Find information on thousands of medical conditions and prescription drugs.

Carotenemia

Carotenodermia (also carotenaemia, carotenemia or hypercarotenemia) is a yellowish 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. This symptom, also known as xanthosis cutis, is reversible and harmless. 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. more...

Home
Diseases
A
B
C
Angioedema
C syndrome
Cacophobia
Café au lait spot
Calcinosis cutis
Calculi
Campylobacter
Canavan leukodystrophy
Cancer
Candidiasis
Canga's bead symptom
Canine distemper
Carcinoid syndrome
Carcinoma, squamous cell
Carcinophobia
Cardiac arrest
Cardiofaciocutaneous...
Cardiomyopathy
Cardiophobia
Cardiospasm
Carnitine transporter...
Carnitine-acylcarnitine...
Caroli disease
Carotenemia
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Carpenter syndrome
Cartilage-hair hypoplasia
Castleman's disease
Cat-scratch disease
CATCH 22 syndrome
Causalgia
Cayler syndrome
CCHS
CDG syndrome
CDG syndrome type 1A
Celiac sprue
Cenani Lenz syndactylism
Ceramidase deficiency
Cerebellar ataxia
Cerebellar hypoplasia
Cerebral amyloid angiopathy
Cerebral aneurysm
Cerebral cavernous...
Cerebral gigantism
Cerebral palsy
Cerebral thrombosis
Ceroid lipofuscinois,...
Cervical cancer
Chagas disease
Chalazion
Chancroid
Charcot disease
Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease
CHARGE Association
Chediak-Higashi syndrome
Chemodectoma
Cherubism
Chickenpox
Chikungunya
Childhood disintegrative...
Chionophobia
Chlamydia
Chlamydia trachomatis
Cholangiocarcinoma
Cholecystitis
Cholelithiasis
Cholera
Cholestasis
Cholesterol pneumonia
Chondrocalcinosis
Chondrodystrophy
Chondromalacia
Chondrosarcoma
Chorea (disease)
Chorea acanthocytosis
Choriocarcinoma
Chorioretinitis
Choroid plexus cyst
Christmas disease
Chromhidrosis
Chromophobia
Chromosome 15q, partial...
Chromosome 15q, trisomy
Chromosome 22,...
Chronic fatigue immune...
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Chronic granulomatous...
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia
Chronic myelogenous leukemia
Chronic obstructive...
Chronic renal failure
Churg-Strauss syndrome
Ciguatera fish poisoning
Cinchonism
Citrullinemia
Cleft lip
Cleft palate
Climacophobia
Clinophobia
Cloacal exstrophy
Clubfoot
Cluster headache
Coccidioidomycosis
Cockayne's syndrome
Coffin-Lowry syndrome
Colitis
Color blindness
Colorado tick fever
Combined hyperlipidemia,...
Common cold
Common variable...
Compartment syndrome
Conductive hearing loss
Condyloma
Condyloma acuminatum
Cone dystrophy
Congenital adrenal...
Congenital afibrinogenemia
Congenital diaphragmatic...
Congenital erythropoietic...
Congenital facial diplegia
Congenital hypothyroidism
Congenital ichthyosis
Congenital syphilis
Congenital toxoplasmosis
Congestive heart disease
Conjunctivitis
Conn's syndrome
Constitutional growth delay
Conversion disorder
Coprophobia
Coproporhyria
Cor pulmonale
Cor triatriatum
Cornelia de Lange syndrome
Coronary heart disease
Cortical dysplasia
Corticobasal degeneration
Costello syndrome
Costochondritis
Cowpox
Craniodiaphyseal dysplasia
Craniofacial dysostosis
Craniostenosis
Craniosynostosis
CREST syndrome
Cretinism
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
Cri du chat
Cri du chat
Crohn's disease
Croup
Crouzon syndrome
Crouzonodermoskeletal...
Crow-Fukase syndrome
Cryoglobulinemia
Cryophobia
Cryptococcosis
Crystallophobia
Cushing's syndrome
Cutaneous larva migrans
Cutis verticis gyrata
Cyclic neutropenia
Cyclic vomiting syndrome
Cystic fibrosis
Cystinosis
Cystinuria
Cytomegalovirus
Dilated cardiomyopathy
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
Restrictive cardiomyopathy
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
Medicines

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 overconsumption food containing carotene, but it can be a medical sign of other conditions, including:

  • anorexia nervosa
  • diabetes mellitus
  • hepatic diseases
  • hyperlipidemia
  • hypothyroidism
  • porphyria
  • renal diseases

Treatment

Carotenaemia is in itself harmless and does not require treatment. By discontinuing the use of high quantaties of carotene the skin colour will return to normal.

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.

Read more at Wikipedia.org


[List your site here Free!]



BASICS OF COMPOUNDING for Skin Discolorations
Introduction Having clear, smooth, evenly colored skin is desired by many; some are fortunate to have it, but most are not. Skin color can be altered by disease or exposure to miscellaneous agents. S
Diagnosis and management of galactorrhea
After infancy, galactorrhea usually is medication-induced. The most common pathologic cause of galactorrhea is a pituitary tumor. Other causes include ...
Jaundice in the adult patient - Cover article: problem-oriented diagnosis
Jaundice in an adult patient can be caused by a wide variety of benign or life-threatening disorders. Organizing the differential diagnosis by prehepatic, ...
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is one of the four fat-soluble vitamins necessary for good health. It serves an important role as an antioxidant by helping to prevent free radicals ...
Vitamin A
Description Vitamin A is one of the four fat-soluble vitamins necessary for good health. It serves an important role as an antioxidant by helping ...
Association of retinol binding protein in multiple-case families with insulin-dependent diabetes
Abstract We performed a family study to investigate the heritability of reduced serum retinol levels observed in type 1 diabetes cases. Diet and serum ...
The carotenoid lycopene - review
Lycopene is one of the most common carotenoids in the human diet. In one US study, intake of lycopene was reported to be about 3.7 mg/day, accounting for almost 30% of total carotenoid intake. Unlike
Beta-carotene: the color of hope
Well-known as an antioxidant that snuffs out free radicals - those unpaired electrons that can damage and alter DNA in cells and, over time, contribute ...

Home Contact Resources Exchange Links ebay