Characteristics of acrocyanosis: its types, signs, treatment

From this article you will learn: what is acrocyanosis, why it appears, and how to deal with it.

Contents of the article:

• Six species of acrocyanosis
• Reasons for
• Characteristic symptoms
• Diagnosis
• Treatment of acrocyanosis
• Forecast

Acrocyanosis is a blue shade of the skin and mucous membranes. Blue can become lips, the tip of the nose, fingers or toes, ears, nasolabial triangle. This is due to a violation of blood circulation in small vessels. The causes of this are often hidden in heart diseases.

This symptom can be both dangerous and not-depending on the cause.

The cardiologist or cardiac surgeon deals with the causes of acrocyanosis. Sometimes this feature does not require treatment at all.

Six species of acrocyanosis

Depending on what provokes a blue shade of the skin, six forms of acrocyanosis are distinguished:

Reasons for

1. Causes of central acroceanosis

The central form develops as a result of an increase in the level of reduced hemoglobin( which is not connected to oxygen) in venous blood, as well as stagnation of venous blood and insufficient oxygen saturation in the pulmonary lobe.

The causes of this can be:

• Congenital "blue" heart defects: stenosis( constriction) or atresia( infection) of the tricuspid valve, tetralogy of Fallot( combination of atrial septal defect, right ventricular enlargement, narrowing of the pulmonary trunk and abnormal aortic arrangement), hollow veinsin the left atrium, the transposition of the main vessels.
• Defect of interventricular septum.
• Stenosis of the pulmonary trunk.
• Heart failure( it can provoke hypertension, coronary artery atherosclerosis, acquired heart defects).
• Thromboembolism of the pulmonary artery.
• Chronic severe diseases of the bronchi and lungs, in which breathing is disturbed.

Causes of central acrocyanosis

2. Causes of diffuse

Diffuse form occurs when the right ventricular function is disrupted.

3. Causes of anesthetic

An anesthetic variety occurs as the body reacts to cold( when the skin temperature drops to 15-20 degrees).This occurs in healthy people in the process of normal heat exchange. In this case, there is a slight cyanosis of the skin.

The expressed dark blue shade at the slightest freezing can be observed at:

This is due to the fact that with these diseases cold agglutinins are formed - substances that "stick together" red blood cells when the temperature is lowered, which complicates blood circulation.

4. Causes of spasmodic

Spasmodic form is a specific reaction of the human body to an astheno-neurotic syndrome. In response to any stimulus, such individuals develop a spasm of small vessels. More often this phenomenon is observed in adolescents.

5. Causes of Toxic

A toxic variety of the disease develops when poisoned with substances that lead to the formation of methemoglobin or sulfa hemoglobin in the blood.

6. Causes of idiopathic

The causes of idiopathic acrocyanosis are not fully understood. It is known that the blue shade of the skin appears due to spasm of arterioles( small arteries) and the expansion of venules( small veins).However, the person is absolutely healthy. Idiopathic form is often characteristic of adolescent girls. This feature is often associated with hormonal reorganization or features of the nervous system.

Also idiopathic acrocyanosis can be in newborns. Especially prone to this preterm infants. This is due to the fact that the lungs and the cardiovascular system have not yet adapted to life outside the mother's body. This cyanosis of the skin usually passes for several days or weeks.

Acrocyanoses of any type are enhanced by exposure to low temperatures, as well as by physical exertion.

Symptoms

The disease can manifest as a slight bluish skin tone and mucous, and a pronounced dark color. It depends on such factors:

• The severity of the disease - with "blue" congenital malformations and severe heart failure symptoms are most pronounced.
• Thickness of the skin - the thicker the skin, the less pronounced this symptom is.
• Skin pigmentation - in people with dark skin, cyanosis is more difficult to detect, it can be noticeable only on the lips and on the nail plates.
• Number of small blood vessels in the skin. This is an individual feature. The more of them, the more pronounced acrocyanosis.

Color depends on the type of disease: for heart defects and heart failure, the skin acquires a dark blue-violet-red hue, and with lung diseases - ash-blue-gray.

Among the additional symptoms of acrocyanosis, provoked by heart disease, you can highlight increased sweating of the extremities, swelling of the affected areas.

Diagnosis

If you notice a bluish skin and mucous membranes, first contact a cardiologist. This may be one of the symptoms of chronic heart failure.

For its diagnosis use:

If heart disease has not been identified, a lung and liver examination, as well as blood tests, are performed.

Diagnostic methods for acrocyanosis

Heart defects that provoke a blue skin tinge in children can be diagnosed at the fetal stage during fetal echocardiography. This is very important, since patients with severe congenital heart defects sometimes need to be operated immediately after birth.

Treatment of acrocyanosis

Treatment should be aimed at eliminating the underlying disease. With acrocyanosis of cardiac origin, no specific therapy for this symptom is performed. Eliminate the cause that caused acrocyanosis.

Congenital and acquired heart defects require surgical correction. Sometimes, medical treatment of heart failure is also performed with drugs that lower blood pressure and improve the performance of the myocardium.

If the cyanosis is not associated with a disease, then it does not require treatment. If desired, with idiopathic acrocyanosis, you can use means to strengthen the blood vessels to avoid abnormal expansion of the venules. These drugs include ascorbic acid, rutin, potassium and magnesium preparations. Before their reception, consult a physician-therapist.

Also, to reduce the severity of idiopathic acrocyanosis, use contrasting baths for hands and feet, contrast washing, rubbing affected areas with camphor oil.

For the removal of spasm of arterioles one can drink a course of one of these natural remedies:

Herbs for the removal of spasm of arterioles

Use plants in the form of decoction or tea.

Before using them, consult a therapist and carefully read the instructions if you purchase herbs at a pharmacy.

Forecast of

It depends on the disease that caused acrocyanosis.

In congenital malformations of the blue type, the prognosis is unfavorable. If you do not operate the patient in the near future after birth, a violation of the structure of the heart leads to a fatal outcome.

Heart failure in the absence of proper treatment also leads to severe consequences( disruption of the liver, kidneys, lungs) and death. However, with the timely elimination of the cause( through the constant use of medication or surgery), the patient returns to normal life.

With idiopathic as well as spasmodic acrocyanosis, the prognosis is favorable. If no diseases have been identified, in itself this condition is not dangerous to health and life. But, despite this, it is difficult to treat. We can say that the idiopathic form of acrocyanosis is not a medical problem, but a cosmetic one. If the problem occurs during the adolescent period, it usually goes with age.