The child's lips turn blue in the cold. Blue lips: a sign of what disease and why they turn blue in a person. Additional symptoms to determine the pathology

The causes of blue lips can be very different, in this material you will learn about the main ones.

lack of oxygen

The main cause of blue lips is considered to be a lack of oxygen in the body - oxygen starvation. The phenomenon occurs due to cyanosis of the skin. Symptoms similar disease is clearly purple skin and all mucous membranes and this happens due to high content reduced hemoglobin in the blood. If a person has cyanosis, then, first of all, this indicates the presence of problems with the cardiovascular system.

Smoking and toxins

Smoking and the constant impact on the human body increased amount Toxic gases are the second most common cause of blue lips. In some cases, in addition to having of blue color lips, you can observe a very pale shade skin, and this already speaks of iron deficiency anemia. Anemia is the most common cause of blue lips during pregnancy. A lack of hemoglobin can be associated not only with a lack of iron in food, but also with frequent and profuse blood loss(during menstruation, severe injuries and peptic ulcers).

Croup disease

Quite often, the cause of blue lips in children is serious illness called croup, which is certainly accompanied strong cough, disturbances in normal breathing.

Lung and heart problems

If red lips change their natural color over time, and at the same time a person has a breath holding, rapid pulse, then we can talk about obvious symptoms lung or heart problems. The patient may have heart attack develop bronchitis or develop asthma. All this indicates oxygen starvation. Sometimes the lips turn blue also due to the formation of a blood clot in the lungs. In this case, you must immediately seek help from a doctor.

Hypothermia of the body

Now you know why the lips turn blue in an adult and in what cases you need to seek help from a specialist. Treatment for each of the causes will be completely different.

blue lips- a sign that is most often attributed to hypothermia of the body. From low temperatures they can turn blue completely or partially - in the form of blue or dark spots. However, these symptoms can also be caused by serious illnesses. If the color of the lips has changed and this is not a short-term phenomenon, then there is a possibility that there are problems in the body.

Why can lips turn blue in an adult?

In adults, the most common causes of blue lips are:

Reception harmful substances . Blueness of the lips in an adult is a sign indicating the use of toxins or smoking. Toxic gases contained in cigarettes, when inhaled, affect the mucous membranes of the mouth and lips. As a result of this, on upper layers epidermis appears bluish tint. Blueing also causes hypoxia, which may accompany poisoning.
Pregnancy. In the process of bearing a child in women, many changes occur in the body. If, along with a change in the color of the lips, a pallor of the face appears, then this indicates iron deficiency anemia. This happens due to low level hemoglobin, which often accompanies pregnancy.
External stimuli hypothermia and lack of oxygen. In the first case, the color changes due to blood vessels. Due to low temperatures, they narrow, and the blood stops circulating through the lips, falling into other parts of the body. In the second case, bluish lips can be the first symptom of a lack of oxygen. This can occur due to illness or due to suffocation.

The main thing is to identify and fix the problem in time.

In addition to these reasons, many diseases of varying severity can cause such symptoms.

A sign of what diseases can be blue lips?

Often a person is faced with a situation where blue or even purple lips indicate the diseases he has.

Such diseases include:

Croup is a disease respiratory system. Accompanied not only by the cyanosis of the lips, but also by additional symptoms: a strong cough, breathing problems, profuse salivation.
Diseases of cardio-vascular system and lungs. If the natural color has changed simultaneously with the appearance of a rapid pulse and holding the breath, then problems in the work of the heart and lungs are likely.

If time does not pay attention to the symptoms, then a heart attack, heart attack, asthma can occur. Therefore, experts recommend at the first warning signs seek help from a doctor. Only he can determine the disease and prescribe effective treatment.

In the photo, cyanosis of the lips with croup in a child - the color can vary from blue to dark purple:

Causes of cyanosis of the lips in children

Almost every parent has encountered a situation where the child's lips and the area around the mouth turn blue. The most common reason is that the child is simply cold.

But if there is no reason for hypothermia, then this may indicate apnea. AT medical terminology the phenomenon is called "affective-respiratory attack". Sometimes the child's breathing may stop for short span time at the time of inspiration. The first sign is the appearance of pallor of the skin. The second is lilac lips or the area around them.

Most often, the disease is faced by parents of babies who are between the ages of 6 months and 5 years. The duration of each attack is no more than 1-2 minutes. In this case, an attack can occur both once a day, and several times a week or a month.

This disease is characteristic of many children, most often does not require treatment (although an appeal to a neurologist is mandatory) and disappears without consequences by 6-7 years. The main reason for the occurrence of ARP is considered to be a strong surge of the child's emotions - crying, fear, fright, etc.

However, the cause of cyanotic lips is the presence of other diseases:

Inflammation vocal cords in children early age(3 years or less). Additional symptoms dry cough, hoarseness, fever, heaviness when inhaling.
Cerebral edema or meningoencephalitis. With a disease in the blood, the balance of calcium and phosphorus is disturbed.
Heart disease, pneumonia, asthma. In addition to cyanosis, the baby has problems with sleep, a strong cough, and weight loss.

Cyanosis of the nasolabial triangle in an infant

The main recommendation for all parents in such circumstances is urgent appeal to the doctor in order to find out why the child has blue lips, and he will already prescribe proper treatment. The specialist should provide all available information about seizures: frequency, duration and other signs.

