Reference: 38 CFR 4.104

Sources & Related Guides

What is the VA rating for Cold Injury Residuals?

Review Cold Injury Residuals guidance covering DC 7122's gate-symptom-plus-finding-count structure (10/20/30 percent, no explicit 0 percent tier), the third slice built from RSCH-040's confirmed 14-code DC 7110-7124 'Diseases of the Arteries and Veins' range.

Condition Overview & Clinical Scope

MOST IMPORTANT TO KNOW FIRST: DC 7122 has NO explicit 0 percent rating tier -- the gate symptom alone (arthralgia or other pain, numbness, or cold sensitivity, with zero additional findings) is a real 10 percent outcome, confirmed via two independent primary sources. This hub covers DC 7122 -- 1 of the 14 live diagnostic codes in 38 CFR 4.104's broader 'Diseases of the Arteries and Veins' range (DC 7110-7124), confirmed via RSCH-040's research. It is the third slice built from that range (alongside COND-041's DC 7120/7121), per RSCH-040's own recommended build order -- it is not comprehensive of the full arteries-and-veins schedule.

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Explore Cold Injury Residuals Criteria & Tools

Start AssessmentAnswer condition-scoped questions using documented findings from your records or exam notes.ContinuePercentage GuideSee the published percentage tiers and what changes between them.ContinueSecondary ConditionsSee conditions commonly connected to this one in VA claims.Continue

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Common Questions & FAQs

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What are you trying to understand about cold injury residuals?

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Overview

About this condition

MOST IMPORTANT TO KNOW FIRST: DC 7122 has NO explicit 0 percent rating tier -- the gate symptom alone (arthralgia or other pain, numbness, or cold sensitivity, with zero additional findings) is a real 10 percent outcome, confirmed via two independent primary sources. This hub covers DC 7122 -- 1 of the 14 live diagnostic codes in 38 CFR 4.104's broader 'Diseases of the Arteries and Veins' range (DC 7110-7124), confirmed via RSCH-040's research. It is the third slice built from that range (alongside COND-041's DC 7120/7121), per RSCH-040's own recommended build order -- it is not comprehensive of the full arteries-and-veins schedule.

Regulatory authority: 38 CFR 4.104, Diagnostic Code 7122

IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE, READ FIRST: DC 7122 has no 0 percent tier -- 10 percent is the floor once the gate symptom is documented. This hub explains the published DC 7122 schedule and common record language. It does not diagnose a condition, determine service connection, infer undocumented findings, estimate an outcome, or replace medical care or accredited representation. ADDITIONAL DISCLOSURES: (1) DC 7122's own Note (2) requires each affected PART (hand, foot, ear, or nose -- up to 7 possible parts, not just left/right extremities) to be evaluated separately and combined under 38 CFR 4.25, applying the bilateral factor (38 CFR 4.26) if applicable -- RatingScope collects each part's own finding independently but does NOT auto-compute the combined result across more than one part; this is disclosed for separate review. (2) DC 7122's own Note (1) (amputations of fingers/toes, squamous cell carcinoma at a cold injury scar, or peripheral neuropathy) is a pure cross-reference with no rating criteria of its own -- these must be rated separately under other diagnostic codes. (3) This hub covers only 1 of the 14 live diagnostic codes in the broader DC 7110-7124 'Diseases of the Arteries and Veins' range.

Percentage Guides

Understanding Your Percentage

Select a pathway to see what the published criteria ask about, what records may clarify it, and what should not be assumed.

10% (DC 7122, real floor -- not 0 percent)

Next: 20%

Arthralgia or other pain, numbness, or cold sensitivity, with no additional findings.

What separates the next level: 20 percent applies once exactly one additional finding (tissue loss, nail abnormalities, color changes, etc.) is also documented for that same part.

Review CFR criteria, examples, and evidence
Official CFR language
Arthralgia or other pain, numbness, or cold sensitivity -- 10.
Qualification explanation
Reached once the gate symptom is documented for an affected part, even with zero of the additional listed findings.
Examples
Records document cold sensitivity in the left foot following a documented cold-weather exposure, with no other associated findings.
Medical evidence
Cold Injury Protocol DBQ; Examination records documenting the gate symptom and any additional findings per affected part
Functional impact examples
Persistent cold sensitivity or numbness in the affected part, without additional tissue or structural changes.
Common misconceptions
Confirmed via two independent primary sources: DC 7122 has NO 0 percent tier at all. The gate symptom alone is a real, floor-level 10 percent outcome, never a 0 percent one.
Related topics
no-zero-tier
Source context
38 CFR 4.104; 7122; Current DC 7122 educational pathway. No pending rulemaking found touching this range (RSCH-040).

