Does anyone know what these marks are on my leg please?

[GigglingPorcupine]

I feel depressed looking at the state of my leg. One looks like this. The other is ‘normal’. Photos may take a bit of time to upload I guess. I’m 46, perhaps a stone over weight, 5’9 and walk the dog daily and am constantly on the go. My diet isn’t too bad, although perhaps being a stone over weight it needs refining! Does anyone know what these marks are? I have had them for about a year and keep thinking it will go, and it hasn’t. It’s like bruises almost, you can push down on them and they fade quite a lot. I’m thinking now the weather is getting better I want to try and sort out whatever it is if I can. Thank you.

They look worse in real life than the photos shows them….

Showing it how it looks more.

Chat GPT is a great starting point for things like this...

You said:

What's this

ChatGPT said:
I can’t diagnose from a photo, but this looks like bruising (contusions) on the lower leg.
I can see:
Faint yellow-green and purple patches
Slight uneven discoloration under the skin
No obvious open wound
That color pattern is typical of a bruise that’s a few days old and healing. Bruises often change from purple/blue → green → yellow as they resolve.
Common causes:
Minor bump or knock (even if you don’t remember it)
Muscle strain
Pressure to the area
Occasionally related to medications (like blood thinners) or easy bruising tendencies
When to get it checked:
The bruising keeps appearing without injury
It’s very painful, swollen, warm, or getting worse
Your leg becomes red, hot, and swollen (especially one leg only)
You have frequent unexplained bruises elsewhere
If you’d like, tell me:
Did you bump it?
Is it painful or swollen?
How long has it been there?
That will help narrow it down.

You said:
It's not a bruise. Permanently there

ChatGPT said:
Thanks — that helps.
Looking closely at your photo, the area on the shin looks like:
A faint brown/grey patch
Not sharply defined
Not raised
No redness or scaling
Looks flat and “under” the skin
If it’s been there permanently and isn’t changing, common possibilities include:
1️⃣ Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation
A leftover stain from:
An old bruise
Insect bite
Minor injury
Shaving irritation
These can last months or even years, especially on the shins.
2️⃣ Hemosiderin staining
Brownish staining from tiny amounts of blood leaking from capillaries (common on lower legs). More common if:
You stand a lot
You’ve had swelling
You have mild vein issues
3️⃣ Benign pigmentation change
Some people just develop uneven pigment patches on the shins over time.

Less likely (based on the image):
Skin cancer (this doesn’t have the irregular, dark, sharply bordered look)
Infection (no redness or inflammation)
Active bruise (wrong color pattern for something fresh)

Do you cycle? I realised I had a lot of this kind of mottling on one shin. It was slight bruising/making from my bike peddles bashing me as I walked my bike.

I never even thought of chat gpt! Thank you, will have a proper read @SupremeGeneticBee!

Only on the exercise bike at home, good thought, but I don’t ever remember scraping myself on it, but I will see when I’m on it tomorrow! Thank you.