Urticaria (Hives)/angioedema/cellulitis

[Vync]

I'm doing some initial research regarding possible claims so I wanted to toss this out to the Hadit team to see if anyone has any advice or recommendations.

I am SC for chronic allergies and depression secondary to chronic joint pain. Last year I started having problems with urticaria (hives), angioedema, and cellulitis. All of it began within a few weeks of each other and I have had problems since.

Urticaria/Hives

The hives start out as itchy areas on my torso, arms, legs, or in crevices (under arms, groin). Eventually I get raised whelps which are warm to touch and itch like crazy. They begin to expand and literally make their way across my body. Some are up to a foot in length. They subside after a few days, but usually pop back up and the cycle repeats again.

Angioedema

During or after the hive breakouts, I have had swelling of my fingers, hands, wrists, and my throat (landed me in intensive care for almost a week).

Cellulitis

So far, this has been limited to my groin area and has occurred a few times causing swelling and pain.

I sought treatment from the VA allergy specialists and they took me off of a lot of my medications, upped my antihistamines, added prednisone, and I tested negative for hereditary angioedema. Even after being off the meds, the problems persist, so the docs are slowly working me back on my regular medications.

My wife noticed that when I am stressed, which is mostly due to the chronic pain, I tend to have more episodes. We have been documenting the episodes and have taken photos.

I know that if I wanted to file a claim, I would need a nexus from a doc saying these are related. I will need to go back through my service records to see if I have and related records. Does anyone have any experience or recommendations regarding claims for these issues?

Thanks

[carlie]

I'm doing some initial research regarding possible claims so I wanted to toss this out to the Hadit team to see if anyone has any advice or recommendations.

Angioedema

During or after the hive breakouts, I have had swelling of my fingers, hands, wrists, and my throat (landed me in intensive care for almost a week).

If I remember right - Hoppy has this one down pat and would be the most knowledgeable member

for info.

[Rob m]

I have a claim in for Urticaria, but have not recieved a decision yet. One thing I have found that works for me, is to wipe hand sanitizer (germ x) on the affected areas. I am not a doctor and not reccomending this, just letting you know what helps me, it might help relieve some of your pain.

Rob

Edited January 25, 2013 by Rob m

[broncovet]

This Vet got raised from 20% to 40% for urticaria:

http://www.va.gov/vetapp03/files/0307711.txt

This Vet apparently got an award for angioedema:

http://www.va.gov/vetapp10/files4/1039587.txt

A problem is that, when you are 90%, the fuzzy math means you have to have an additional 50% to get to 100%.

Edited January 25, 2013 by broncovet

[Papa]

I have Hereditary Angioedema. Unfortunately, when I went into the service, no one had ever heard of this disease. Now, more and more Doctors have begun to recognize it. I will not bore anyone with my problems I had in the military, but do wish you the best of luck. I could never understand how any disease that can cause a person to die would be rated at only 40%.

Papa