Why Is the Skin Around My Ankles Getting Darker and Thicker Over Time?
At first, it may look like an ordinary change in skin color.
You notice that the skin around your ankles seems slightly darker than it used to be. Maybe it’s brownish, reddish, purple, or gray. You don’t think much of it.
Then, gradually, another change appears.
The skin feels thicker.
It may become dry, rough, itchy, scaly, or harder than the surrounding skin.
If this is happening to you, it’s worth paying attention to. Darkening and thickening around the ankles can have several causes, but one of the most common is a problem with blood returning from the lower legs to the heart.
This condition can lead to stasis dermatitis, sometimes called venous eczema or gravitational dermatitis. It often develops around the inner ankles when veins in the legs aren’t moving blood upward efficiently.
But circulation isn’t the only possible explanation.
