YOUR CONDITION, EXPLAINED
Erythromelalgia VA disability rating & claim guide
The VA rates Erythromelalgia under diagnostic code 7119, in 38 CFR § 4.104 (cardiovascular system), and the schedule provides four evaluation levels for it: 100%, 60%, 30% and 10%.
Free · No account needed
Save your Erythromelalgia guide
Email yourself this Erythromelalgia guide so the rating criteria, evidence checklist, and preparation tips are easy to find later.
A CLEARER PATH FORWARD
Make sense of your next step.
01Understand the rating02Go to the source03Plan your preparationTHE ESSENTIALS
How the VA rates Erythromelalgia
Erythromelalgia produces attacks of burning pain in the hands, feet, or both — usually on both sides and symmetrical — with the skin becoming warmer and red, and the schedule describes these attacks as occurring at warm ambient temperatures. DC 7119 rates the disease entirely on those attacks: how often they come, how long they average, whether they respond to treatment, and whether they restrict most routine daily activities. The code's Note states that these evaluations are for the disease as a whole, regardless of the number of extremities involved, so hands and feet are not evaluated separately under this code.
DC 7119 grades erythromelalgia on characteristic attacks, using four variables: frequency, average duration, response to treatment, and restriction of routine daily activities. 10 percent is for characteristic attacks that occur less than daily but at least three times a week and that respond to treatment. 30 percent is for characteristic attacks that occur daily or more often but that respond to treatment. The two highest bands share a single picture — attacks that occur more than once a day, last an average of more than two hours each, and respond poorly to treatment — and separate only on daily function: 60 percent where they do not restrict most routine daily activities, 100 percent where they do. The code's Note supplies the definition the whole ladder rests on: a characteristic attack of erythromelalgia consists of burning pain in the hands, feet, or both, usually bilateral and symmetrical, with increased skin temperature and redness, occurring at warm ambient temperatures. The same Note states that these evaluations are for the disease as a whole, regardless of the number of extremities involved. There are no blood-flow measures anywhere in this code — no ankle/brachial index, no walking distance, no imaging finding.
- Diagnostic code
- 7119
- Rating schedule
- 38 CFR § 4.104
- Schedule levels
- 100%, 60%, 30% and 10%
How does the VA choose a rating level?
Which level applies is set by the criteria the evidence meets, not by the diagnosis. Where there is a question as to which of two evaluations applies, 38 CFR § 4.7 assigns the higher one if the disability picture more nearly approximates the criteria required for that rating.
This code prints no 0% row. Under 38 CFR § 4.31, a 0% evaluation is assigned where the requirements for a compensable evaluation are not met.
EXPLORE THE PERCENTAGES
Erythromelalgia VA rating criteria (DC 7119)
Choose a percentage to see what that level means. Open the full comparison to read all the criteria in one place.
These are published rating criteria. Selecting a level does not predict your VA decision.
IN THE REGULATION’S OWN WORDS
What 38 CFR also says about Erythromelalgia
The notes 38 CFR Part 4 prints with these criteria, quoted. They govern how the evaluation is made without being a rating level themselves.
- “Note: For purposes of this section, a characteristic attack of erythromelalgia consists of burning pain in the hands, feet, or both, usually bilateral and symmetrical, with increased skin temperature and redness, occurring at warm ambient temperatures. These evaluations are for the disease as a whole, regardless of the number of extremities involved.”DC 7119
THE EXAM FORM
Which DBQ is used for Erythromelalgia?
VA's page says: “You can use these forms to submit medical evidence from your health care providers.”
Source: VA: Public Disability Benefits Questionnaires (DBQs), read September 18, 2026.
SMALL DETAILS. BETTER PREPARATION.
Preparing your Erythromelalgia claim
Start with the practical tips, then explore the common oversights. You don’t need to work through everything at once.
Practical tips for your claim4 tips
- 01
Keep an attack log recording the two things the upper bands turn on: how many attacks occur in a day or week, and how long each one lasts. Both the 60 and 100 percent bands require attacks more than once a day lasting an average of more than two hours each.
- 02
Make sure treatment notes state whether attacks respond to treatment or respond poorly to it. The 10 and 30 percent bands are written for attacks that respond to treatment, and the 60 and 100 percent bands for attacks that respond poorly — though those upper bands also require attacks more than once a day lasting an average of more than two hours each, so response to treatment is not on its own what separates them.
- 03
Have the record address whether attacks restrict most routine daily activities, since that finding is the only difference between 60 percent and 100 percent.
- 04
Because the Note evaluates the disease as a whole regardless of the number of extremities involved, documentation that covers every affected hand and foot together is what supports the single evaluation this code assigns.
C&P exam pitfalls to keep in mind4 tips
- 01
Arriving at an exam between attacks with nothing in the file describing them, since this code is graded on attacks rather than on findings present at rest.
