What Are the Most Common Causes of Orange Skin?

The most common causes of orange skin are carotenemia, a usually benign condition where people ingest too much beta carotene and their bodies cannot clear it quickly enough, and jaundice, a symptom of liver dysfunction. Skin discolorations can also develop in association with tanning and with some chronic diseases including liver and kidney dysfunction. If a patient develops orange skin, the doctor can perform an evaluation to determine the cause and recommend a treatment.

In people with carotenemia, too much carotene is ingested, a result of eating lots of colorful fruits and vegetables like carrots. This is not necessarily harmful for the patient, but can result in an alarming skin color. Babies commonly develop this condition, as do vegetarians. People can adjust their diets to give their bodies more time to clear the carotene and their skin should clear up. Very high doses of carotene are also sometimes used in the treatment of medical conditions, and patients on these doses will develop carotenemia.

People with anorexia nervosa, liver or kidney disease, diabetes, and hypothyroid conditions can also sometimes develop carotenemia, even if they aren't eating unusually large numbers of colorful vegetables. In these patients, the body is less able to metabolize the carotene, and orange skin can appear on a relatively normal diet. While the discoloration is not harmful, it is an indicator of an underlying issue in need of treatment or better management.

Jaundice can also cause orange skin. People can differentiate between jaundice, a sign of a serious problem with the liver, and carotenemia by the presence of orange to yellow discoloration in the eyes. Patients with jaundice will develop a yellowish tint in their eyes as a result of the deposition of bilirubin, a pigment the liver cannot adequately clear when it is diseased. Jaundice can appear in people of all ages and requires treatment.

Finally, tanning sometimes causes orange skin. Self-tanning products infamously have a tendency to turn the skin orange, and it is advisable to do a test patch with the product before applying it to the whole body to see how it interacts with the underlying skin color. Spending a lot of time in a tanning booth can also cause an orangish discoloration, depending on what kinds of lotions and creams the patient is using. Generally, changing tanning products is enough to resolve the condition, although there may be a few days or weeks of aesthetic discomfort while the orange wears off.

Carrots are one of the main culprits of carotenemia. Carotenemia develops due to high levels of beta-carotene in the bloodstream. Beta-carotene is a plant pigment that, once consumed, assists the body in making vitamin A, an essential nutrient that promotes bone growth and healthy eyes and helps the body fight off infections. Beta-carotene is what gives carrots and other fruits and vegetables their orange, reddish or violet tint. Carrots are very rich in beta-carotene, so eating too many can cause carotenemia, which is visible through the skin.

Here are more foods rich in the pigment:

The condition only develops after eating large amounts of beta-carotene-rich fruits and vegetables for an extended period. To put it in perspective, one medium-size carrot has 4 milligrams of beta-carotene. For the tint to develop, you would need to consume 20 to 50 milligrams of the plant pigment daily for a few weeks. A situation where carotenemia can easily form is with a picky baby, only willing to eat carrots or sweet potatoes.

Fortunately, the condition is easy to treat, as all you need to do is drastically cut out eating beta-carotene-rich foods. The discoloration will eventually fade.

The excess beta-carotene is carried in the bloodstream, and carotenemia develops once the pigment latches onto the skin. The pigment likes to latch on areas of thick skin. So, this means the orange discoloration often shows up on areas where we have the thickest skin, like the hands and palms.

If you have orange discoloration on your hands, but do not have a diet rich in beta-carotene, then consider the reasoning might be from an underlying medical condition. Some possible culprits are:

It is best to discuss your skin’s discoloration and any other possible symptoms with your healthcare provider, as they will run any necessary tests.

Anorexia is a severe type of eating disorder in which people face a distorted perception of their body weight, leading to a dangerously low-calorie diet. People who suffer from the condition have an intense fear of gaining weight. As a result, they have a relentless desire to be thin, even at the cost of their mental and physical health.

Here are behaviors and symptoms associated with the disorder:

The skin discoloration associated with anorexia is also due to carotenemia. Anorexic people tend to have “safe” foods, meaning a go-to snack or meal. Here is where carrots or another beta-carotene-filled fruit or vegetable come into play. For example, carrots are a low-calorie vegetable that makes them appealing to someone suffering from this disorder. They are a quick snack and easy to eat in abundance, therefore, offering the possibility of developing carotenemia.