Symptoms
Dry skin on the legs is accompanied by a number of other symptoms:
- Due to the dryness, the skin loses its elasticity and begins to tighten noticeably.
- Scaling of the skin is also increasingly observed. The oily film of healthy skin normally conceals dead, superficial skin cells; dry skin does not have this film. Thus these skin layers become visible as scales.
- The tension on the skin of the legs also makes them more susceptible to injury, so that small cracks and other damage are more common.
It becomes brittle. The legs may have slightly painful areas in case of small cracks in the skin.
- Furthermore, dry skin can lead to a change in skin color, often resulting in local redness.
- Apart from these symptoms, affected persons often complain about itching of the legs
In many cases, dry skin makes the legs itch. Especially when the dry skin of the legs is caused by frequent washing, this phenomenon occurs.
Itching is a malperception of the skin that probably has the purpose of removing intruders such as parasites. However, if the legs itch due to dry skin, you should not scratch them. This may relieve the itching in the short term, but overall the already dry skin is further damaged and possibly injured.Instead of scratching you should use a cream or other soothing measures to counteract the itching.
Thus urea as an additive in a cream has a calming effect on itching. Various household remedies for dry skin can also help against itching. If the legs continue to show itching or if it is unbearable, it is advisable to have this and the dry skin of the legs checked, as itching is also a symptom of other diseases requiring treatment.
These can be skin diseases such as eczema or neurodermatitis, but also diseases of the liver or kidney cause itching. In most cases, however, the itching is harmless in dry skin. Spotty redness is a common accompanying symptom of dry skin.
This can have various causes. On the legs, such symptoms often appear after showering. Too hot shower water promotes such redness, just like dryness and itching.
The spots usually disappear again shortly after showering, but the dryness and itching persist. In order to avoid such symptoms, it is recommended to shower with lukewarm water and to apply cream to the skin immediately afterwards. However, red spots and dry skin on the legs can also be an expression of neurodermatitis.
The redness is often found on the sides of the knee and in the hollow of the knee, whereas the dryness affects the entire skin. Dry skin on the legs can have many causes. A very common cause of dry skin with scales and wrinkles, regardless of the body region, is age.
People tend to have dry, wrinkled and sometimes scaly skin at an advanced age. These changes can also be seen on the legs. The connective tissue loses its elasticity over the years, the skin becomes slacker and has a lower water content.
Especially in old age, one should therefore make sure to drink enough and take good care of the skin. The skin on the legs is best to be creamed several times a day with a nourishing cream. Another cause of dry and flaky skin on the legs is psoriasis. In this case, however, wrinkles would be rather untypical.
