Every winter, itchy skin has become a part of the most affected life of the big problem, especially into the air-conditioned room even more – the warmth and dryness makes the skin problems “snow added”, non-stop scratching can not “solve the itch “. Some people visit the dermatologist and their symptoms improve, while others do not get better no matter what medicine they use, why? It is not just a skin problem? The day before yesterday came such an old gentleman, the itchy skin of the calf is unbearable, seriously affecting sleep. He had been in the dermatology department for several months and had used a lot of oral and topical medications, but there was still no significant improvement. He changed to a different dermatologist, who took a closer look at his medical history and suggested that he first see a varicose vein. It turned out that this old man had been suffering from varicose veins in his lower extremities for many years, but he had not paid attention to them. In the past few years, every winter, the skin of his legs started to become red and flaky, accompanied by severe itching. He had never associated the skin problem with varicose veins. It was not until he walked into the vascular surgery office that he found the culprit of the problem once and for all. Why do varicose veins cause itchy skin? Varicose veins in the lower extremities are caused by the destruction of the venous valves and the backflow of blood. The high pressure generated by prolonged backflow of venous blood allows macromolecules, red blood cells and metabolites to extravasate into the dermal tissue spaces, causing a secondary inflammatory response, also known as venous stasis dermatitis. Varicose veins can develop into a variety of manifestations of stasis dermatitis when they reach stage IV. What are the manifestations of venous stasis dermatitis? 1.Erythema, desquamation and itching of the skin accompanying varicose veins of lower extremities; 2.Deepening of skin color 3.Thickening, swelling, hardening and atrophy of the skin, also called seborrheic scleroderma 4.Breakage of the skin 5.Difficult to heal ulcer formation “Frozen three feet, not a day’s cold”, such a serious dermatitis as the above picture is not formed in a day or two. Rather, it is the result of early mild varicose veins that are not effectively treated and the course of the disease is delayed. What should I do if I have venous stasis dermatitis? Surgery is the preferred treatment for varicose veins in cases of stasis dermatitis, as skin nutrition will only improve if the backflow problem is removed. Other complementary treatments include: 1) using skin moisturizers such as petroleum jelly and non-fragranced emollients; 2) avoiding overheated environments such as heating and baking, frequent hot baths; 3) walking exercises and wearing medical compression stockings; 4) using topical steroid creams under the guidance of a dermatologist (steroid creams should be used with caution if the skin is already broken to avoid non-healing wounds); 5) regular medication changes should be performed for venous ulcers. The change of medication. Will itchy skin get better after surgery? After minimally invasive varicose vein surgery, the majority of patients will experience significant improvement in the symptoms of bruising dermatitis, control of itchy skin, reduction of hyperpigmentation, and effective prevention of ulcerative process. Only a very small percentage of people have very stubborn itchy skin with insignificant improvement. Therefore, surgical treatment of varicose veins in the lower extremities before the onset of skin itching is more effective.