Stasis Dermatitis Facts

A person who suffers from stasis dermatitis knows that this is a skin condition that no one would ever want to face, as it is painful, embarrassing, but also scary. To understand exactly how to handle stasis dermatitis, a person first needs to understand exactly what it is. A doctor will be able to make the best diagnosis but stasis dermatitis is skin that gets rough, dry, red, and can look scaly. Also, there could be crusting, erosions, and oozing that begins to take place which is probably the worst part of having stasis dermatitis.

There is often a lot of leg swelling that comes along with this skin condition because there is a buildup of fluid that takes place along with a lot of poor circulation. Although stasis dermatitis usually occurs in the legs, it can happen in other areas of the body. A malfunction of a vein valve or heart failure can cause this condition to come about but those are not the only reasons behind this terrible skin condition. Also, women are more likely to face this problem and most are over the age of fifty. As a person's age increases, so does their chance at developing this skin condition.

Treatment Options

For stasis dermatitis, there are a lot of things that can be done but there are some things that are most common. If there is a lot of swelling in the legs, which usually gets worse the longer a person stands throughout the day, there are steps that can be taken to help out the situation. Women can wear support hose that is elastic and this should be put on first thing in the morning when first awaking. When sitting for long periods, make sure to try and keep the legs above the level of the heart in order to help control too much of a fluid buildup from forming. Over the counter hydrocortisone cream can be applied up to two times a day on the red areas.

An important thing to remember is if the swelling or the itching does not get better by the steps that are being taken at home, it is time to seek medical care from a doctor. The doctor will need to see exactly what is going on that could be causing the swelling to make sure that you are in no urgent medical crisis. If you fear that there is an infection present at the affected area, it is time to seek medical help right away. Signs of an infections would be a fever, extra amounts of pain to the affected area, an increased amount of redness and swelling and even areas that are opening up to let pus out. If you experience any of this with your stasis dermatitis, seek help right away.