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Information about Carotenodermia

Carotenodermia (also carotenaemia, carotenemia or hypercarotenemia) is a yellowish/orange discoloration of the skin, most often occurring in the palms of the hands and soles of the feet as a result of high levels of carotene in the body. It is most commonly found in vegetarians. It is also very typically seen in infants and small children, and in their case the discoloration is most visible in the skin on their nose. This symptom, also known as xanthosis cutis, is reversible and harmless.[1] Carotenodermia has been observed to occur upon chronic doses in excess of 30 mg of carotenoid per day, most often caused by eating an overabundance of carrots. Though all pigmented fruits and vegetables contain some amount of carotene, especially large amounts of it are in breast milk, carrots, squash, sweet potato, pumpkin, spinach, beans, egg yolks, corn and yams.

Symptoms

Other than yellowish discoloration, carotenodermia has no significant symptoms or toxicity. Note that this is not true of Vitamin A, which the liver can interconvert with carotene.

Causes

Carotenodermia is most commonly associated with over consumption of food containing carotene, but it can be a medical sign of other conditions, including: Infants and small children are especially prone to carotenodermia because of the cooked, mashed, and pureed vegetables that they eat. Processing and homogenizing causes carotene to become more available for absorption. A small 2.5 ounce jar of baby food sweet potatoes or carrots contains about 400-500% of an infant's recommended daily value of carotene. In addition to that source of carotene, infants are usually prescribed a liquid vitamin supplement, such as Tri-Vi-Sol, which contains vitamin A.

Treatment

Carotenaemia is in itself harmless and does not require treatment. By discontinuing the use of high quantities of carotene the skin color will return to normal. It may take up to several months, however, for this to happen. Infants with this condition should be taken off prescribed vitamin supplements unless advised to do so by the child's pediatrician.

As to possible underlying disorders, treatment depends wholly on the cause.

Containing carotene

Many fruits and vegetables contain carotene, most notably carrots.

Similar conditions

Excessive consumption of lycopene, a plant pigment similar to carotene and present in tomatoes, can cause a deep orange discoloration of the skin. Like carotenodermia, lycopenodermia is harmless.

Excessive consumption of elemental silver, silver dust or silver compounds can cause the skin to be colored blue or bluish-grey. This condition is called argyria. Similarly, prolonged exposure to gold leads to chrysiasis.

References

1. ^ Simon, P.W. (2004). Carrot Facts. United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved on 2007-07-01.

External links

  • One woman's experiment to find out whether her skin would turn orange if she ate a diet of mostly carrots for thirty days.
Carotene is responsible for the orange colour of the carrots and many other fruits and vegetables.]] The term carotene is used for several related substances having the formula C40H56.
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Vegetarianism is the practice of a diet that excludes all animal flesh, including poultry, game, fish, shellfish or crustacea, and slaughter by-products. There are variations that admit dairy products, eggs and/or products from animal labor such as honey.
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Carotenoids are organic pigments that are naturally occurring in plants and some other photosynthetic organisms like algae, some types of fungus and some bacteria. There are over 600 known carotenoids; they are split into two classes, xanthophylls and carotenes.
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D. carota

Binomial name
Daucus carota
L.

The carrot (Daucus carota subsp. sativus
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Breast milk usually refers to the milk produced by a human female which is usually fed to infants by breastfeeding. It provides the primary source of nutrition for newborns before they are able to eat solid food and digest a wider variety of food.
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Squashes generally refer to four species of the genus Cucurbita native to the New World, also called marrows depending on variety or the nationality of the speaker.
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I. batatas

Binomial name
Ipomoea batatas
L.

“Camote” redirects here. For the island group in the Philippines, see Camotes Islands.

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Cucurbita spp.
L.

Species

C. maxima
C. mixta
C. moschata
C. pepo

A pumpkin is a squash fruit that grows as a gourd from a trailing vine of certain species in the genus Cucurbita.
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S. oleracea

Binomial name
Spinacia oleracea
L.

Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) is a flowering plant in the family of Amaranthaceae, native to central and southwestern Asia.
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Bean is a common name for large plant seeds of several genera of Fabaceae (formerly Leguminosae) used for food or feed. They are also known as legumes.

Name

The term Bean
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egg yolk is the part of an egg which serves as the food source for the developing embryo inside. Prior to fertilization the yolk together with the germinal disc is a single cell. Mammalian embryos live off their yolk until they implant on the wall of the uterus.
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Z. mays

Binomial name
Zea mays
L.

Maize (IPA: /ˈmeɪz/) (Zea mays L. ssp.
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Yam is the common name for some species in the genus Dioscorea (family Dioscoreaceae). These are perennial herbaceous vines cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania.
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Vitamin A is an essential human nutrient. It exists not as a single compound, but in several forms. In foods of animal origin, the major form of vitamin A is an alcohol (retinol), but can also exist as an aldehyde (retinal), or as an acid (retinoic acid).
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Simply, a sign is an indication of some fact or quality; and, in everyday English, a medical sign is an "objective" indication of some medical fact or quality that is detected by a physician during a physical examination of a patient—such as elevated
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Anorexia Nervosa
Classification & external resources

ICD-10 F 50.0 -F 50.1
ICD-9 307.1

OMIM 606788
DiseasesDB 749

eMedicine emerg/34   med/144

For the symphonic black metal band, see Anorexia Nervosa (band)''

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Diabetes mellitus
Classification & external resources

ICD-10 E 10. –E 14.
ICD-9 250

MedlinePlus 001214
eMedicine med/546   emerg/134

MeSH C18.452.394.
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liver is an organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. It plays a major role in metabolism and has a number of functions in the body, including glycogen storage, decomposition of red blood cells, plasma protein synthesis, and detoxification.
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Hyperlipidemia
Classification & external resources

ICD-10 E 78.
ICD-9 272.0 - 272.4

DiseasesDB 6255

Hyperlipidemia, hyperlipoproteinemia or dyslipidemia
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Hypothyroidism
Classification & external resources

Triiodothyronine, the most active form of thyroid hormone
ICD-10 E 03.9
ICD-9 244.9

DiseasesDB 6558

eMedicine med/1145  
MeSH D007037 Hypothyroidism
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Porphyria
Classification & external resources

ICD-10 E 80.0 -E 80.2
ICD-9 277.1

MedlinePlus 001208

MeSH C17.800.849.617

Porphyrias
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The kidneys are organs that filter wastes (such as urea) from the blood and excrete them, along with water, as urine. The medical field that studies the kidneys and diseases of the kidney is called nephrology[1].
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fruit has different meanings depending on context. In botany, a fruit is the ripened ovary—together with seeds—of a flowering plant. In many species, the fruit incorporates the ripened ovary and surrounding tissues.
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Vegetable is a term which generally refers to an edible part of a plant. The definition is traditional rather than scientific and is somewhat arbitrary and subjective. All parts of herbaceous plants eaten as food by humans, whole or in part, are normally considered vegetables.
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Lycopene is a bright red carotenoid pigment, a phytochemical found in tomatoes and other red fruits. Lycopene is the most common carotenoid in the human body and is one of the most potent carotenoid antioxidants.
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Silver (IPA: /ˈsɪlvə(ɹ)/) is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (Latin: argentum) and atomic number 47.
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MeSH D001129 Argyria (ISV from Greek: αργύρος argyros silver + -ia) is an extremely rare condition caused by the ingestion of elemental silver, silver dust or silver compounds.
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Chrysiasis is a dermatological condition caused by the prolonged ingestion of gold.

Similar to silver, a gold preparation used parenterally for a long period may rarely produce a permanent skin pigmentation - especially if the skin is exposed to sunlight or artificial
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United States Department of Agriculture

Logo of the USDA

Seal of the Department of Agriculture
Agency overview
Formed February 15, 1889

Jurisdiction Federal government of the United States

Employees
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