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People whose blood is low in oxygen tend to have a bluish color to their skin. This condition is called cyanosis. Depending on the cause, cyanosis may develop suddenly, along with shortness of breath and other symptoms. Cyanosis that is caused by long-term heart or lung problems may develop slowly.
What disease turns your skin blue?
Argyria is a rare skin condition that can happen if silver builds up in your body over a long time. It can turn your skin, eyes, internal organs, nails, and gums a blue-gray color, especially in areas of your body exposed to sunlight. That change in your skin color is permanent.
Is it bad if your skin turns blue?
When should you seek medical attention? Contact your doctor if you develop a bluish tint to your skin, lips, fingertips, or fingernails that can’t be explained by bruising and doesn’t go away. Seek emergency medical attention if you develop cyanosis along with any of the following symptoms: difficulty breathing.
What drugs turn skin blue?
Amiodarone may make your skin sensitive to sunlight. Exposed skin may turn blue-gray and may not return to normal even after you stop taking this medication.
What to do if someone is turning blue?
Call for an ambulance or go to your nearest hospital emergency department immediately if you notice an adult or child suddenly turning blue, particularly if they have other symptoms, such as difficulty breathing or chest pain . This could be a sign of a life-threatening problem.
What does blue skin mean?
A bluish color to the skin or mucous membrane is usually due to a lack of oxygen in the blood. The medical term is cyanosis.
What does cyanosis look like?
Cyanosis is characterized by bluish discoloration of skin and mucous membranes. Cyanosis is usually a sign of an underlying condition rather than being a disease in itself. The most common symptoms of the condition are bluish discoloration of the lips, fingers, and toes.
Is cyanosis an emergency?
Peripheral cyanosis is usually not a medical emergency. However, central cyanosis is more likely to be a sign of something more serious that requires immediate medical attention.
What is a blue freckle?
A blue nevus is a benign type of mole. It may be present at birth or develop as a person ages. Doctors refer to more than one blue nevus as blue nevi. There are several different types of blue nevi. Common blue nevi are benign and will remain unchanged throughout a person’s life.
Do your lips turn blue when you faint?
Blue lips may accompany other symptoms caused by underlying conditions or due to events that lead to a lack of oxygen in the blood including: Bluish discoloration of the fingers and toes. Confusion, disorientation. Fainting or change in level of consciousness or lethargy.
How do you treat blue skin?
Methylene blue is used to treat severe cases of MetHb, and doctors may prescribe ascorbic acid to reduce the level of methemoglobin in the blood. In severe cases, a person may require a blood transfusion or exchange transfusion. Oxygen therapy will also be provided, if required.
Why is my skin turning GREY?
Pallor, or pale skin, and grayish or blue skin are a result of a lack of oxygenated blood. Your blood carries oxygen around your body, and when this is disrupted, you see a discoloration. The disruption may be to the flow of blood itself, which produces paleness or a gray tint to skin tone.
What drugs make your skin darker?
Pigmentation may be induced by a wide variety of drugs; the main ones implicated include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), phenytoin, antimalarials, amiodarone, antipsychotic drugs, cytotoxic drugs, tetracyclines, and heavy metals.
Why did I wake up with a blue tongue?
A purple or blue tongue could be a sign that your blood isn’t delivering enough oxygen to your body’s tissues. Or, that oxygen-depleted blood — which is dark red, rather than bright red — is circulating through your arteries. The blueish discoloration that occurs due to this is called cyanosis.
What do purple Nailbeds mean?
Cyanosis is a low or lack of oxygen in your red blood cells that may result in the skin underneath your nails and elsewhere like the feet, lips and/or mucous membranes to be a bluish-purple color. Cold temperature exposure or abnormally high hemoglobin levels may cause cyanosis.
Why do my legs get purple and blotchy?
Livedo reticularis is thought to be due to spasms of the blood vessels or an abnormality of the circulation near the skin surface. It makes the skin, usually on the legs, look mottled and purplish, in sort of a netlike pattern with distinct borders. Sometimes livedo reticularis is simply the result of being chilled.
What is a blue person?
The Fugates, a family that lived in the hills of Kentucky, commonly known as the “Blue Fugates” or the “Blue People of Kentucky”, are notable for having been carriers of a genetic trait that led to the blood disorder methemoglobinemia, which causes the appearance of blue-tinged skin.
What is blue black skin?
For example, “blue-black” is a term used primarily by African Americans to describe a skin tone found among dark-skinned people on the African continent.
Does cyanosis go away?
How is cyanosis treated? Most cyanosis in children is a result of “acrocyanosis” and does not need treatment. If there is a primary lung or heart issue, cyanosis will go away when the child has the underlying condition treated either medically or surgically.
How do you fix cyanosis?
Treatment of cyanosis Warming of the affected areas. Surgery as a treatment for cyanosis. Oxygenation as a treatment for cyanosis. Intravenous fluids. Drugs as a treatment for cyanosis. Immunizations for children with cyanosis. Injections for babies with cyanosis. Glucose administration.
How long does cyanosis last?
Q. How long does Cyanosis last? It is a common finding and may persist for 24 to 48 hours. Central cyanosis caused by reduced arterial oxygen saturation lasts for nearly 5 to 10 minutes in a newborn infant as the oxygen saturation rises to 85 to 95 percent by 10 minutes of age.
