Skin Pigmentation
Pigmentation is a disorder of skin complexion and color.
It occurs mainly due to the malfunctioning of the endocrine glands and the liver. Skin pigmentation problems occur as either an excessive coloration or darkening of the skin or a loss of color and pigment in the skin, over the entire body or just in patches and spots.
Causes of Pigmentation Problems and Disorders Pigmentation is more widespread amongst the middle-aged women. Very few women in younger age suffer from pigmentation, and the extent of the problem is minimal with few exceptions. This in fact is related to the endocrinal changes that occur when women reach middle age. The severity of pigmentation problem is associated with several diseases and disorders.
To understand the unusual occurrence of pigmentation, we need to understand these internal disorders.
The Internal Disorders That Cause Pigmentation Pigmentation of the skin is a symptom common to sever internal disorders. We ought to make a correct diagnosis of these diseases and disorders so as to effectively clear up the pigmentation. An outbreak of dark freckles and spots all over the body could be due to Addison's disease. This disease causes the damage and impairment of cortical part of the adrenal glands. Due to over-absorption of iron from the food in the intestinal tract, a bronze pigmentation appears all over the body. The skin gains a brownish pigmentation or the colors of other compounds also absorbed. For example, women using nasal drops regularly absorb excess quantities of silver present in the drops and develop a silver grey pigmentation in the skin. Jaundice is another cause. The skin turns yellow due to the presence of excess bile in the blood and the body tissue. This disorder appears when the liver becomes incapacitated or when an obstruction appears in the bile tract. Sometimes, during pregnancy, dark brown spots appear predominantly on the face. The main reason for these brown spots is the hormonal imbalances caused during the pregnancy. When the skin turns bluish or purplish, it is due to the lack of oxygen in the blood. The oxygen-poor blood is bluish red in color. Women suffering from pneumonia, long diseases and some heart problems are troubled with this type of pigmentation. Menopause results in decline of the hormonal level which in turn affects the secretion of the coloring pigment in our skin. In case of surgical menopause by removal of ovaries and uterus, the pigmentation is more obvious and severe in nature. Amoebiasis is a chronic intestinal disorder. It causes excessive purging of the bowels, dehydration and results in shallowness of the complexion and loss of color. Deficiency of iron, calcium, Vitamin A, E & B complex results in patchy and spotty discoloration of the skin. Lack of Vitamin A results in thickening and darkening of the skin. Vitamins E and B complex deficiency can cause excessive skin pigmentation problem. How Is the Excessive Pigmentation Caused? The production of the coloring agent melanin in our skin is influenced by the hormones produced by our endocrinal system. Certain internal conditions such as menopause and disorders have adverse effects on the endocrinal system causing hormonal imbalance. These further results in an over-secretion of the coloring pigment. Coupled with this, an excessive keratinization, a condition characterized by the presence of the dead cells on the skin's surface causes the darkening of complexion. In fact, our horny skin surface absorbs excessive melanin and therefore appears dark. In the other condition of liver disorder, it is found thin excess bilirubin seeps out of the blood vessels into the spaces between the tissue cells. This imparts a yellow complexion to the skin. |
