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Suggest Treatment For Chronic Venous Insufficiency
Question: I have poor circulation in my legs causing the skin to be extremely thin and scaly. Sometimes it itches and breaks out. If I scratch the skin breaks and oozes. Sometimes it takes a year or longer for an area to heal. I have seen doctors for the initial skin condition and not the itchy rashes. Have I caught a disease? Is it possibly a fungus? Do you have a recommendation for remedy of this problem? YYYY@YYYY
Brief Answer:
Advised expert advise &specific treatment.
Detailed Answer:
Hi xxxxxxxx,
Thanks for the query &understand your concern.
*Long time thinned & dried skin along with itching to cause oozing & difficulty in healing....could arise due to -
_ ageing process with drying of skin followed by itching ,infection &the symptoms .
- Long term use of steroid ointments can lead to skin thinning&drying too
- Diabetes causes drying of skin followed by itching &oozing when infected,with prolonged healing process
- allergy turning into exema
-fungal infection with secondary infection
-chronic venous insufficiency leading to stagnation of venous blood in lower limbs causing seen or unseen vericisities & the symptoms.
*In your case as you state less blood circulation in lower limbs.... it seems to be venous insufficiency causing the problem Still all other skin conditions need to be excluded.
*In this context you should consult your family physician to start with.
. He would examine you,get you investigated (blood counts,histopathilogy tests like swab test to find type of infection/allergy screen test/glucose tollerance test -as per need) to diagnose the type of skin involvement.
He would then refer you to either a skin specialist or cardiovascular surgeon as he feels.
- You would need a usg /color doppler test to find presence of venous insufficiency /vericosities. ...&get a specialized treatment from a cardiovasular surgen to treat the basic cause along with skin specialist to treat the cause of skin symptoms specifically.
*Till then you should avoid itching/try to soothen the skin with help of moisturiser /keep the legs raised if they are swollen.
This way with proper investgations &expert advise .. you would get rid of the problem.
I hope that answers your query.Any follow up query is welcome.
Thanks.
Advised expert advise &specific treatment.
Detailed Answer:
Hi xxxxxxxx,
Thanks for the query &understand your concern.
*Long time thinned & dried skin along with itching to cause oozing & difficulty in healing....could arise due to -
_ ageing process with drying of skin followed by itching ,infection &the symptoms .
- Long term use of steroid ointments can lead to skin thinning&drying too
- Diabetes causes drying of skin followed by itching &oozing when infected,with prolonged healing process
- allergy turning into exema
-fungal infection with secondary infection
-chronic venous insufficiency leading to stagnation of venous blood in lower limbs causing seen or unseen vericisities & the symptoms.
*In your case as you state less blood circulation in lower limbs.... it seems to be venous insufficiency causing the problem Still all other skin conditions need to be excluded.
*In this context you should consult your family physician to start with.
. He would examine you,get you investigated (blood counts,histopathilogy tests like swab test to find type of infection/allergy screen test/glucose tollerance test -as per need) to diagnose the type of skin involvement.
He would then refer you to either a skin specialist or cardiovascular surgeon as he feels.
- You would need a usg /color doppler test to find presence of venous insufficiency /vericosities. ...&get a specialized treatment from a cardiovasular surgen to treat the basic cause along with skin specialist to treat the cause of skin symptoms specifically.
*Till then you should avoid itching/try to soothen the skin with help of moisturiser /keep the legs raised if they are swollen.
This way with proper investgations &expert advise .. you would get rid of the problem.
I hope that answers your query.Any follow up query is welcome.
Thanks.
Note: Hope the answers resolves your concerns, however for further guidance of skin related queries consult our Dermatologist.Click here to book a consultation
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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