Pale Skin
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Try one of these related symptoms.
Face is pale
Pale face with blue lips
Pale skin
Looking pallid for days on end
Facial pallor with cyanosis
Face is persistently pale and lips are purplish-blue
Face is ashen all the time
Purplish lips with a pale face
Lacking a healthy skin color
Unhealthy appearance
Appears wan
About the Symptom
Pale skin (or skin pallor) is a lightening of the skin: a relative decrease in the color and warm tones of the skin. People of all skin types and shades may at times have pale skin. Skin going from normal to pale can be caused by a wide variety of things but is generally a sign of less blood flow to the skin. Skin may quickly turn pale, for example, if you are suddenly frightened and the blood flows out of the skin in your face or if you are very cold. It may also happen more slowly, for example, if you have less blood flowing in your body (anemia) due to low iron levels or blood loss.
When to See a Doctor
Seek professional care if you experience any of the following symptoms
- Repeated fever above 38 ℃
- Fainting with loss of consciousness
- Respiratory wheeze
- Unexplained weight loss of 5% or more in 1 month
- Seizure attack
- Fever
- Difficulty breathing / breathlessness
- Peripheral cyanosis
Possible Causes
Generally, Pale skin can be related to:
- Vascular Ring
A vascular ring is a malformation of the aortic arch, which is the main blood vessel leading from the heart. Due to this malformation, the aortic arch and its branches may partially or completely encircle the windpipe (trachea), the esophagus (the tube connecting the mouth to the stomach), or both, causing breathing and digestive issues.
- Pheochromocytoma
Pheochromocytoma is a rare and typically benign tumor that grows in your adrenal gland. Your adrenal glands are small triangular organs, located above your kidneys, responsible for producing hormones that regulate your blood pressure, metabolism, and body reactions in stressful states. Pheochromocytomas are usually caused by genetic mutations and are associated with hereditary syndromes. Some symptoms include These symptoms can include: high blood pressure, headaches, irregular heartbeat, and sweating.
- Meckel's Diverticulosis
Meckel's diverticulum is a congenital (present at birth) bulge in the lower part of the small intestine, which is a remnant of the umbilical cord.
- Breath Holding Spells
Related Serious Diseases
Sometimes, Pale skin may be related to these serious diseases:
- Intussusception
A condition where a segment of the intestines "telescopes" into another. This can cause the intestine walls to die, so prompt medical attention is needed. It is associated with certain genetic conditions and growths, but often no clear cause is found.
- Leukemia
- Ventricular Tachycardia
- Asphyxiation
- Foreign Body in Bronchus
- Epilepsy
Doctor's Diagnostic Questions
Your doctor may ask these questions to check for this symptom:
- Are you looking pale or unwell?
- How long have you been looking pale or sickly?
- How often have you appeared more pale or sickly than usual?
- How has the symptom of looking paler or sicker changed?
- Did your face briefly turn pale?
Reviewed By:
Kenji Taylor, MD, MSc (Family Medicine, Primary Care)
Dr. Taylor is a Japanese-African American physician who grew up and was educated in the United States but spent a considerable amount of time in Japan as a college student, working professional and now father of three. After graduating from Brown, he worked in finance first before attending medical school at Penn. He then completed a fellowship with the Centers for Disease Control before going on to specialize in Family and Community Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) where he was also a chief resident. After a faculty position at Stanford, he moved with his family to Japan where he continues to see families on a military base outside of Tokyo, teach Japanese residents and serve remotely as a medical director for Roots Community Health Center. He also enjoys editing and writing podcast summaries for Hippo Education.
Yoshinori Abe, MD (Internal Medicine)
Dr. Abe graduated from The University of Tokyo School of Medicine in 2015. He completed his residency at the Tokyo Metropolitan Health and Longevity Medical Center. He co-founded Ubie, Inc. in May 2017, where he currently serves as CEO & product owner at Ubie. Since December 2019, he has been a member of the Special Committee for Activation of Research in Emergency AI of the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine. | | Dr. Abe has been elected in the 2020 Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia Healthcare & Science category.
Content updated on Feb 13, 2025
Following the Medical Content Editorial Policy
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People with similar symptoms also use Ubie's symptom checker to find possible causes
- Face turned pale for a while then recovered
- Face has no color
- Face is pale with lips turned blue for a while
- Facial pallor that lasted for a while
- Face turned ashen for a short time
- Face is pale all the time
- Appears sickly
- Face turned pale transiently
- Persistent facial pallor
- Face was pale for a while
- Continuously pale
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Link to full study:
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.08.29.24312810v1References
Kalantri A, Karambelkar M, Joshi R, Kalantri S, Jajoo U. Accuracy and reliability of pallor for detecting anaemia: a hospital-based diagnostic accuracy study. PLoS One. 2010 Jan 1;5(1):e8545. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0008545. PMID: 20049324; PMCID: PMC2797134.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2797134/Muhe L, Oljira B, Degefu H, Jaffar S, Weber MW. Evaluation of clinical pallor in the identification and treatment of children with moderate and severe anaemia. Trop Med Int Health. 2000 Nov;5(11):805-10. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-3156.2000.00637.x. Erratum in: Trop Med Int Health 2001 Apr;6(4):326. PMID: 11123829.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11123829/