- 02
A record that counts attacks but never records how long they last, leaving the "average of more than two hours each" element of the 60 and 100 percent bands unaddressed.
- 03
Notes that say a treatment was prescribed without saying whether attacks responded to it, when whether attacks respond to treatment or respond poorly to it is one of the elements every band in this code is written around.
- 04
Symptoms recorded generically as burning or painful feet, without the increased skin temperature and redness the Note requires for an attack to count as characteristic.
Common filing mistakes4 tips
- 01
Filing this as a circulation or peripheral vascular claim. DC 7119 is specific to erythromelalgia and its criteria contain no blood-flow measures at all.
- 02
Submitting the diagnosis with no attack history, when every band in the code is defined by attack frequency, duration, and response to treatment.
- 03
Recording only the worst attacks, which leaves the weekly and daily counts that the 10 and 30 percent bands rest on incomplete.
- 04
Claiming each affected hand and foot as a separate condition, when the Note makes these evaluations for the disease as a whole regardless of the number of extremities involved.
When symptoms may first appear2 tips
- 01
The code describes a pattern of episodes rather than a steady state: characteristic attacks of burning pain in the hands, feet, or both, usually bilateral and symmetrical, with increased skin temperature and redness, occurring at warm ambient temperatures.
- 02
The bands are structured around how often attacks come — at least three times a week but less than daily at 10 percent, daily or more often at 30 percent, more than once a day at 60 and 100 percent — so the evaluation follows attack frequency and duration rather than how long the diagnosis has been held.
THE BROADER PICTURE
Erythromelalgia by the numbers
- Veterans service-connected
- ~15,000 veterans
Vetrify editorial estimates informed by VA published claims data (VBA Annual Benefits Report) and the VA rating schedule, not official VA statistics.
LET’S CLEAR A FEW THINGS UP
Common questions about Erythromelalgia
Is Erythromelalgia a VA-rated disability?
Yes. The VA rates Erythromelalgia under VASRD diagnostic code 7119 (Cardiovascular System). Erythromelalgia produces attacks of burning pain in the hands, feet, or both — usually on both sides and symmetrical — with the skin becoming warmer and red, and the schedule describes these attacks as occurring at warm ambient temperatures. DC 7119 rates the disease entirely on those attacks: how often they come, how long they average, whether they respond to treatment, and whether they restrict most routine daily activities. The code's Note states that these evaluations are for the disease as a whole, regardless of the number of extremities involved, so hands and feet are not evaluated separately under this code.
What VA disability rating can I get for Erythromelalgia?
Possible VA ratings for Erythromelalgia are 100%, 60%, 30%, 10%, 0%. The 0% level comes from 38 CFR 4.31, which assigns it wherever no compensable level is met. Examples: 100%: Characteristic attacks that occur more than once a day, last an average of more than two hours each, respond poorly to treatment, and that restrict most routine daily activities; 60%: Characteristic attacks that occur more than once a day, last an average of more than two hours each, and respond poorly to treatment, but that do not restrict most routine daily activities; 30%: Characteristic attacks that occur daily or more often but that respond to treatment.
What evidence helps prove Erythromelalgia for VA disability?
Common evidence for a Erythromelalgia claim includes a current medical diagnosis from a qualified provider, documentation of an in-service event or exposure, and statements describing functional impact.
Which DBQ is used for Erythromelalgia?
VA's Artery and Vein Conditions Disability Benefits Questionnaire (DBQ) is on its public list of DBQs. VA's page says: "You can use these forms to submit medical evidence from your health care providers."
What mistakes should veterans avoid when claiming Erythromelalgia?
Common pitfalls when filing for Erythromelalgia: Filing this as a circulation or peripheral vascular claim. DC 7119 is specific to erythromelalgia and its criteria contain no blood-flow measures at all; Submitting the diagnosis with no attack history, when every band in the code is defined by attack frequency, duration, and response to treatment; Recording only the worst attacks, which leaves the weekly and daily counts that the 10 and 30 percent bands rest on incomplete; Claiming each affected hand and foot as a separate condition, when the Note makes these evaluations for the disease as a whole regardless of the number of extremities involved.
Official sources
- 38 CFR § 4.104, Schedule of ratings, cardiovascular system (Diagnostic Code 7119)
- 38 CFR § 4.7, higher of two evaluations
- 38 CFR § 4.31, zero percent evaluations
Criteria in quotation marks are the regulation’s own words; everything else on this page is Vetrify’s summary of it. The eCFR text is authoritative. See how Vetrify derives its numbers.
How these figures are checked: our methodology and the open dataset.
VA Calc: Disability Pay
Combine your ratings & see monthly pay on your iPhone · Works offline