TurboVets is fully live. For support, please submit tickets in app.
Sign In to TurboVets
Your Data is Protected. Never Sold. Never Used for Profit.
Read our FAQ
6319
§ 4.88b Schedule of ratings—infectious diseases, immune disorders and nutritional deficiencies.

Ethmoid sinus cancer

Malignant neoplasm of ethmoid sinus

What the rating means

Lyme disease is rated under the General Rating Formula for Infectious Diseases. While the condition is active, it is rated at 100 percent. Once the active disease has resolved, the rating for the infection itself drops to 0 percent. At that point, VA rates any lasting problems caused by the infection separately, under the body system those problems affect. The regulation lists examples of residual disabilities that may be rated this way, including arthritis, Bell's palsy, radiculopathy, ocular dysfunction, and cognitive dysfunction. Each of those residuals would be evaluated under the rules for its own body system, which means the ratings that apply to them depend on the criteria for those separate conditions.

Evidence that helps

When the disease is still active, medical records showing an ongoing Lyme disease diagnosis support the 100 percent rating. Treatment records, lab results, and clinician notes documenting current signs and symptoms all speak to active disease. Once the disease has resolved, the evidence that matters most is documentation of any lasting effects. For arthritis, that could include imaging and range-of-motion findings. For Bell's palsy, exam findings showing facial nerve involvement. For radiculopathy, nerve conduction studies or reflex and sensory findings. For ocular or cognitive dysfunction, specialist evaluations. Your own statements, and statements from people who know you, describing how these residual problems affect your daily activities and work can also support the record for each affected body system.

Secondary conditions

Conditions that are often caused or made worse by this one. If you have any of these, they may be claimable as secondary service connection.