Nexus Letters for Veterans with Skin Conditions

How to Get a Nexus Letter for VA-ratable skin conditions like Rosacea, Psoriasis, and Vitiligo

When you think of getting help for service-related issues, your thoughts may immediately turn to PTSD or muscle pain. But the breadth of service-related issues reaches further than these commonalities. Even chronic skin conditions can be attributed to your service.

If you think your chronic skin condition may result from your time in the military, let’s talk about how to get help with a VA Nexus letter.

Nexus Letters for Veterans with Skin Conditions

The Link Between Service & Chronic Skin Conditions

Certain events during your service may have led to your current chronic skin condition. Chemical exposure can lead your skin to absorb the toxin into your body, causing health hazards, including chronic skin conditions. 

Meanwhile, chronic stress from service-related anxiety or PTSD can also exacerbate skin ailments.

There are several skin conditions common among Veterans, including:

• Rosacea: Characterized by a large collection of small red bumps on your cheeks and around your face. It may also create small, pus-filled blisters. Rosacea tends to flare up for a few weeks to a few months and can disappear on its own, though it often returns.
• Psoriasis: An immune-mediated disease that produces a scaly rash anywhere on your body. This happens when your immune system accelerates skin cell growth without telling your body to shed your existing skin, leading to a build-up of excess skin.
• Vitiligo: A pigmentation disorder where patients see small or large patches of skin slowly lose color. While vitiligo may be triggered by genetics or an autoimmune disorder, intense stress or trauma to your skin can also cause the condition.
  

Getting a Skin Condition Diagnosis Can Help

Many people with these types of skin conditions may not feel compelled to seek a diagnosis or treatment. However, a diagnosis for your chronic skin condition is the first step toward living more comfortably within your own skin. A doctor can reveal what treatment options are available to you and what you can do in your day-to-day life to better manage the symptoms.

Diagnosing skin conditions is a relatively simple process. Most doctors only need to look at the affected area to get a good idea of what the condition is. They’ll also ask for your medical history, possible allergic reactions that might be causing the condition, and other skin-affecting problems.

In some cases, your doctor may have to perform a skin biopsy or culture test to diagnose more complicated or nuanced conditions. You are then educated on next steps and optional treatments.

Why You Should Get a Nexus Letter for Your Skin Condition

A Nexus Letter is a document that makes the case that your condition is related to either direct, secondary, or presumptive service connections.

The Nexus letter can then be added to your VA claims file, which makes it much easier for Veterans to win their claim for medical compensation from your VA disabilty benefits. 

Benefits of Connecting with Veteran-Friendly Doctors

Every doctor should be sympathetic toward Veterans and the medical conditions they carry from their service. However, connecting with medical providers who have experience working with Veterans can help clients obtain a timely, professional, and positive resolution.

Telemedica’s network of medical professionals all have extensive experience helping Veterans obtain accurate and professional medical evidence. And with doctors licensed all across the US, you’re able to connect with a Veteran-friendly doctor near you, via telehealth appointment.

Take Back Control of Your Skin Condition

If you’re dealing with skin conditions as a result of your service, contact us today to talk to a member of our Customer Service team about getting started on your path to wellbeing.

To get help with your VA Nexus letter, Telemedica will match you with a medical professional qualified to diagnose your skin condition (or any other service-related condition). Once the provider has conducted a thorough review of your medical documents and related evidence (through what we call a chart review), they can draft a Nexus letter asserting the service connection to your condition, if warranted.