Paleness (synonyms: pallor, sallowness, colorlessness, skin pallor; ICD-10-GM R23.1: pallor) is the pale color of a patient’s skin compared with his or her normal skin color.
This may have physiological (“natural” or age-related) or pathological (pathological) causes.
Physiological pallor may be present when a person has little exposure to sunlight.
A pathological cause of pallor is due to a lack of blood flow to the skin, for example. Typical causes are anemia (anemia), blood loss, hypotension (low blood pressure), or a state of shock.Smoking can also lead to an undersupply of oxygen to the skin. This is called smoker’s skin. The skin looks pale and loses fullness and tone.
Paleness can be a symptom of many diseases (see under “Differential diagnoses”).
Course and prognosis: Paleness can be physiological (“natural” or age-related) as already described, but it can also be a symptom among other non-specific symptoms such as fatigue, fever, aching limbs and headache. If no physiological cause can be identified, a physician should be consulted to determine the cause.The prognosis depends on the causative disease.
Note: Acute pallor always requires immediate medical attention!
