What is Venous Stasis Dermatitis?
Venous Stasis Dermatitis (also known as venous eczema) is a condition that occurs when your veins start to have trouble circulating blood flow. It is a long-term ailment that causes inflammation, ulcers and itchy skin. This condition usually starts in your lower legs. When the fluid and pressure from the weak veins builds up, the individual blood starts to leak out into their skin. Typically, stasis dermatitis affects individuals who are 50 or older. This condition is more common in women instead of men. Luckily, this condition can be self-treated through various types of treatments including the use of emollients to moisturize and protect the skin. If you’re looking for a great emollient, check out our dry skin cream today!
What Causes Venous Stasis Dermatitis?
This condition usually develops in people who have poor blood flow in their legs. The veins in your legs have one-way valves that push blood up to your heart. When they fail to do this, the individual has developed chronic venous insufficiency. As a result of the malfunctioning valves, blood in the individual’s legs gets stuck and pools in the lower legs causing swelling in the veins. Conditions other than chronic venous can lead to insufficient blood flow from the legs that could lead to stasis dermatitis including:
- Varicose veins
- DVT
- Lower leg injury
- Symptoms from lower leg surgery
- Heart Failure
- Not enough blood and oxygen in the skin
- Being overweight
- High blood pressure
- Having many past pregnancies
- Being female
- Lack of exercise
- Kidney failure
Venous Stasis Dermatitis Symptoms
Symptoms of stasis dermatitis usually start with swelling around the ankles. As an individual sleeps or has elevated legs for a period of time, the swelling may decrease. However, it usually comes back once you’re active again. More early symptoms may include:
- Irritated skin
- Heaviness, a feeling of fullness, or aching after standing or walking for long periods of time in the legs
- Swelling in the lower legs or ankle after an active day
After the condition has been present for some time, the individual might experience:
- Swollen, shiny skin
- Itchy, dry, and cracked skin
- red/purple ulcers that may ooze or scab
- Swelling up to the caves
- Pain
- Hair loss on ankles or shins
- Thickened skin in the lower legs
Venous Statis Dermatitis Treatment
Circulation is key to treating venous stasis dermatitis. Once diagnosed, a doctor might recommend surgery to repair the veins depending on how severe the condition is. This isn’t always the outcome of treatment. There are ways to improve circulation and lessen the swelling and irritated skin. These treatments include:
- Compression socks
- Elevating your legs every 15 minutes once every two hours
- Taking medications to relieve pain and reduce swelling
- Antibiotics
- Applying emollients to the skin such as our Cutemol Emollient Cream
How Summers Laboratories Can Help
Treating venous stasis dermatitis could be a short or lengthy process depending on how severe the condition is. We want to make the treatment process as comfortable as possible by providing you creams that could help lessen the irritation of dry or itchy skin. Our Cutemol Emollient Dry Skin Cream is great for cracked and dry skin. Better yet it doesn’t leave a greasy residue after use. Sumlabs also offers other products to treat different forms of eczema for a smooth and comfortable recovery.
References
https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/eczema/venous-stasis-dermatitis#1
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322896.php