Pseudofolliculitis Barbae

[Airmankbrown]

Hello,

I am new here. I have pseudofolliculitis barbae and I had a shaving waiver every month in the military. I didn't keep my shaving waiver because I wasn't aware that it counted for disability at the time. I ordered my medical history but waivers are not included in it. Can I still get disability for pseudofolliculitis barbae? How do i go about doing it?

[NavyWife]

Do you have a company copy of your service medical records?

Is there ANYTHING Mentioning your issue? Even a single sentence? Symptoms or a diagnosis of this issue.

If there is absolutely nothing in your records to indicate you had this issue while in service, you may look into getting a buddy statement. If there was someone who served with you who could state what he observed, you Could submit that with your claim.

You'll also need a current diagnosis of the issue if you don't already have that.

[georgiapapa]

Each month while you had a waiver for PFB you should have been issued a OAFB form 183 "Stubble Growth Control Card" which was issued by the PFB/Shaving Clinic, signed by the clinic director, signed by your CO with a copy maintained by your first sergeant.

If you do not have your copies, copies should have been in your SMRs and in your regular company personnel records. If you did not specifically ask for records from the PFB/Shaving Clinic when you made a request for your SMRs, they might have been left out.

As NavyWife suggested, if you haven't already done so, get a copy of your company records which should include the shaving waiver cards and possibly other in house documentation of your PFB. I would not be surprised if you found documentation between the CO and first sergeant commenting about you PFB. Military personnel with PFB were sometimes given a hard time by their superiors because they felt like personnel who didn't shave did not present a professional appearance.

Also, as NavyWife suggested, get those buddy statements. Since you did not have to shave, you should have stood out like a sore thumb and your military buddies should have no problem remembering the guy that didn't have to shave.

Good luck to you and thank you for your service.

[Vync]

I was in the Army and they never issued me a stubble card, so that might have been something special for the Marines. It took a lot of digging, but did find a couple of entries in my service medical treatment records indicating that I was issued a shaving profile.

And on the funny side, one of the NCO's in my unit had a way of making everyone's business his business and did not like the fact that I had a shaving profile. I remember one day he pulled me aside and asked a CW4 if he thought I needed the profile. The Chief asked me to turn my head from side to side and then instructed sarge to leave me alone and go waste someone else's time.

[georgiapapa]

Marines and Navy personnel with PFB can receive a shaving waiver (NAVPERS form 1000/1) for 3 months at a time.

Army personnel use DA form 3349 (Army Shaving Profile) to provide a waiver for their personnel as long as they are being treated for PFB. One copy is provided to the soldier, one to the company commander and one copy goes in the SMR.

Vync, some Marine NCOs also gave marines with shaving waivers a hard time. They were always second guessing whether the waivers were justified.

[asheth007]

I tried to claim pseudofolliculitis-barbae and from my understanding it is difficult because just having shaving bumps on your face isn't enough or even the associated discomfort that can come with them. You need to have them on other parts of your body and I think the rating is determined on coverage of your body. I'll look at my C&P results

Edit 1: Getting it service connected isn't difficult getting a rating more than 0% is.

My VA findings state

Less than 5 percent of the entire body affected

Less than 5 percent of the exposed areas affected

A higher evaluation of 10 percent is not warranted unless there is:

-At least 5 percent, but less than 20 percent, of the entire body affected; or,

-At least 5 percent, but less than 20 percent, of the exposed areas of the body affected;or,

-Intermittent systemic therapy such as corticosteroids or other immunosuppressive drugs required for a total duration of less than six weeks during the past 12-month period.

Corticosteroids that are applied topically are not considered systemic for VA purposes.

I have been on prednisone(corticosteroid) for almost 3 years now and a year and a half when my exam was done for reference.

Edited October 29, 2014 by asheth007

[CKHodges]

Even if it was in your records...I doubt they would recognize the medical treatment. I've been fighting my skin condition for alomst three years now.