“My mother in law has extremely dark and dry skin around her foot. Is there a way to treat this?”
My mother-in-law is heavily diabetic and keeps having edema off and on around her feet. As a result of this, her skin around her feet has become severely dry and itchy and badly pigmented. Is there any ointment to treat this issue?
6 Answers
I would recommend applying a thick ointment such as Vaseline or Aquaphor to the skin and cover with a sock at night to improve the cracks and dryness. The pigment could be from the edema which causes blood cells to get pushed into the skin. This type of pigment is difficult to reverse, unfortunately. Wearing compression socks can help to stop the pigmentation from getting worse by controlling the edema.
Caroline A. Chang, MD, FAAD
Caroline A. Chang, MD, FAAD
Dark and itchy skin around ankles, feet associated with edema could be a frequent condition named stasis dermatitis. It is impossible though to be sure of the diagnosis and treatment without proper physical assessment. Stasis dermatitis is usually treated with short term corticosteroids and swelling control but the discoloration can persist even with proper treatment. She has to be very cautious before applying any medicated cream as this condition is often associated with a higher risk of allergy. I really encourage her to see a doctor as several parameters need to be evaluated before planning a proper treatment.
Yes, you must make an appointment with your local dermatologist.
There are many topical creams, but a couple of interesting creams are hypertonic sodium chloride creams; these rehydrate the skin rapidly and help with the scaling. Others are creams containing polypeptides; these reduce excess water loss by evaporation (medically called insensible water loss) and further reduce the ph of the skin, enabling it to heal better.
Amlactin 12% lotion OTC
Diabetic usu has problems like these. Should consult a dermatologist ASAP.
