A sudden change in your skin color can cause so much worry, concern, and sleepless nights. You might get scared of making medical inquiries because you wouldn’t want to receive a heartbreaking diagnosis. It’s okay to get scared but not okay to ignore. Skin discoloration can result from lots of factors and it’s important to learn about the causes of skin discoloration generally particularly in the arms.
What Is Skin Discoloration?
Skin discoloration is any change in your natural skin tone. The affected area may display colors such as red, blue, tan, purple, black, brown, and pink. Some skin discoloration comes naturally such as birthmarks while some cases of discolored skin can result from underlying medical issues.
Arms skin discoloration can come in any form, in rashes, eczema, or colors most times resulting from the use of chemical products. The reactions will appear on the arms. If you notice signs like these while using a new product, that means the product is not healthy for your skin, put an end to it.
The skin is very sensitive, whatever it absorbs goes directly, if it’s not favorable, there will be reactions on the skin to show it and if it’s favorable, the skin will glow in beauty and splendor.
What Causes Skin Discoloration On Arms?
Discolored skin patches on arms can be as a result of the following and these discolorations may also affect other skin in the body:
✔ Melanin Levels
Melanin is the substance that provides color to the skin and protects it from sunlight. When the arm is affected by overproduction of melanin, it can cause discolored skin patches and differences in skin tone.
✔ Skin Cancer
This disease can start from any part of the body. It can also begin in the arms and spread to other parts of the area. Most especially if the arms are constantly exposed to UltraViolet rays from direct sunlight. Sunbeds and tanning lamps can expose your arms skin to UV rays which are harmful radiation that damages DNA in your skin cells that can pile up over time, increasing the risk of genetic mutations that cause skin cancer.
✔ Old Age:
When a person grows older, there’s the certainty of a dark spot appearing on the skin. These are also called sun spots, liver spots, or solar lentigines. These spots always appear on areas of skin that have been exposed to sunlight too much which the arms are certainly inclusive. Most especially the face which is the centre of everything and often not covered.
✔ Bronze Pigmentation
Most people mistake bronzing for suntan but in contrast, bronzing occurs when iron builds up in sweat glands and this causes an increase in iron on the epidermis. If the sweat glands are affected, it can lead to strong dark staining with a particular color. Bronzing always starts slowly, beginning with the elbows, knuckles, and knees, and spreads from there.
✔ Medical Condition
People face Autoimmune diseases in which the immune system confuses healthy cells as foreign and attacks them by mistake, this usually triggers skin inflammation, which can occur in any part of the skin. Sometimes the reflection could be visibly seen in the arms. There are other health issues that may cause skin discoloration.
✔ Vitiligo
This skin discoloration can start anywhere in the body. It can start with the arms as well or any surface of the skin.
✔ Psoriasis
This is a chronic skin condition that can cause discoloration in the affected area of the skin.
✔ Infections
Various infections such as bacterial infections, fungal infections, and viral infections can cause discoloration in the arms or any affected area.
✔ Allergies
Allergic reactions to food, irritants, or plants can cause discolored skin in the arms or any part of the skin. These discolorations may appear as rashes or eczema.
Conclusion
Skin discoloration can be disheartening because the skin is a window to natural beauty. Skin discoloration on arms has causes that are harmless and causes that are harmful, if you notice any sign of discoloration on your skin, seek medical attention immediately, do not wait for it to get worse which might result in zero chances of receiving an effective treatment.
When having night reads with tanning lamps or sunbeds, keep your arms skin covered and equivalent to other parts of the skin. Do not expose your skin to UV rays to avoid having skin cancer.
