytosis, currently rated at 30%.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an increased rating for his psoriasis vulgaris, finding that the condition did not meet the criteria for a higher evaluation under the applicable diagnostic codes.

The Board has dismissed the veteran's appeal for reimbursement of a custom made recliner chair and denied his claim for reimbursement of a health membership fee. The veteran is service-connected for low back disability, psoriatic arthropathy, and psoriasis.

The veteran's appeal is about the evaluation of his service-connected tinea pedis and the rating for his bilateral hearing loss. The RO has granted service connection but assigned noncompensable ratings to both conditions. The veteran disagrees with these decisions, so the case is being remanded back to the RO for further action.

The veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of October 15, 1998, for the assignment of a total rating for compensation purposes based on individual unemployability was granted. The effective date was assigned due to his service-connected disabilities preventing him from engaging in substantially gainful employment.

The veteran's claim for service connection for tinea pedis was denied. The RO granted a 20% rating for central serous retinopathy, but later reduced it to 10%. The case is considered 'mixed' as some issues were granted and others not.

The veteran's claim for service connection for a skin disability has been reopened, and he is granted an increased rating of 10 percent for residuals of excision of a pilonidal cyst. The skin disability includes acne and folliculitis. The pilonidal cyst condition results in chronic ulceration that causes difficulty with sitting.