Berta

Berta, I'm trying to help a veteran with a skin disease who got out of the Army in 1980. We're going to a veterans'claims clinic in 2 weeks and I'm not sure how to approach service connection for his disease. 

He was stationed in Panama and spent a lot of time in their jungles training under harsh conditions while immersed in water and where he got Tinea and jock itch. The term the soldiers used was "jungle rot". He has been attempting to claim his skin disease using the term "jungle rot", but has been turned down. 

One annotation in his records at the time called his disease "resistant Tinea of arms and legs". Other descriptions are: darkly hyperpigmented, scarred, papular, Erythema, excoriated, rashes, lesions appear to be resolving, folliculitis, pruitic lesions,  Moniliasus.

He still has a chronic skin disease. His medical records at VA mention Tinea, hyperpigmentation and rashes, but keep mentioning that the rashes are "possibly" due to chronic herpetic neuritis/ganglionitis.

How can I service connect this? Should I claim this under CFR 38, code 7813 Dermatitis and avoid the "chronic herpetic neuritis/ganglionitis annotations and also claim scars for the hyperpigmentation? Can I claim other areas of the body where the disease has spread? This veteran has already gone to a dermatology who said she didn't know this is. Please help.