What can I claim secondary to blepharitis?
1 condition in the Repatriation Medical Authority's Statements of Principles list blepharitis as a factor. If DVA has accepted your blepharitis, each of these has a documented pathway to a further claim.
At a glance
- Accepted conditionBlepharitis
- Conditions it may open1
- SourceRMA SoPs
- Chart Review$600 + GST
How a secondary claim works
Some Statement of Principles factors are not about service at all — they name another condition. Where DVA has already accepted your blepharitis, and another condition's SoP lists blepharitis as a factor, that part of the next claim is already established on your file. How a secondary claim works, in full →
Conditions that list blepharitis as a factor
Quoted from the instrument. A pathway existing is not the same as a claim succeeding — each factor carries thresholds your record has to satisfy.
Conjunctivitis
RH No. 76 of 2020 · BoP No. 77 of 2020
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (1): “having blepharitis of the affected eye at the time of the clinical onset of conjunctivitis” [clinical onset] — factor (19): “having blepharitis of the affected eye at the time of the clinical worsening of conjunctivitis” [worsening]
Balance of Probabilities — factor (1): “having blepharitis of the affected eye at the time of the clinical onset of conjunctivitis” [clinical onset] — factor (19): “having blepharitis of the affected eye at the time of the clinical worsening of conjunctivitis” [worsening]
Other accepted conditions that also open conjunctivitis
If any of these is also on your file, it reaches some of the same conditions blepharitis does.
What DVA means by blepharitis
A claim is tested against the definition first. If the diagnosis on your file does not meet this wording, the factors below never get reached — so it is worth checking that what your doctor wrote matches what the instrument requires.
Blepharitis, for the purposes of the Statement of Principles, for the purposes of this Statement of Principles, blepharitis: (a) means inflammation of the eyelid margins or glands of the eyelid; and (b) includes acute blepharitis, chronic blepharitis, chalazion (Meibomian cyst) and hordeolum (stye); and (c) excludes orbital or periorbital cellulitis, dacryoadenitis and dacryocystitis.
Note the exclusion. This instrument expressly excludes orbital or periorbital cellulitis, dacryoadenitis and dacryocystitis. A diagnosis of that is not a diagnosis of blepharitis, and a claim framed the wrong way fails on the definition before any factor is considered.
Aggravation-only factors. In this instrument, subsections 9(18) to 9(33) apply only to material contribution to, or aggravation of, blepharitis where it was already present before or during service. If service caused blepharitis outright, those factors are not available to you.
RH No. 29 of 2019 · BoP No. 30 of 2019 · 29 factors
What could support a claim for blepharitis?
The Statement of Principles for blepharitis names 5 other conditions among its own factors. If any of these is already accepted on your file, it may be the factor that carries a blepharitis claim — quoted here from the instrument.
Smallpox
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (4): “having a smallpox immunisation within the two weeks before the clinical onset of blepharitis” [clinical onset]
Balance of Probabilities — factor (3): “having a smallpox immunisation within the two weeks before the clinical onset of blepharitis” [clinical onset]
Seborrhoeic dermatitis
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (5): “having seborrhoeic dermatitis of the periocular region at the time of the clinical onset of blepharitis” [clinical onset]
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (21): “having seborrhoeic dermatitis of the periocular region at the time of the clinical worsening of blepharitis” [worsening]
Psoriasis
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (7): “having psoriasis of the periocular region at the time of the clinical onset of blepharitis” [clinical onset]
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (23): “having psoriasis of the periocular region at the time of the clinical worsening of blepharitis” [worsening]
Discoid lupus erythematosus
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (8): “having discoid lupus erythematosus of the periocular region at the time of the clinical onset of blepharitis” [clinical onset]
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (24): “having discoid lupus erythematosus of the periocular region at the time of the clinical worsening of blepharitis” [worsening]
Diabetes mellitus
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (15): “having diabetes mellitus at the time of the clinical onset of blepharitis” [clinical onset]
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (31): “having diabetes mellitus at the time of the clinical worsening of blepharitis” [worsening]
Reviewed by Dr Thomas Perkins
Founding doctor, Veterans Health Centre · former RAAF aviation medical officer · 13 years working exclusively with ADF members and veterans. Full profile →
Blepharitis accepted?
Contact us for more information.