Itchy, scratchy legs?

An irritating but lesser known symptom of venous disease can be itchy legs, the condition is called Stasis Dermatitis or varicose eczema.  It can present initially with flaky dry skin but can progress on to red, blistery plaques and skin colour changes. 

Varicose or venous eczema occurs because of venous insufficiency, that is the veins not doing the job they are supposed to and returning blood back upwards. Increased pressure caused by the pooled blood can cause fluid to leak in to surrounding tissue and the immune system reacts to this causing the skin to flare up. 

Venous eczema can be treated in a number of ways:

• Compression stockings help to improve circulation in the leg and so relieve symptoms. They also prevent scratching which can lead to cuts on the skin which might ulcerate.

• Use an unperfumed moisturising cream that can keep the skin smooth and soft.

• Topical Steroids can be prescribed to reduce skin inflammation over the course of a few weeks.

The above options will provide relief and particularly over the summer months when many patient’s find their skin is at its most unbearable. However in order to eliminate the venous eczema the varicose veins will need to be treated. The good news is that improvement can be seen and felt on the legs very soon after treatment.