Claim Raven explanation
What this means
VA must decide allergic conditions from the full evidence and may not routinely dismiss asthma, urticaria, or another allergic disease as merely constitutional or developmental.
The rule requires an individualized evidentiary determination of incurrence or aggravation. It rejects categorical assumptions in both directions: an allergic disease is not automatically developmental, and a temporary seasonal reaction is not automatically a chronic service-connected disability.
How this helps your claim
If the condition existed before service, VA compares severity at entry with the later course. An increase during service cannot automatically be labeled natural progress or an inherent feature of the disease. Seasonal or acute reactions that resolve when the allergen is absent are generally treated as acute unless the full record shows lasting disability.
What to check in your records
Compare pre-service, entrance, in-service, and post-service evidence for triggers, frequency, severity, treatment, and residual impairment.
- Gather entrance and pre-service records showing whether an allergic condition or symptoms were already present.
- Create an in-service timeline of exposures, attacks, medication, restrictions, emergency care, and changes in frequency or severity.
- Document whether symptoms resolved after an allergen was removed or continued with chronic residuals after service.
Describe the pattern over time
Record the suspected allergen, setting, duration, treatment, and recovery for each material episode. This helps distinguish an isolated reaction from a lasting change in the disease.
When aggravation is at issue, compare functional limits and treatment needs before and during service. A medical opinion is more useful when it explains whether the change exceeded the expected course.
Can VA deny asthma simply because allergies can be constitutional?
No. The regulation says allergic diseases may not be routinely disposed of as constitutional or developmental. VA must evaluate the whole record for incurrence or aggravation.
Official regulatory text
38 CFR § 3.380
eCFR snapshot: 2026-09-17. Layout and spacing are adapted for reading. The full section and its tables are included below.
§ 3.380 Diseases of allergic etiology.
Diseases of allergic etiology, including bronchial asthma and urticaria, may not be disposed of routinely for compensation purposes as constitutional or developmental abnormalities. Service connection must be determined on the evidence as to existence prior to enlistment and, if so existent, a comparative study must be made of its severity at enlistment and subsequently. Increase in the degree of disability during service may not be disposed of routinely as natural progress nor as due to the inherent nature of the disease. Seasonal and other acute allergic manifestations subsiding on the absence of or removal of the allergen are generally to be regarded as acute diseases, healing without residuals. The determination as to service incurrence or aggravation must be on the whole evidentiary showing.
[26 FR 1592, Feb. 24, 1961]
Related references
- 38 CFR § 3.303: VA service connection explained
- 38 CFR § 3.306: VA aggravation of a preexisting condition
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