My gran has very itchy legs with not much to see other
than dry skin with a sort of criss-cross pattern. She used
to get eczema as a child but says it didn’t look like this.
She probably has asteatotic eczema, which occurs in older people
who may have had eczema in the past or have, at least, a tendency
to have dry skin. It is made worse by low humidity in centrally
heated rooms and the removal of the natural oils from washing
with soap. Diuretics can increase the problem from dehydration
and hypothyroidism should be excluded. As with your gran, i
presents on the legs, which itch and show a background of dry skin
with a superficial network of fine red lines giving a ‘crazy paving
appearance. These fines lines are actually small cracks or fissure
in the skin. Treatment with water tablets (diuretics), for blood
pressure or heart problems, can make it worse, as can having a
thyroid gland that is not working very well.