This is the most literal question in the check: we're walking you through an actual bedside test that clinicians use — Stemmer's sign. Try to pinch and lift a fold of skin at the base of your second toe. Liftable fold: negative. Skin too thick to lift: positive.
What it detects is specific to lymphoedema: the protein-rich fluid of failed lymphatic drainage gradually thickens the skin and tissue — something ordinary venous swelling and lipoedema don't do. So one ten-second pinch helps separate three conditions that are endlessly confused, right at the foot, where lymphoedema shows up and lipoedema pointedly doesn't.
It has real limits, which is why it's one question among several: early lymphoedema can still pinch normally (a negative doesn't clear you), and it's a clue rather than a diagnosis either way. But it earns its place — few self-checks carry this much signal per second.
If your fold wouldn't lift: mention it at an appointment in exactly those terms — "my Stemmer's sign seems positive" — alongside the pitting test. Specific observations get specific responses; early lymphoedema care changes the whole trajectory.