20% (DC 7122, middle tier)

Next: 30%

Arthralgia or other pain, numbness, or cold sensitivity, plus exactly one of the listed additional findings.

What separates the next level: 30 percent applies once two or more of the listed findings are documented instead of just one; 10 percent applies when the gate symptom is present with none of the listed findings.

Review CFR criteria, examples, and evidence
Official CFR language
Arthralgia or other pain, numbness, or cold sensitivity plus one of the following: tissue loss, nail abnormalities, color changes, locally impaired sensation, hyperhidrosis, anhydrosis, X-ray abnormalities (osteoporosis, subarticular punched-out lesions, or osteoarthritis), atrophy or fibrosis of the affected musculature, flexion or extension deformity of distal joints, volar fat pad loss in fingers or toes, avascular necrosis of bone, chronic ulceration, or carpal or tarsal tunnel syndrome -- 20.
Qualification explanation
Reached once the gate symptom plus exactly one of the 12 listed findings is documented for the affected part.
Examples
Records document cold sensitivity in the left ear along with a single documented finding of locally impaired sensation.
Medical evidence
Cold Injury Protocol DBQ; Clinical documentation of the one additional finding present
Functional impact examples
The gate symptom accompanied by exactly one documented tissue, structural, or neurological change in the affected part.
Common misconceptions
This is a per-PART tier -- if more than one part reaches this tier (or any tier), DC 7122's own Note (2) requires separate evaluation and combination, not a single shared 20 percent result.
Related topics
multipart-combination
Source context
38 CFR 4.104; 7122; Current DC 7122 educational pathway.

30% (DC 7122, ceiling tier)

Highest listed pathway

Arthralgia or other pain, numbness, or cold sensitivity, plus two or more of the listed additional findings.

What separates the next level: 20 percent applies with exactly one of the listed findings instead of two or more.

Review CFR criteria, examples, and evidence
Official CFR language
Arthralgia or other pain, numbness, or cold sensitivity plus two or more of the following: tissue loss, nail abnormalities, color changes, locally impaired sensation, hyperhidrosis, anhydrosis, X-ray abnormalities (osteoporosis, subarticular punched-out lesions, or osteoarthritis), atrophy or fibrosis of the affected musculature, flexion or extension deformity of distal joints, volar fat pad loss in fingers or toes, avascular necrosis of bone, chronic ulceration, or carpal or tarsal tunnel syndrome -- 30.
Qualification explanation
Reached once the gate symptom plus two or more of the 12 listed findings are documented for the affected part.
Examples
Records document cold sensitivity in the right hand along with documented nail abnormalities and X-ray-confirmed osteoporosis.
Medical evidence
Cold Injury Protocol DBQ; X-ray or clinical documentation of the specific additional findings
Functional impact examples
The gate symptom accompanied by multiple documented tissue, structural, or neurological changes in the affected part.
Common misconceptions
This is a per-PART ceiling -- if more than one part reaches this tier (or any tier), DC 7122's own Note (2) requires separate evaluation and combination, not a single shared 30 percent result.
Related topics
multipart-combination
Source context
38 CFR 4.104; 7122; Current DC 7122 educational pathway.

Learn

Understand the details behind the criteria

Use these short guides to connect published terms with the records and observations that may clarify them.

DC 7122 has no 0 percent tier (read this first)

Unlike many diagnostic codes in this repository, DC 7122 has NO explicit 0 percent rating row. The gate symptom (arthralgia or other pain, numbness, or cold sensitivity) alone, with zero additional findings, is a real 10 percent outcome -- the floor.

  • Confirmed via two independent primary sources -- there is no lower tier to fall back to once the gate symptom is documented for an affected part.
  • If the gate symptom itself is not present for a given part, that part is simply not affected by DC 7122 -- there is no partial or zero-percent 'affected but asymptomatic' state for this code.

Records to review: Cold Injury Protocol DBQ.

More than one affected part and the §4.25/§4.26 combination requirement

DC 7122's own Note (2) states: evaluate each affected part (e.g., hand, foot, ear, nose) separately and combine the ratings in accordance with 38 CFR 4.25 and 4.26.

