Abstract

Livedo reticularis is a skin finding consisting of transient or persistent, macular, violaceous, connecting rings that form a netlike cyanotic pattern. This appearence may be caused by any situation which is related to increase of visibility of the venous plexus under the dermal layer. Thinning of the dermis in elderly people is one of the causes of this lesion without any pathology. Venodilation (triggered by hypoxia or autonomic dysfunction) and blood deoxygenation (ie. venous thrombosis, vasospasm or increased blood viscosity) are two major causes of venous plexus visibility. Although, in most cases livedo reticularis is a result of a physiological response to cold exposure, it can also be a cutaneous sign of an underlying disease such as antiphospholipid syndrome or Sneddon’s syndrome. In this paper, we present a 40 year old female patient having cutaneous manifestations exacerbated by physical activity and who got primary livedo reticularis diagnosis after the exclusion of any underlying pathologies and relation to temperature as in the case of physiological livedo reticularis. Albeit exercise is recommended for the treatment of livedo reticularis because increased circulation helps to dilate the blood vessels throughout the body it is contraversial as in this case exercise was what exacerbated the situation.

Key words: Keywords: livedo reticularis, physical activity, exercise