Peripheral Cyanosis – What is it, Symptoms and Treatments!

Peripheral Cyanosis – What it is, Symptoms and Treatments of this condition. In addition, Peripheral Cyanosis Occurs by too much deoxygenation by peripheral tissues. It can be caused by conditions that prevent oxygen-rich blood from reaching the tissues in your hands and feet. Blue hands or feet can be a sign of an underlying condition. Talk to your doctor if normal color doesn’t return to your hands or feet when you warm up.

Cyanosis refers to a bluish cast on the skin and mucous membranes. Peripheral Cyanosis is when there is a bluish discoloration in the hands or feet. It is usually caused by low oxygen levels in your red blood cells or problems getting oxygenated blood into your body.

Oxygen -rich blood is the bright red color typically associated with blood . When blood has a lower level of oxygen and becomes a darker red, more blue light is reflected, making the skin appear to have a blue tint.

Sometimes cold temperatures can cause blood vessels to narrow and lead to temporarily bluish skin . Warming or massaging the blue areas should return normal blood flow and color to the skin .

If warming your hands or feet up doesn’t restore normal blood flow and color, it could be a sign of an underlying condition. Whatever the underlying cause, the blue coloring means it’s interfering with your body’s ability to deliver oxygen-rich blood to all the tissues that need it. It is important to restore oxygen to the body’s tissues as quickly as possible in order to avoid complications.

Symptoms of Peripheral Cyanosis: In many cases, blue lips or skin can be a sign of a life-threatening emergency. If the blue discoloration is accompanied by any of the following, call 911:

• Shortness of breath or sighing;
• Fever;
• Headache;
• Shortness of breath or breathing difficulties;
• Chest pain;
• Sundating profusely;
• Pain or numbness in the arms, legs, hands , fingers or toes;
• Paleness or shine in the arms, legs, hands , fingers or toes;
• Dizziness or fainting.

Causes of Peripheral Cyanosis: Being cold is the most frequent cause of Peripheral Cyanosis . It is also possible to have Peripheral Cyanosis even if they are hot.

Blue hands or feet can be a sign of a problem with your body’s system of delivering oxygen-rich blood to the tissues in your hands and feet. Your blood is responsible for carrying oxygen through your body, traveling from your lungs to your heart , where it is pumped through your arteries to the rest of your body. Once the blood has delivered to your body’s tissues, the oxygen-depleted blood returns to your heart and lungs through your veins.

Anything that prevents blood from returning to your heart through your veins, or that prevents it from reaching your tissues in the first place, means your tissues aren’t getting the rare oxygen-rich blood they need.

Causes of Peripheral Cyanosis include:

• Clothing or jewelry that is too tight;
• Deep vein thrombosis;
• Venous insufficiency, caused by conditions that decrease blood flow through the veins;
• Raynaud’s phenomenon;
• Lymphedema;
• Cardiac insufficiency;
• Arterial insufficiency, caused by conditions that decrease blood flow through the arteries;
• Severe hypotension or extremely low blood pressure, which can be caused by conditions such as septic shock
• Hypovolemia, in which less blood circulates through your body than normal.

Diagnoses of Peripheral Cyanosis: Bluish skin is usually a sign of Peripheral Cyanosis . If normal color does not return when your skin is warmed, call your doctor right away to determine the cause.

Your doctor will need to perform a physical exam. They will listen to your heart and lungs . You will likely have to provide a blood sample and undergo other tests.

Your doctor may use a non-invasive pulse oximeter to measure the oxygenation of your blood . They may also order an arterial blood gas test. This test measures the acidity and levels of carbon dioxide and oxygen in your blood . You may have a chest X-ray or CT scan to evaluate your heart and lungs as well.

Peripheral Cyanosis Treatments: It is important to seek medical attention if you have Peripheral Cyanosis . Treatment of Peripheral Cyanosis involves identifying and correcting the underlying cause to restore the flow of oxygenated blood to the affected parts of the body. Receiving proper treatment in a timely manner will improve the outcome and limit any complications.

There are some medications available that can help your blood vessels relax. These include:

• antidepressants
• anti-hypertension drugs
• erectile dysfunction drugs

The use of these drugs to treat Peripheral Cyanosis is considered off-label drug use. Off-label drug use means that a drug that has been approved by the FDA for one purpose is used for a different purpose that has not been approved.

However, a doctor can still use the drug for this purpose. This is because the FDA regulates the testing and approval of drugs, but not how doctors use them to treat their patients. Then your doctor can prescribe whichever way he thinks is best for your care.

You may also need certain medications that narrow your blood vessels as a side effect, including types of:

• beta blockers
• migraine medication
• Birth control pills
• Pseudoephedrine-based cold and allergy medications

Serious medical situations, such as heart failure , can be treated in a hospital as an emergency. Other conditions, such as Raynaud’s phenomenon, may require long-term lifestyle changes. You may need to avoid caffeine and nicotine, which can cause blood vessels to clog.