[Sociomedical implications of the inability to commute in patients with cold urticaria]

Abstract

One of the important functions of the dermatologist working within a social medicine framework is the determination of social security disability benefits. The primary decision deals with the question which type of work the applicant can be asked to do and to what extent. Depending on the results of the medical assessment, social security disability benefits may be approved given that other insurance criteria specific to the applicant have been met. The following case demonstrates for the first time that a significant idiopathic cold urticaria leads to a severe constraint on keeping employment due to the inability to commute. The scenario shows that the cold urticaria severely restricts social and professional interactions and that the reduced ability to commute to the place of employment must receive special consideration within the context of a sociomedical evaluation.