Pallor, aka pale skin, paleness, grey skin, is the loss of color in comparison to your normal skin color. Pale skin is not a concern if your skin paleness is caused by a fair complexion or lack of sun exposure.
However, paleness may be a health concern if your usual skin pigment goes grey. And especially if your pallor is accompanied by pale lips, tongue, inner mouth and nails.
Generally, pallor is caused by a decrease in blood supply to your skin or a decrease in your red blood cells count. Some causes for greyness or paleness include:
- apnea
- shock
- cancer
- anemia
- frostbite
- arrhythmia
- anaphylaxis
- thalassemia
- hypothermia
- iron overload
- hypoglycemia
- lead poisoning
- chronic infection
- aortic dissection
- motion sickness
- G6PD deficiency
- arterial embolism
- alcohol poisoning
- pulmonary edema
- sickle cell anemia
- alcohol withdrawal
- pheochromocytoma
- hemolytic uremic syndrome
- malnutrition ~ vitamin B12 deficiency
- morning sickness caused by pregnancy
- drug side effect ~ coumadin, amphetamine
Pale or grey skin is an indication of impending syncope or need to vomit.
Raynaud’s causes an attack of pallor to your extremities. And vitiligo causes specific areas of your skin to pale due to the loss of pigment.
