Paleness of the face or general paleness is particularly visible through pale or lighter skin color. Pale skin should always be understood as a warning sign that something is wrong with the body. So can paleness with a harmless cold but also occur with heart diseases such as coronary artery disease and tumors such as blood cancer.
What is paleness?
Pallor is a skin color that is paler than the patient's normal skin color.
There is no general definition of paleness, as this appears differently in every person. It is therefore best recognized by the patient himself.
Pallor is particularly noticeable on the face and neck, the color of which appears lighter and less lively than usual. She is here called Paleness of the face designated. The change in skin color can also be seen in other parts of the body that are often exposed to light. People with pale skin are mostly considered sickly.
Even people who are rarely in the fresh air, i.e. who have to work more in the house or office, tend to have pale skin. Nordic peoples are also often affected by pale skin, as the sun shines less in these latitudes.
causes
The causes of facial pallor are diverse. People from northern countries are generally fairer-skinned than people from more southern regions. Furthermore, people are often paler who let little sunlight or UV radiation on their skin. These normal color variations are usually not a symptom of the disease and are therefore harmless.
Various underlying diseases can also be considered as causes of the pallor. Sometimes these are harmless health conditions - but the pallor can also indicate that there is a more serious illness.
With poor circulation, pallor appears spontaneously and quickly. It goes hand in hand with other symptoms and occurs because the blood flow to the body was briefly reduced to a minimum. The circulatory weakness itself can be caused by harmless reasons - for example, if you leave the house in the morning without breakfast and have hypoglycaemia. A blood pressure measurement can confirm that there is a poor circulation.
Long-term paleness can result from a lack of vitamin B, among other things. As an accompanying symptom, physical weakness or a decline in performance in athletes are added. A blood test in the laboratory can determine whether there is such a deficiency. Pallor can also occur in cancer. This is because a tumor, benign or malignant, causes bleeding that is not immediately recognized. This leads to anemia after a while and symptoms such as paleness of the skin. Specific examinations must be carried out to determine whether an anemia is actually due to cancer.
In summary, it can be said that paleness or paleness is often an indication of a disease or a physical disorder. Facial pallor is unmistakable, especially in the case of anemia or low blood pressure.
Furthermore, shock situations are responsible for paleness. Here, the blood is directed from the skin into the inner, more vital organs, so that the lack of blood circulation in the skin creates the effect of paleness. This phenomenon is particularly typical with blood loss, drop in blood pressure and circulatory shock.
Chronic pallor is based on similar causes. Particularly in people who suffer from low blood pressure or tend to be anemia, they are very paleness.
The skin of smokers often looks just as unnaturally pale. The lack of oxygen caused by smoking is the reason for the pale skin color that sets in. Poor diet can also lead to paleness.
You can find your medication here
➔ Medicines for pale skinDiseases with this symptom
- Coronary heart disease
- leukemia
- Meningitis
- Heart attack
- Myocarditis
- Cirrhosis of the liver
- Anemia
- Hypothermia (frostbite)
- Circulatory disorders
- Kidney weakness
- Peritonitis
- Pseudo croup
When should you go to the doctor?
In some people, facial pallor is type-related. In that case, the skin on her face is mostly pale and only changes in certain situations such as emotional arousal. As long as they are fine, they don't need to see a doctor about it. If you suffer from paleness or are constantly being asked about it, the color of your face can be freshened up with cosmetic products. The situation is different if someone with an otherwise blooming complexion suddenly and over a longer period of time has a pale face. Then a doctor should be consulted immediately, even if the subjective well-being is good.
The first point of contact in the event of unusual paleness is the family doctor. He already knows his patient. With his experience he deliberately gets to the bottom of the paleness of the face. Common causes are low blood pressure, circulatory disorders or anemia. Likewise, smokers often have a pale complexion and people who do not have a balanced diet.
However, paleness can also be caused by serious illnesses that require urgent treatment, such as myocarditis, coronary artery disease, arterial occlusive disease, kidney failure, cirrhosis of the liver, peritonitis, meningitis or leukemia. Depending on the underlying condition, different specialists should be consulted. In the case of paleness due to the disease, this is the internist, cardiologist, nephrologist, urologist or oncologist.
Doctors & therapists in your area
Treatment & Therapy
Facial pallor or general pallor is treated based on the cause of its appearance. Iron deficiency and low blood pressure can be treated, for example, through a balanced and healthy diet, lots of exercise or relaxation.
The pallor caused by poor circulation hardly needs any further treatment. Depending on the cause of the circulatory weakness, different measures are taken. Often it is enough to just sit down and offer them food to nurse them back up. If you faint, it is advisable to have the patient admitted to the hospital. There he is given an infusion while the cause is determined more precisely. The same is recommended for recurrent circulatory weakness.
Long-lasting paleness must always be examined by a doctor. For more harmless causes such as vitamin B deficiency, a diet rich in vitamin B is ordered. Your doctor may also recommend a supplement that meets your needs. However, if a serious illness such as cancer is diagnosed, an individual treatment method must be determined for the patient. In addition to the removal of the neoplasm, chemotherapy, radiation therapy or other methods are possible.
Outlook & forecast
Most people experience paleness for a very short period of time, indicating a different condition or symptom. In most cases, the pale face disappears after a few minutes or hours when the person concerned is feeling better. Treatment by a doctor usually does not take place.
If the face is pale, the patient should drink and eat a lot. The paleness of the face is often a symptom of a food intolerance, flu or gastrointestinal infection. In such cases it often happens that the patient vomits after the facial pallor. Without these nutrients, the body will take more time to fight the pallor. If the pallor persists for several days and does not go away on its own, a doctor must be consulted.
A doctor must also be visited if the facial pallor occurs after an accident. Here the pale face may indicate another injury to the internal organs that went unnoticed. In such a case, an emergency doctor should be called.
Treatment can take place with healthy food, infusions or vitamin tablets to bring the body's circulation back into balance. However, the symptom itself does not lead to dangerous complications, so that, as a rule, no doctor needs to be consulted.
You can find your medication here
➔ Medicines for pale skinprevention
The pallor caused by poor circulation can easily be prevented. For this it is important, for example, never to leave the house in the morning without breakfast. You should also ensure that you eat healthily enough throughout the day. You should avoid severe stress or nervousness as much as possible or learn to cope with it.
Pallor caused by a vitamin B deficiency can be prevented by eating the right diet. The paleness doesn't even come about when you eat the right natural foods that contain vitamin B. Serious illnesses like cancer can hardly be prevented. The best measure in this case is a preventive medical check-up.
Home remedies & herbs for pallor
- You can get a beautiful complexion by washing lemon balm with distilled water. The skin becomes soft if you rinse it with cool water after washing.
You can do that yourself
A pale face can usually be counteracted relatively well. Since this symptom occurs in most cases whenever the patient is ill or suffers from an infection, the disease must first be eliminated. The paleness of the face often occurs when people have not drunk or eaten enough or when they have eaten bad food. In the case of the consumption of bad foods, induced vomiting is very useful, as it removes the bad or incompatible substance directly from the body.
Fresh air or a walk in the park often helps to get the circulation going again and make the face appear fresher and more perfused. If more serious problems, such as circulatory problems, are accompanied by paleness, it is advisable to keep bed rest. It is also important to relax and drink plenty of fluids. The paleness of the face usually lasts only a few hours and disappears on its own when the circulation has recovered.
However, if the paleness of the face persists and the patient's condition continues to deteriorate, a doctor must be consulted. If so, it could be a serious health problem.
