Body system: Cardiovascular SystemRegulation: 38 CFR § 4.104DBQ: DBQ Cold injury Residuals
Cold injury residuals are the long-term effects from frostbite, trench foot, or other cold-weather injuries that happened during your military service. The VA rates this condition from 10% to 30% based on your ongoing symptoms like pain, numbness, or cold sensitivity, plus any physical changes to your skin, nails, bones, or muscles. The higher ratings require more severe complications like tissue loss, bone problems, or muscle atrophy in addition to your basic symptoms.
Rating levels
- 30% — To qualify for this rating level, you must have joint pain, numbness, or sensitivity to cold in the areas affected by your cold injury, PLUS at least two additional problems from this list: loss of tissue, abnormal nails, color changes in the skin, reduced feeling or sensation, excessive sweating or complete lack of sweating, bone problems visible on X-rays (like bone thinning or arthritis), muscle wasting or scarring, fingers or toes that won't straighten or bend properly, loss of fat padding in fingertips or toe tips, dead bone tissue, sores that won't heal, or nerve compression in the wrists or ankles. The cold injury must have caused lasting damage that affects how your hands, feet, or other body parts function in daily life.
- 20% — You qualify for this rating if you have cold injury residuals that cause pain in your joints, numbness, or sensitivity to cold temperatures in the affected area, PLUS you also have at least one additional serious problem. These additional problems include things like lost tissue, abnormal nails, skin color changes, reduced feeling in the area, excessive sweating or complete lack of sweating, bone damage visible on X-rays, muscle wasting, joints that won't straighten or bend properly, loss of the fat pads in your fingers or toes, bone death from poor blood flow, sores that won't heal, or nerve compression syndromes like carpal tunnel.
- 10% — You qualify for this rating if you have ongoing problems in the body parts that were affected by cold injury, including joint pain or other types of pain, areas that feel numb or have lost sensation, or parts of your body that are now extra sensitive to cold temperatures. These symptoms must be present in the specific areas where you originally suffered the cold injury.