Citation Nr: 21002414 Decision Date: 01/13/21 Archive Date: 01/13/21 DOCKET NO. 17-01 238 DATE: January 13, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to an initial compensable rating for eczema prior to September 25, 2018 and a rating in excess of 10 percent rating thereafter is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from March 1969 to October 1970. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a July 2015 rating decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran testified at a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in January 2020. A transcript of the hearing is associated with the claims file. The issue is entitlement to a clothing allowance will be addressed in a separate decision. Entitlement to an initial compensable rating for eczema prior to September 25, 2018 and a rating in excess of 10 percent rating thereafter. The Veteran was afforded a relevant VA examination in September 2018. However, the record indicates that, since that examination the Veteran’s symptoms associated with his service-connected skin disability may have worsened. Specifically, at the Veteran’s January 2020 Board hearing, he reported that his symptoms cover at least 40 percent of his body. He further stated that the symptoms have an impact on his daily living due to the itching and burning sensation. He also reported flareups, which resulted in him seeking emergency room treatment. As such, the record indicates that the Veteran’s skin disability may have worsened since his last examination. Therefore, the Board finds that a remand is necessary in order to afford the Veteran a contemporaneous VA examination so as to determine the current nature and severity of his skin disability. See Snuffer v. Gober, 10 Vet. App. 400 (1997). The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Schedule the Veteran for an appropriate VA examination so as to determine the current level of severity of his eczema. The record, to include a copy of this Remand, should be provided to the examiner, and all necessary tests should be conducted. The examiner should describe the nature and severity of all manifestations of the Veteran’s skin disability since October 15, 2012, the date service connection was granted. The examiner should note the percentage of the entire body and exposed areas affected of by his skin disorder. If the examiner determines that the Veteran experiences flare-ups or additional symptoms of his skin disability, but they are not observable at the current time, he or she should estimate the entire body and exposed areas affected of such skin disability when it is in an active phase. The examiner should also identify all medications used by the Veteran for treatment of his service-connected skin disability, to include triamcinolone acetonide, fluocinonide, ammonium lactate, as identified in VA treatment records, and indicate whether each is a systemic therapy, i.e., affecting the body as a whole, or is like or similar to corticosteroids, phototherapy, retinoids, biologics, photochemotherapy, PUVA, or other immunosuppressive drugs. In offering such opinion, please be advised that systemic therapy is defined as treatment that is administered through any route (orally, injection, suppository, intranasally) other than the skin. The examiner should also describe the functional impact of the Veteran’s skin disability. A rationale for any opinion offered should be provided. C. CRAWFORD Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Brennae L. Brooks, Associate Counsel The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.