You may enjoy breaking it down on the dance floor, but when it comes to your skin breaking down, that’s the last thing you may want to experience. If you have noticed extreme changes in the skin around your ankles, feet, or calves, then it may be an underlying cause of venous reflux. Let’s take a closer look at venous reflux and some skin changes to look out for.

What’s Venous Reflux?

If you’ve never heard of venous reflux or don’t know much about it, you’ve definitely come to the right place. Venous reflux is a condition in which the veins in your legs don’t function properly— leading to things like swelling, varicose veins, pain, discomfort, and yes, you guessed it, even skin changes.

What Skin Changes Should I Look For?

Much like with any sort of condition, patients with venous reflux disease may experience different symptoms than other patients. For some patients, their skin starts to look shiny in appearance, feel tight, and may even be sensitive to things like pressure or touch. For other individuals, they may experience thick, rough skin that they compare to that of an elephant. We have even seen patients who experience dry, flaky, cracked skin, that has changed and broken down. If you have experienced any or all of these symptoms in your feet, ankles, or legs, then you may be suffering from venous reflux disorder.

Why Does The Skin Change?

Oxygen and proper circulation are what help deliver nutrients to your skin and keep it feeling alive and moisturized. Patients with untreated vein disease, however, suffer from the pressure that builds up in the leg and causes blood to pool instead of circulating back to the heart. When the blood starts to clot, and the skin doesn’t get its proper nutrients because of the lack of blood flow, the tissues begin to die.

How Can I Tell If I Have Vein Disease?

Not everyone who has skin changes on their legs and feet has venous reflux. During your first appointment with Atlas Vein Care, we will perform an ultrasound to see if you have any vein problems to begin with. If you are diagnosed with this disease, we can start a treatment plan right away.

Have questions? We have answers! Contact our Arlington office today to schedule your appointment: (817) 795-8346.