  • Confirmed verbatim via two independent primary sources -- this is the regulation's own exact instruction, not a summary.
  • Unlike the Varicose Veins / Post-Phlebitic Syndrome hub's DC 7121 (a two-extremity bilateral case), cold injury residuals can affect up to 7 distinct parts at once (left/right hand, left/right foot, left/right ear, nose) -- a genuinely N-way combination, not just left-versus-right.
  • RatingScope collects each affected part's own finding independently, but does NOT auto-compute the combined result across more than one part -- this is disclosed for separate review, the same disclose-not-compute discipline already used for DC 7121's combination requirement, generalized here past two parts.

Records to review: Examination records documenting each affected part's own findings separately.

DC 7122's Note (1): amputations, skin cancer, and nerve damage are rated elsewhere

DC 7122's own Note (1) directs that amputations of fingers or toes, complications such as squamous cell carcinoma at the site of a cold injury scar, and peripheral neuropathy be evaluated separately under other diagnostic codes.

  • Confirmed verbatim via two independent primary sources -- this is a pure cross-reference with no rating criteria of its own within DC 7122.
  • Modeled as its own independent selectable pathway in this hub (distinct from the per-part residual findings), since it names determinate destination SYSTEMS (amputation codes, skin/SCC, peripheral neuropathy) but indeterminate specific destination codes -- the same disclosure-only redirect shape already used elsewhere in this repository (for example, Hemic and Lymphatic Systems' DC 7710, or Female Reproductive Organ Conditions and Disorders of the Breast's DC 7628/7631).
  • DC 7122's Note (1) has a second sentence not covered above: other disabilities diagnosed as residual effects of cold injury -- the regulation's own examples are Raynaud's syndrome (secondary Raynaud's phenomenon) and muscle atrophy -- must also be evaluated separately under their own diagnostic codes, UNLESS that same finding is already being used to support a DC 7122 evaluation, in which case it cannot also be separately rated elsewhere. Confirmed verbatim via two independent primary sources -- this is a real anti-double-counting rule preventing the same finding from being counted toward both DC 7122 and another diagnostic code.

Records to review: Records documenting any amputation, skin lesion at a cold injury scar site, or nerve-related findings.

This hub covers 1 of 14 codes in the broader arteries-and-veins schedule

38 CFR 4.104's 'Diseases of the Arteries and Veins' range spans 14 live diagnostic codes (DC 7110-7124, excluding DC 7101, which is Hypertension, already its own hub). This hub covers only DC 7122.

  • The Varicose Veins / Post-Phlebitic Syndrome hub (DC 7120/7121) was built first from this same range; arterial disease (DC 7114 and dependents) and Raynaud's disease (DC 7117/7124) are already live in their own sibling hubs, and soft tissue sarcoma of vascular origin (DC 7123), along with the rest of RSCH-040's slice (e), is covered in the Aneurysm, Arteriovenous Fistula, Angioneurotic Edema, Erythromelalgia, and Vascular Sarcoma hub, closing out the full 14-code range.
  • This is disclosed clearly, the same 'don't assume comprehensive' discipline already applied throughout this repository's peripheral-vascular and peripheral-nerve hubs.

Records to review: Records confirming the specific vascular diagnosis documented.

Evidence

Evidence that may clarify the published criteria

Examination records documenting the gate symptom and any additional findings, per affected part

The core evidence distinguishing DC 7122's three tiers for each affected part.

Not required for parts confirmed unaffected.

Records documenting which of the 7 possible parts (hands, feet, ears, nose) are affected

Establishes whether DC 7122's per-part, bilateral-factor combination Note applies.

Not required beyond confirming a single affected part, if that is all that is documented.

Cold Injury Protocol DBQ

VA's examination form for cold injury residuals across all potentially affected parts.

A DBQ is one common evidence source, not the only way to document these findings.

Official VA Forms & DBQs

Downloadable DBQs & Supporting Claim Forms

Take the public DBQ to your private physician or review it prior to your C&P examination.

Terminology

Plain-English terms

Cold injury residuals

Long-term effects from a past frostbite or severe cold exposure injury.

DC 7122's own criteria apply identically regardless of which part (hand, foot, ear, or nose) is affected.

