Erythrocyanosis (Erythrocyanosis)

Erythrocyanosis is a condition in which numerous purple spots appear on the skin on the back of the legs and thighs. Typically, erythrocyanosis occurs in teenage girls or overweight boys before the onset of puberty. Sometimes it can also develop in older women.

Manifestations of erythrocyanosis intensify in cold weather. There is no effective treatment for this condition yet, other than weight loss for the patient. It is assumed that the cause of erythrocyanosis is disturbances in the autonomic regulation of capillary blood flow and increased fragility of small blood vessels.

The main symptoms of erythrocyanosis are:

  1. The appearance of purple spots on the skin of the lower extremities
  2. Symptoms worsen with cold
  3. No pain

For diagnosis, a skin examination is performed and other diseases that can cause similar symptoms are excluded.

Treatment mainly involves eliminating triggers, using warming ointments and creams, and wearing warm clothing. In some cases, vasoactive and venotonic drugs are prescribed. In case of significant obesity, weight loss is recommended.



Erythrocyanosis is a common syndrome that affects people of different genders and ages. What is erythrocyanosis? This is the name for the appearance of many tiny bluish spots on the skin that form on the back of the lower leg and thighs, as well as in the area of ​​the popliteal fossa. The bluish tint to these areas of skin can look quite scary.

Most often, erythrocyanosis occurs in children and adolescents. Most often, they overtake children while developing during adolescence, which is explained by the active growth of sex hormones and changes in the girl’s body as she grows up. In addition, older women may experience this problem to a lesser extent. In most cases, manifestations occur only on the back of the legs, but sometimes spots are also present on the arms. A characteristic feature of such spots is their greatest brightness and density during temperature changes, for example, on a frosty winter day in the cold you can see densely seated bluish spots on the back of the legs. Less commonly, they form on other parts of the body, including the face; In addition, such spots place increased stress on the kidneys and heart and can interfere with the treatment of other ailments due to a decrease in general blood circulation and aggravation of the symptoms of diseases.

As for the reasons for the appearance of such a disease, this can be caused by extensive expansion of small capillaries due to stress, high temperature, heredity or overload of the physiological functions of the body. The fact is that a certain amount of oxygen is formed in the tissues, and the body is forced to send additional blood flows to improve tissue nutrition, but at the same time improve thermal insulation, since even more blood is needed in cold weather. They can also form due to heavy physical activity. In addition, a similar picture appears when there is a lack of iron in the body, due to which respiratory enzymes cannot supply tissues with oxygen effectively.



Erythrocyanosis is a change in skin color due to excessive deposition of hemoglobin pigment in the upper layer of the dermis. Venous blood contains up to 90% oxyhemoglobin, the excess of which penetrates into arterial blood in microcapillaries and adnexal capillaries. As a result, the amount of oxygen in the blood increases, the outflow of oxygen from the tissue slows down, which leads to the emergence of a large number of free radicals and the development of peroxidation reactions. Thus, patients with erythrocinosis show pronounced signs of chronic tissue hypoxia, signs of tissue respiration disorders, and profound microcirculation disorders.