[3] It usually presents itself as a waxy, discolored induration of the skin—classically described as having a so-called peau d'orange (orange peel) appearance—on the anterior aspect of the lower legs, spreading to the dorsum of the feet, or as a non-localised, non-pitting edema of the skin in the same areas.

Application of petroleum jelly on the affected area could relieve the burning sensation and the itching.

It occasionally occurs in non-thyrotoxic Graves' disease, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, and stasis dermatitis.

There are suggestions in the medical literature that treatment with radioactive iodine for Graves' hyperthyroidism may be a trigger for pretibial myxedema[5] which would be consistent with radioiodine ablation causing or aggravating ophthalmopathy, a condition which commonly occurs with pretibial myxedema and is believed to have common underlying features.

[6] Other known triggers for ophthalmopathy include thyroid hormone imbalance, and tobacco smoking, but there has been little research attempting to confirm these are also risk factors for pretibial myxedema.