The following symptoms and complaints may indicate lymphedema:
Leading symptoms
- Doughy swelling of the skin/subcutaneous tissue (doughy edema).
- Positive Kaposi-Stemmer sign (clinical sign of the presence of lymphedema) – it is positive in the absence of lift-off of the interdigital skin on the forefeet (a negative Kaposi-Stemmer sign does not rule out lymphedema)
- Frequent dry, itchy skin
Primary lymphedema usually affects both legs, while secondary affects only one limb, depending on the exact cause.
