Article at a glance
- Many digestive conditions are claimable, from reflux and ulcers to irritable bowel and inflammatory bowel disease.
- They are often secondary conditions, caused by pain medication or by stress from a mental health condition.
- That makes them easy to miss, and easy to leave unclaimed.
- Treatment is covered through your Veteran Card once a condition is accepted.
Reflux, a stomach that never settles, ulcers, irritable bowel, a lot of veterans live with gut problems and never connect them to their service. But digestive conditions are claimable, and very often they are secondary to something you already have accepted, like the pain medication you take or the stress you carry.
This guide covers the digestive conditions veterans claim for, the secondary-condition angle that is so often missed, and how a claim is assessed. For the bigger picture, see the DVA medical conditions hub.
Digestive conditions veterans claim for
- Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) and chronic reflux
- Peptic and gastric ulcers, and gastritis
- Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and functional dyspepsia
- Inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis
- Diverticular disease and haemorrhoids
The secondary-condition angle
This is where a lot of veterans miss out. A digestive condition does not have to be caused directly by your service to be claimable, it can be caused by another condition you already have accepted. Two patterns come up again and again.
- Medication. Long-term anti-inflammatory and pain medication, the kind taken for an accepted back, joint or other condition, is a well-known cause of reflux, gastritis and ulcers. If the medication is for a service-related condition, the gut problem it causes can be claimed too.
- Stress and mental health. Conditions like PTSD, anxiety and depression are closely linked to gut problems such as irritable bowel and dyspepsia. Where an accepted mental health condition is driving the digestive symptoms, that can support a secondary claim.
How a digestive claim is assessed
Like any condition, a digestive claim is assessed against the relevant Statement of Principles. You will generally need a clear diagnosis, often supported by a specialist or investigations such as endoscopy, and where it is a secondary claim, evidence linking it to your accepted condition or medication. If liability is accepted, how the condition affects you, the symptoms, the treatment you need, and the impact on daily life, feeds into your impairment. Our guide on getting the right diagnosis covers what strong evidence looks like.
Getting treatment
Once a digestive condition is accepted, treatment is covered through your Veteran Card, from your GP and specialists to medication and ongoing management. As always, you do not need to wait for a claim to be finalised before seeing your GP, and a documented history of your symptoms helps your claim as well as your health.
Frequently asked questions
Often, yes. If you take long-term pain or anti-inflammatory medication for an accepted condition and it has caused a gut problem, that digestive condition can be claimed as a secondary condition. It’s a common path that veterans frequently overlook.
It can be. IBS is closely linked with stress and mental health conditions, so where an accepted condition like PTSD or anxiety is driving it, it may be claimable as a secondary condition. As with any claim, it’s assessed against the evidence.
A clear diagnosis with lung function testing, and a record of your relevant service exposures. The more clearly your exposure history and your symptoms over time are documented, the stronger the claim.