The first sign of varicose eczema is mild itchiness of your skin over and around a patch of varicose veins. This becomes speckled, scaly, inflamed and itchy. Your skin can turn brown.
Severe skin disease may be caused by vein problems in your leg. This usually occurs near your ankle and may extend onto your foot and as far as the mid-calf. Your skin may be brown and feels very hard to the touch. In some people, red inflammation occurs and can be painful. This problem is called 'lipodermatosclerosis'.
Lipodermatosclerosis
The symptoms of lipodermatosclerosis include:
- hard, tight skin
- red or brown coloured skin
- the layer of fat and soft tissues underneath the skin (subcutaneous tissue) may become hard, causing the leg to look like an upside-down champagne bottle
Leg ulcers
Vein problems may also cause a leg ulcer. This is a damaged area where the skin has broken down into an ulcer (a chronic non-healing wound).
See the Health A-Z topic about Venous leg ulcers for more information.
