Eczema with swelling of leg?

[mlrlucy]

My husband has had eczema for 20 years and is currently 38 years old.  He has been prescribed several creams, none of which work very well.  The eczema is on his lower legs and arms, is extremely itchy, large areas are raised, crusty, and often bleeding & infected due to his scratching.  The doctors have suggested he have allergy testing. All of this makes sense to me based on the research I've done, but my husband has one other symptom that the doctors say is part of the eczema, but I haven't seen it mentioned in any literature.  His legs get very swollen (the whole lower leg), very hard to the touch as if the skin is stretched as far as it will go, and his legs are red and painful.  Do you see this as an eczema symptom or could it be something else?

Thank you for your time.

[mlrlucy]

Dr. Santos, I can't think of any other symptoms.  We'll discuss this further with his doctor.  Thank you very much.

[Dr Santos]

Hi,

Eczema symptoms may include any of the following: itching is usually the primary symptom and is often worse at night; discoloured skin with reddish to brown-gray patches; thickened, leathery cracked skin; tissue fluids can ooze between the cells and gather into collections or blisters; and raw, sensitive, infected skin, due to persistent scratching. Any part of the body may be affected by eczema symtpoms. In children and adults, eczema classically occurs on the face, neck, and the insides of the elbows, knees, and ankles.

Are there other signs or symptoms present? The symptoms you mentioned points to eczema. If  these lesions are infected, this may indeed cause the additional symptoms you have observed. It may help to have some blood tests done to rule out  renal causes to alleviate your anxiety. Discuss this with your doctors and let us know what happens. Take care and regards.