Also known as livedo reticularis, mottled skin is a skin disorder marked by occurrence of purple discolored lacy patches or blotches on the skin. The disorder often worsens when exposed to cold. The meaning of the Latin term ‘livedo reticularis’ is “net-like bluish appearance.”
People with mottled skin will elicit purple or red patches on the legs, but it can also occur on the arms and other areas of upper body. It can even affect young women and children.
Doctors are not aware of the exact cause, but the condition has some links with lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and other autoimmune and vascular diseases. Sometimes, the patches may appear as a symptom of some kind of preexisting medical illness.
There is no standard treatment for mottled skin. Treatment is often dependent on the underlying cause.
Symptoms
Some of the signs and symptoms of mottled skin are listed below:
- Development of a lacy network of discolored patches or blotches on the surface of the skin. The blotches may vary in color from red to dark purplish, with paler skin in the center.
- The condition generally affects the body’s extremities such as the arms, hands, legs, and feet. Hence, it is often ascribed as a vascular disease.
Instances of mottled skin with no underlying causes typically occur in middle-aged females. Both women and men can get affected by mottled skin caused by some underlying condition.
Causes of mottled skin
The exact cause of mottled skin is not known. A few possible causes are as follows:
- Rheumatoid arthritis: It is an autoimmune disease that causes pain and inflammation of the joints as well as joint deformities. It is also known to changes in skin color marked by dark purple patches as associated with mottled skin. The disease also tends to affect the blood vessels which can result in a painful rash in the lower limbs.
- Lupus: It is also an autoimmune disorder that causes net-like lace purplish blotches on skin surface. Lupus is known to trigger a variety of skin disorder, including mottled skin. Lupus afflicted women and babies may suffer from more visible skin discoloration in cold weather.
- Pancreatitis: Acute pancreatitis is a condition of sudden inflammation of the pancreas. It is usually marked by symptoms like nausea, intense pain in abdomen, and vomiting. The lacy network of red/purple skin patches typically form 2 to 3 days after pain in abdomen.
- Hughes Syndrome/Antiphospholipid syndrome: It is an immune disorder characterized by abnormal formation of blood clots. The syndrome has links with lupus and typically affects more middle-aged or young adults than others. Mottled skin is one of the major symptoms of antiphospholipid syndrome. Increased risk of circulation issues and blood clots can cause ulcer formation in the legs, which in turn increases the susceptibility to development of deep vein thrombosis.
- Side effect of medicines: Certain kinds of medications, like those used for treatment of multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease, can cause mottled skin as a side effect.
- Excessive red blood cells count: The condition of increased number of RBCs is called polycythemia. It can cause the development of a lacy purple network of skin patches.
- Hormonal causes: Mottled skin can also occur as an adverse effect of varied hormonal factors. For example, hypothyroidism is known to cause patchy purplish lace-like discoloration of the skin. Recovery of thyroid hormone levels to normalcy does help get rid of the skin blotches.
- Fibromyalgia: It is a complicated and persistent medical condition that is characterized by muscular pain, sleep issues, and fatigue. In addition to chronic pain, patients have also reported of discolored skin patches.
- Weak circulation: There are several medical disorders that can adversely affect circulation of blood. A majority of patients with blood circulation problems have been diagnosed with mottled skin condition. The purple skin patches are often triggered by deficient levels of hemoglobin abundant oxygenated blood cells.
- Other diseases: Other conditions which may cause mottled skin as a symptom include deficiency of protein S and C, Sneddon syndrome, multiple sclerosis, tuberculosis, Parkinson disease, inflammatory breast cancer, and hepatitis C.
Treatment of mottled skin
Treatment of mottled skin can be very difficult if the underlying cause cannot be diagnosed. Hence, treatment is based on the additional symptoms.
- Since skin discoloration worsens in cold conditions, patients are advised to avoid exposure to cold weather.
- Anticoagulants and blood-thinning drugs may be recommended by doctors in some cases.
- Other common treatments which doctors may try include topical creams, ointments, etc; chemical peeling; laser resurfacing or laser surgery; photo rejuvenation; and other kinds of light-based therapies.
- If a preexisting condition is found to be the cause, then treating that disease can help alleviate mottled skin.
- Some home remedies for mottled skin include paste of green tea and rice flour; aloe vera gel; plain yoghurt; coconut oil; scrub of honey, sugar, and coconut oil; paste of honey, oatmeal, and water; and paste of baking soda and water.
