# What is this skin affliction called? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 2, 2011, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-skin-affliction-called/601672 "2011-11-02T19:34:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2011, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-skin-affliction-called/601672/1 "2011-11-02T19:34:00Z")
Ever since I was a child, I would get extremely hard spots on my legs in cold weather. The skin gets almost as hard as a fingernail. If I put a dollop of lotion on the spot, it will suck up the lotion in a minute or two and the spot will be gone the next day. I’ve always called these chilblains, but I guess that’s not what they are. So what are they? ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2011, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-skin-affliction-called/601672/2 "2011-11-02T20:24:36Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > Ever since I was a child, I would get extremely hard spots on my legs in cold weather. The skin gets almost as hard as a fingernail. If I put a dollop of lotion on the spot, it will suck up the lotion in a minute or two and the spot will be gone the next day. > > I’ve always called these chilblains, but I guess that’s not what they are. So what are they? Do the bumps itch? Is the skin colour around/on the bumps different than the unaffected skin? ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2011, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-skin-affliction-called/601672/3 "2011-11-02T20:49:35Z")
[Psoriasis?](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001470/) ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2011, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-skin-affliction-called/601672/4 "2011-11-02T21:25:14Z")
The bumps don’t feel anything at all; they are almost numb from the skin getting so hard. Putting the dot of lotion on them doesn’t hurt at all. If it is psoriasis, it’s the world’s mildest, tiniest case ever. I had always assumed this had something to do with dry weather causing dry skin. Am I a medical mystery? ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2011, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-skin-affliction-called/601672/5 "2011-11-02T22:23:49Z")
could they be pre-calluses? ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2011, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-skin-affliction-called/601672/6 "2011-11-02T22:25:36Z")
My son gets that. The doc said it was a form of eczema. Apparently it shows up in different ways for various reasons. edit:Wait, are the spots red? ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2011, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-skin-affliction-called/601672/7 "2011-11-02T22:29:37Z")
They’re a little reddish, yes. Not strikingly so but enough that they stand out from the skin around them. Opal, the areas don’t do anything to get calloused, so that’s not it. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2011, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-skin-affliction-called/601672/8 "2011-11-02T22:32:38Z")
I just followed\*\* cmyk\*\*'s link about psoriasis. I think that might be it. My spots are “salmon” colored with silvery scales, also raised and rough. They are triggered by dry air. And, get this, I have another auto-immune condition (Hashimoto’s disease), though I didn’t develop that until I was 13 years old, and had the red spots earlier. Innnnteresting. That just might be it.