Talk:Cyanosis

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This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 25 October 2021 and 19 November 2021. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Joshua Cho28. Peer reviewers: Checkoutchek.

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Blood vessels in the eye are red. They are red because there is no significant tissue to change or override the color. Scattering is not the reason for blue. Perception problems exist in the mind. Photographs show that veins in the arm are blue, and veins in the region of the sclera of the eye are red. The veins in the arm are larger, with thicker walls. Generally, muscles contain myoglobin, even venous muscular walls. What color is deoxygenated myoglobin? If anyone knows of anyone who has some evidence for the color of deoxygenated myoglobin, I would pay you for it.Anothersamespace (talk) 05:12, 18 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Blood in normal individuals is always a shade of red, light for oxygenated blood and dark for deoxygenated. The blue color of veins and tissues in cyanosis is due to the light-scattering effects of surrounding tissues. The same scattering effect also causes the blue color of the sky and large bodies of water. Blue is more lightly to be scattered while red absorbed. Deoxygenated blood is prone to this due to its dark color (less red penetrates the tissue). I have edited the article to reflect this fact, where it previously seemed to say that deoxygenated blood was blue. Xiphoris (talk) 08:57, 7 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I don't have a formal reference for saying that cyanosis is a sign of choking or asphyxiation, but every AMA reference card or bookshelf medical guide I've seen has referred to that. I'll see if I can track down one of the books, and if anyone else can expand this article or add more references, please do. Jeeves 10:33, 10 Jun 2005 (UTC)

You're correct. JFW | T@lk 15:27, 10 Jun 2005 (UTC)

I'm not a doctor but I heard certain poisonous agents cause cyanosis.. cyanide? CO2? May be someone better qualified could put these in the article. 86.144.47.154 23:55, 6 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Is there a solution/cure for this skin discoloration problem?

In a word "Yes." In 2002 I developed cyanosis in my left arm, the first symptoms were a white hand, grey tinge to the knuckle and base of the nails on my hand. Thinking that I was cold I put a long sleeved top on. That was about 3pm. I was working on writing a scientific paper and didn't pay any attention to my hand, arm etc. I reached a point where I could stop about 6pm, and I noticed my left hand palm was a deep shade of red - similar to burgundy. I was puzzled and it was then that I noticed that the back of my hand was coloured blue. My first thought was my watch strap was too tight, so I removed it, only to discover that the blue colour continued under where my watch strap had been, I pulled my sleeve up my arm and as I did so I noticed that the blue colouring continued up my arm. It finally stopped about 1 inch - 25 mm below my left elbow. I was puzzled and sat for a few moments wondering what was wrong. Out of the recesses of my mind the word "Cyanosis" jumped at me. Now I knew I needed help and fast. I ended up in hospital for a week strapped to a pump which pumped 600 milli-litres of Heparin - a blood thinner into me. I had three times daily blood tests and was eventually put on a blood thinner tablet called "Plavix Clopidogerol" which I will have to take for the rest of my life. No one to this day (2013) can tell me what happened but since childhood if I was cut my blood clotted very quickly - had I been living with "thick" blood all my life, I don't know but what frightened me more was being told that if I hadn't sought help that day I would at best have lost my arm at the shoulder and more likely suffered a massive fatal heart attack. So yes there is a solution - thin blood carries oxygen a lot easier than thick blood, the actual cure is raising the oxygen saturation levels. I should have recognised the symptoms having been aircrew in the RAF where the causes, effects and cure for hypoxia is taught, oh and you can also be affected if you venture in to the the high mountains - mountain sickness are all caused ny hypoxia which results in cyanosis. Trust this helps.The Geologist (talk) 15:19, 9 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Blood is always red, whether that be dark red or a lighter red. How does blood cause this blue effect, known as Cyanosis, if blood is red? I can only presume it is the same reason veins appear blue. Tainted Deity 16:02, 9 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Hemoglobin (Hb) is a tetramer (4 protein chains + iron) found within RBC's. When the Hb is deoxygenated, I believe it is the iron content within the Hb that causes the RBC to adopt a blueish colour (I could be wrong, just going off my memory).

But reason I am here is at the end of the first paragraph it says "When signs of cyanosis first appear, such as on the lips or fingers, intervention should be made within 3–5 minutes because a severe hypoxia or severe circulatory failure has induced the cyanosis." Should it read hypoxemia rather than hypoxia? Cyanosis is an artefact of inadequate oxygenation of hemoglobin ie hypoxemia. Hypoxia, as is seen in anemia will generally result in pallor (paleness) rather than cyanosis (blueness). I am under the impression hypoxemia is classified as some as a form of hypoxia, so technically it may be correct in some cases, but using hypoxia rather than hypoxemia makes it unnecessarily ambiguous... 49.2.10.223 (talk) 06:40, 8 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

How about argyria? It is also about blue coloration of skin. --Hartz (talk) 18:50, 2 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

This sentence doesn't make sense:

Also, the more blue the color is more difficult to detect on deeply pigmented skin. Pollifax (talk) 18:13, 21 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Hello, I agree with you. I believe we can rephrase it in the following way: The blue discoloration of the skin may be difficult to detect on people with darker skin pigmentation.Joshua Cho28 (talk) 02:49, 28 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

There is a general lack in Medicine when it comes to the appearance of certain conditions such as rashes in the skin of individuals with darker skin pigmentation. In this article about "Cyanosis", it behooves us to provide pictures representing the appearance of cyanosis in people with darker skin pigmentation, in order to better educate the public. Depending on whether it is central or peripheral cyanosis, we can look at different locations on the body: oral mucosa/tongue vs. nail beds respectively.^[1]

I suggest using pictures found online. However, I do not know if there are any copyright issues. Furthermore, those pictures are the only pictures available online. Joshua Cho28 (talk) 02:45, 28 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]