Lips - bluish; Fingernails - bluish; Cyanosis; Bluish lips and fingernails; Bluish skin

For cyanosis caused by exposure to cold or Raynaud's phenomenon, dress warmly when going outside or stay in a well-heated room.

Bluish skin (cyanosis) can be a sign of many serious medical problems and should be taken seriously. Call or visit your health care provider.

For adults, call your doctor or 911 if you have bluish skin and:

• Your breathing is getting harder, faster, or you cannot get a deep breath.
• You need to lean forward when sitting to breathe.
• You are using muscles around the ribs to get enough air.
• You have chest pain.
• You are having headaches more often than usual.
• You feel sleepy or confused.
• You have a fever.
• You are coughing up dark mucus.

For children, call the doctor or 911 if your child has bluish skin and:

• Is having a hard time breathing
• The child's chest muscles are pulling in with each breath
• Is breathing faster than 50 to 60 breaths per minute (when not crying)
• Is making a grunting noise
• Is sitting with shoulders hunched over
• Is very tired
• Is not moving around very much
• Has a limp or floppy body
• The nostrils are flaring out when the child breathes
• Loses his or her appetite
• Is irritable
• Has trouble sleeping

Your health care provider will perform a physical examination, which includes listening to your breathing and heart sounds. In emergency situations (such as shock), you will be stabilized first.

Medical history questions may include:

• When did the bluish skin color develop?
• Did it develop suddenly?
• Has it been developing slowly?
• Are your lips blue?
• Are your nailbeds blue?
• Is your body blue all over?
• Have you been exposed to cold?
• Have you suddenly gone to a high altitude?
• Have you breathed in anything poisonous?
• What other symptoms do you have?
• Do you have difficulty breathing?
• Do you have ankle, foot, or leg swelling?
• Do you have a cough?
• Do you have chest pain?

Tests that may be performed include:

• Arterial blood gas analysis
• Blood oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry
• Complete blood count (CBC)
• Chest x-ray
• ECG

For shortness of breath and cyanosis, you may receive oxygen.

Images

Cyanosis of the nail bed

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Skin discoloration Prevention

Review Date: 05/25/2011
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)