Chronic Skin Afflictions Associated With Varicose Veins

What?  My Skin Is Affected Too?

Unusually high pressure in veins has the potential to cause skin damage in some people, and ulcers in others.  This is possible as a result of varicose veins or through DVT (deep vein thrombosis) or any combination of the two.  The physical damage to the skin is called venous skin problems.

The first indication that there may be a skin problem is the presence of a mild eczema, and itching in the skin just above the ankle on either a large or small patch of skin.  Left untreated, the eczema can progress to severity with inflammation and red, scaly skin appearing rather quickly around the lower leg.  The condition can be dealt with temporarily with steroid creams, however long-term effects of these creams  have proven ineffective since the skin tends to become fragile and thin.

Lipo-What?

There are also certain skin conditions which arise called Lipodermatosclerosis.   This is a very long name given to the damage that is caused to the skin and also to the fatty "lipo" layer beneath the skin by venous disorders.  Skin pigmentation, or the darkening of the skin from a light brown color to a dark and shiny surface, is generally a precursor to lipodermatosclerosis.   The word "dermato", which means "to do with the skin" and the word "lipo", which ties into the fatty layers under the skin are part of the word, lipodermatosclerosis.  The word "sclerosis" means a hardening or scarring.

Explain That To Me

When there is a chronic venous disease, a disease of the veins which affects the skin surface, both the skin and the fat underneath it become hardened and end up shrinking.  This creates a discoloured, shiny and dented surface in the place where the affliction occurs.  The effect upon the entire leg above the ankle, where the lipodermatosclerosis appears, is that it may become thinner as a result of the hardening and shrinking of the fatty layer of the skin.

Skin ulcers indicate that skin has been broken and is very slow to heal.  Venous ulcers vary in size, from large to small and may appear pink and clean or yellow and containing tissue.  They range in sensitivity from very painful to not painful at all and there seems to be no particular reason for this. While there can be various causes for ulcers on the skin of varicose vein sufferers, it seems the most common is venous ulceration and venous skin disease.