What Sorts Of Skin Diseases Might Qualify A Person For Social Security Disability?

Hidradenitis Suppurativa

Question: What are some skin problems that might qualify one for Social Security disability?

Answer: First, remember that I am not talking about everyone that may suffer from one of these problems. In general, I am only talking about people who have one of these problems in a major way and who is getting an inadequate response to medical treatment. Note the unpleasant picture to the left. It is not even all that bad as some of these skin conditions go.

Maybe the most common disabling skin condition is psoriasis. The vast majority of psoriasis cases, while unpleasant, are not close to being disabling. It’s the severe cases, especially those that badly affect the hands or feet.

A not uncommon cause of disability is something called hidradenitis suppurativa. Even if you don’t know anything about it, just the name sounds bad and it is. It causes severe boils in the arms pits and groin area. It is not an infection and does not respond to antibiotics or to surgery. In fact, this is one skin condition that seems to never respond to treatment. The unpleasant picture above is of a person suffering from this disease. It gets worse than this picture.

Dyshidrosis, including hyperhidrosis, is another one that we see from time to time. It is problems with the sweat glands, either sweating too much or too little. Both are major problems. Sweating way too much causes problems that can go way beyond the embarrassment of wet spots on the clothing. You can probably figure out that sweating too little can be dangerous.

Eczema is a common skin condition. Usually, it just covers a small area and is an annoyance. When it covers a large area, it can be devastating. Did you know that eczema can cause blindness? If the eczema covers the area around an eye, it also affects the eyeball, quickly causing blindness. There is little or no treatment when this happens.

There are others. I will list a few of them:Ichthyosis, Pemphigus, Erythema Multiforme Bullosum, Epidermolysis Bullosa, Bullous Pemphigoid, Dermatitis Herpetiformis, Chronic Skin infections, Atopic Dermatitis, Exfoliative Dermatitis, Allergic Contact Dermatitis and Xeroderma Pigmentosum.

Note again that a lot of them sound pretty bad even if you know nothing about them other than the name. Note also that it is not just anybody who has one of these conditions who will qualify. You have to be pretty bad off and not responding to treatment.