Skin Paleness

WHEN TO SEE YOUR DOCTOR

* You also feel weak, tired and out of breath.

* If you suddenly become pale, sweaty and have a rapid heartbeat and difficulty breathing, get to a doctor right away.

What Your Symptom Is Telling You

Free-flowing blood under the skin is what gives your cheeks that rosy, glowing look of health. Slow that flow and the color fades, giving the skin a lifeless, pallid look.

Intense physical and emotional stress can interfere with the normal flow of blood under the skin. When you have an emotional shock, a severe injury or an infection or are exposed to freezing temperatures, your body responds by narrowing blood vessels in your skin and rechanneling blood to the body's center, where it raises body heat and supplies vital organs with oxygen and nutrients.

The stress of heat exhaustion—when the body becomes severely overheated—can also rob blood from your skin and turn you white as a desert sun. In this case, you'll also be sweaty and feel faint.

And you can add paleness to the host of other physical ills associated with a lifestyle that doesn't include exercise. "Sedentary people generally have less rosy complexions than more active people because their hearts are pumping less blood," says Robert A. Weiss, M.D., assistant professor of dermatology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. "Frequent exercise may also increase the red blood cell count, delivering more oxygen to the skin."

Paleness (along with fatigue and breathlessness) is also a sign of iron-deficiency anemia. Iron helps to build the red blood cells that give blood its rich color and carry oxygen throughout the body. Iron-deficiency anemia is usually caused by heavy or persistent blood loss from menstrual periods, ulcers, gastritis, hemorrhoids, excess aspirin use and, occasionally, from bowel tumors.

In addition, lower-than-average iron stores can occur if you're pregnant, nursing a baby or skimping on iron-containing foods such as red meat.

Paleness is also a symptom of less common forms of anemia that accompany some blood disorders and chronic diseases. Some of these anemias are inherited.

Finally, paleness is one of the warning signs of a heart attack. Treat it as a medical emergency if you suddenly break out in a sweat, have a rapid heartbeat, begin panting and are very pale.

Symptom Relief

Here's what to do if you find a ghost staring back at you from the mirror.

Find out with a serum ferritin test. A routine blood test that measures ferritin, the body's iron-storing protein, can tell you exactly how much iron your body has on hand. "It's the best way to help you spot an iron deficiency early before it progresses to full-blown anemia," says Myron Winick, M.D., professor emeritus of nutrition at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. If your ferritin is hovering around the borderline for iron deficiency, your doctor can get you on a dietary and supplemental regimen to rebuild iron stores.

Join the movers and shakers. Walking, bicycling or any exercise during which you move your arms and legs helps stimulate the formation of red blood cells and promotes better blood flow, according to John Abruzzo, M.D., professor of medicine and director of the Rheumatology and Osteoporosis Center at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia."Regular exercise may help restore that rosy glow in just a few weeks," he says.

Moisturize with fruit acids. If you're pasty-faced from a bout with an infection, forget the extra blusher. Instead, try over-the-counter lotions containing alpha-hydroxy acids made from fruit acids. "This ingredient causes a subtle inflammation, sloughing off the old cells, which makes way for fresh cells," says Dr. Weiss. "You'll get a sun-kissed look without any serious side effects."

Put your head between your knees. If you've suddenly become pale, sweaty and light-headed from overheating, bend over so that your head is lower than your heart. This helps gravity get the blood to the brain and will bring a blush to your cheeks, says Dr. Weiss. Then drink cool fluids, remove excess clothing and move to a shady spot.