The adjective pale , whose etymological root is found in the Latin pallĭdus , describes someone whose facial skin is lighter in color or whiter than usual . This particularity may be due to a health problem.
Many causes can cause an individual to be pale. The usual thing is that it is a temporary disorder and does not require medical attention; However, in some cases the intervention of a professional and the development of a treatment is necessary.
Generally, paleness is linked to a drop in blood supply to the skin , although it can also be associated with a decrease in the number of red blood cells in the body. Low blood sugar, anemia and hypothermia, for example, cause a subject to turn pale.
Treatment will depend on the reason for the paleness. When someone who is pale also has other symptoms , or acquires paleness suddenly and generally, it is advisable to consult a doctor.
Although, as mentioned in the previous paragraphs, pale skin is not usually a sign of a serious problem and generally does not merit medical treatment, we must be attentive to the parts of the body in which this ambiguous condition occurs. Know if we should go to a doctor. The palms of the hands, the tongue, the oral cavity, the lining of the eyes, the nails and the lips are precisely the places where there should be no paleness; If we detect it, then we may need professional attention.
The diagnosis is not always easy since it depends on several factors, such as the thickness of the skin, its color and the number of blood vessels in the subcutaneous tissue of the affected area. It is important to keep in mind that pale skin is a different problem from pigment loss: the former is more linked to blood circulation while the latter is more linked to melanin deposition.
In addition to the aforementioned causes, we can add the following to understand the origin of the pale appearance of the skin: poor nutrition; a faint; hypoglycemia; underlying diseases of varying intensities, which may be chronic or temporary, simple infections or even cancer; intake of certain medications; deficiency of some vitamin essential for health .
Among the key questions to make a diagnosis , the doctor will try to know if the pale state has occurred suddenly, if it has come immediately after a traumatic memory, if it affects the body in general or just one or more parts, if The patient presents other symptoms that have appeared together and has difficulty feeling the pulse in the affected region.
On the other hand, it is classified as pale, a color of little intensity . Thus we can speak of pale blue , pale green , etc.
Finally, the lack of firmness, definition, impetus or energy is also referred to as pale, as is what is poor or insufficient: "It was a pale match, with few emotions" , "I only have a pale I remember my grandfather Juan since he died when I was a child" , "The team obtained poor results on its international tour" .
In this figurative sense, paleness can be understood as a synonym for lack of saturation , meaning that colors are not seen with sufficient intensity and, therefore, are not easily distinguished from others. In this way, a pale memory is not very well defined, we can feel it but not cling to it to describe it clearly. A pale sporting event, on the other hand, fails to capture its audience because it does not have contrasting, brilliant moments, but rather they all provoke similar emotions.