Venous Leg Ulcers and Stasis Dermatitis

A diagnosis that mentions the skin of the lower leg often arrives with a firm recommendation attached. Venous leg ulcers and stasis dermatitis are named together because the sources link them. MedlinePlus defines stasis dermatitis as a change in the skin that results from the pooling of blood in the veins of the lower leg. MedlinePlus adds that ulcers are open sores that can result from untreated stasis dermatitis. Cleveland Clinic reports that about 1% of adults have venous leg ulcers.

The word untreated is the assumption to test. Ask what treatment means in the plan in front of you and who decided it applies. This MedlinePlus entry on stasis dermatitis and ulcers is a short place to compare wording.

The page in this section

Readers who want the wider condition can read Cleveland Clinic's overview of chronic venous insufficiency alongside it.

• How Venous Ulcers Form Near the Ankle: tests whether a sore near the ankle is being treated as a skin problem alone.

Questions to ask before you agree

MedlinePlus puts the skin change first and the sore after it. That order gives you something specific to ask about.

1. Is this skin change being called stasis dermatitis, and what was examined to say so?
2. What does the plan do about the pooling blood, not only the skin?
3. What would you expect to see if the plan is working?

For the wider condition and for removal options, see the chronic venous insufficiency overview and the vein removal pages in this zine.