Symptoms:
- Itching of the skin
- May be chronic
- May be intense
- Increases with nervous tension, stress
- Skin lesion, patch, or plaque
- Exaggerated skin lines over the lesion
- Circumscribed lesion with distinct borders
- Skin lesion becomes leathery textured (lichenification)
- Darkened (hyperpigmented) or reddened skin
- Excoriation, raw areas
- Scratch marks
- Scaling
- Commonly located on the ankle, wrist, neck, rectum/anal area, forearms, thighs, lower leg, back of the knee, inner elbow
Signs and tests:
The diagnosis is primarily based on the appearance of the skin and a history of chronic itching and scratching. A skin lesion biopsy may be needed to confirm the diagnosis.