Cold Injury Protocol DBQ; no-zero-tier

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Bilateral factor

An extra adjustment VA applies when the same type of condition affects both sides of the body.

DC 7122's own Note (2) requires this when more than one part is involved -- disclosed here, not auto-computed.

Examination records documenting each affected part's own findings separately; multipart-combination

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TDIU

Even if the schedular rating for Cold Injury Residuals does not reach 100 percent, TDIU may still provide a pathway to compensation at the 100 percent rate, based on unemployability from this and/or other service-connected disabilities combined.

A lower schedular percentage does not by itself foreclose TDIU eligibility -- this hub computes only the schedular percentage for this specific condition and does not determine TDIU eligibility.

Employment history; vocational impact documentation; occupational impairment

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Common Questions

Questions veterans commonly ask

Does the gate symptom alone (no additional findings) rate 0 percent?

No. DC 7122 has no 0 percent tier at all. The gate symptom alone (arthralgia or other pain, numbness, or cold sensitivity) is a real 10 percent outcome, confirmed via two independent primary sources.

How does VA rate cold injury residuals?

By the gate symptom plus a count of 12 possible additional findings, per affected part: 0 additional findings = 10 percent, 1 finding = 20 percent, 2 or more findings = 30 percent.

What if more than one part is affected?

DC 7122's own Note (2) requires each affected part (hand, foot, ear, or nose) to be evaluated separately and combined under 38 CFR 4.25, applying the bilateral factor under 38 CFR 4.26 if applicable. RatingScope collects each part's own finding but does not auto-compute the combined result across more than one part.

What about amputations, skin cancer, or nerve damage?

DC 7122's own Note (1) directs these to be rated separately under other diagnostic codes -- amputations of fingers or toes, squamous cell carcinoma at a cold injury scar site, and peripheral neuropathy are not rated under DC 7122 itself.

Does this hub cover the whole arteries-and-veins schedule?

Yes, across five hubs. This hub covers 1 of the 14 live diagnostic codes in 38 CFR 4.104's broader DC 7110-7124 range. The remaining codes (arterial disease, varicose veins/post-phlebitic syndrome, Raynaud's, aneurysms, and DC 7123) are all covered elsewhere across the other four sibling hubs.

If my schedular rating for Cold Injury Residuals is below 100%, can I still be compensated at the 100% rate?

Possibly, through TDIU (Total Disability rating based on Individual Unemployability, 38 CFR 4.16) -- a separate pathway to 100 percent compensation based on unemployability, from this and/or other service-connected disabilities combined, independent of whether the schedular rating itself reaches 100 percent. This hub computes only the schedular percentage and does not determine TDIU eligibility.

What separates the 10% (DC 7122, real floor -- not 0 percent) rating from adjacent levels?

20 percent applies once exactly one additional finding (tissue loss, nail abnormalities, color changes, etc.) is also documented for that same part.

What separates the 20% (DC 7122, middle tier) rating from adjacent levels?

30 percent applies once two or more of the listed findings are documented instead of just one; 10 percent applies when the gate symptom is present with none of the listed findings.

What separates the 30% (DC 7122, ceiling tier) rating from adjacent levels?

20 percent applies with exactly one of the listed findings instead of two or more.

Related Conditions

Continue learning through connected topics

Varicose Veins / Post-Phlebitic Syndrome

Both hubs are built from the same 38 CFR 4.104 'Diseases of the Arteries and Veins' range and share the same disclose-not-compute approach to the 38 CFR 4.25/4.26 combination requirement.

Raynaud's Disease / Raynaud's Syndrome

Raynaud's Disease / Raynaud's Syndrome is a sibling hub in the same 38 CFR 4.104 Diseases of the Arteries and Veins range (DC 7110-7124), covering a different 2 of the 14 codes in that range.

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Compare documented cold injury residuals findings

Use the diagnosis and gate-symptom/finding language already documented in your records. Do not upload records or enter Social Security numbers, claim numbers, full dates of birth, or other sensitive identifiers. RatingScope does not infer missing findings or auto-compute a multi-part combination result.

Informational guidance only. RatingScope does not predict, decide, or guarantee VA outcomes.

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Secondary conditions

Conditions commonly connected to Cold Injury Residuals

No commonly documented secondary connections are tracked for Cold Injury Residuals yet.

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Related Tools

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Evidence Center

Understand common evidence categories and what they can clarify without treating them as a checklist.

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