How to treat, first aid

Depending on the disease indicated by blue lips, first aid is also different.

If a person has cold and blue lips, then he must be transferred to warmth, covered with a blanket. After that, if hypothermia became the cause, proper circulation will be restored in the body, the organs will receive required amount oxygen, the person will warm up.

To make the recovery process faster, the victim can be given hot tea to drink. It is not recommended to give coffee to the sick, as caffeine constricts blood vessels. Forbidden to take hot bath if the victim has not yet warmed up - sharp drops temperatures contribute to vascular damage and internal hemorrhage.

Do not forget that with physical activity, vascular tone increases. A few minutes of jumping rope or 2-3 laps in the stadium will give you the opportunity to increase the speed of blood circulation.

If cyanosis is caused by a lack of iron in the body, especially during the period of bearing a baby, then special food supplements (Hemobin, Nova Ferrum) or drugs (Ferretab, Maltofer, Gino-tardiferon, Sorbifer-Durule) can restore its level.

Pregnant women should take any drugs only on the recommendation of their doctor!

In the case when blueing is caused by smoking, then the only way to remove it is to quit smoking.

If these methods did not help get rid of the symptom, then the problem lies in more serious reasons that require specialist intervention.

Probably, every person at least once in his life had to see a passerby with blue lips. In no case should such a phenomenon be ignored, since this indicates significant problems of the human body. In the event that your lips begin to turn blue even a little, be sure to consult a doctor. You should also come to the doctor if there is a rapid heartbeat, blue nails, fever, sweating, severe coughing and problems with normal breathing.

Causes of blue lips

AT medical practice blue lips are called cyanotic. This phenomenon can be caused by a number of factors that you should definitely pay attention to, since this indicates certain malfunctions in the human body.

The main cause of blue lips is considered to be a lack of oxygen in the body (oxygen starvation), which occurs due to cyanosis of the skin. Symptoms of such a disease are clearly purple skin and all mucous membranes (this happens due to the increased content of reduced hemoglobin in the blood). If a patient has cyanosis, then, first of all, this indicates that he has problems with the cardiovascular system.

The second common cause of blue lips is smoking and the constant exposure of the human body to an increased amount of toxic gases.

In some cases, in addition to the presence of blue lips, one can also observe a very pale shade of the skin. AT this case it can be said that the patient suffers from iron deficiency anemia. Anemia is the most common cause of blue lips during pregnancy. Iron is one of the most important trace elements, which takes part in many processes in our body. In particular, iron is included in a number of components of hemoglobin, which is responsible for the red hue of blood. A lack of hemoglobin can be associated not only with a lack of iron in food, but also with frequent and profuse blood loss (during menstruation, severe injuries and peptic ulcers).

Quite often, the cause of blue lips in children is a serious disease called croup, which is certainly accompanied by a strong cough, impaired normal breathing.

If red lips change their natural color over time, and the patient has a breath holding, rapid pulse, then we can talk about obvious symptoms of problems with the lungs or heart. The patient may have a heart attack, develop bronchitis, or develop asthma. All this indicates oxygen starvation. Sometimes the lips turn blue also due to the formation of a blood clot in the lungs. In this case, you must immediately seek help from a doctor.

Hypothermia is another most common cause of blue lips. This is due to the fact that when frozen, the blood vessels located in the lips narrow, not allowing blood to completely fill them. As a result, most of the blood begins to flow from these vessels to the internal organs: the brain, kidneys and heart, thus maintaining a constant temperature throughout the body. normal color lips and skin happens only if the blood through the vessels moves constantly at the same speed and in the usual volume. Return pale lips them pink color succeed after warming the body, as well as a number of activities that will help small blue blood vessels no longer visible through the thin skin of the lips.

Sometimes blue lips occur in people with Raynaud's disease, when blood vessels in the extremities burst under the influence low temperatures or from severe stress. Human body tries to fill the vessels with blood, which ultimately gives the body a blue tint.

Blue lips during pregnancy are a sign that there is not enough iron in the body of the expectant mother. This problem is quite common, so today drugs are already known that can help in resolving it.

What measures should be taken if you have blue lips?

Wrap up well in a warm blanket or terry towel which will allow the body to warm up quickly. Blood will begin to circulate faster through the internal organs and rise from them to the limbs and lips.
You should drink hot tea. You need to be careful when drinking hot coffee, because the caffeine contained in it causes vasoconstriction.
They will quickly warm the body and give it a pink tint of sports (jogging, aerobics, etc.), which will help oxygen get to all tissues of the body.
Set a goal for yourself to quit smoking. Tobacco smoke and nicotine reduce the flow of oxygen to tissues and lead to rapid vasoconstriction.

Video from YouTube on the topic of the article:

Have you ever met people whose lips were usually bluish in color? It's not the latest fashion, it's serious breach the work of the body of this person, and such a phenomenon cannot simply be ignored. If you notice that your lips are turning blue for no reason, visit a doctor immediately. Note that in the case simultaneous presence other symptoms (blue nails, rapid pulse, sweating, fever, cough, shortness of breath), a visit to the doctor should not be postponed.

Why do lips turn blue?

In professional terminology, this effect on the lips is called "cyanosis". Do not hope that this phenomenon is temporary and will pass on its own. This is a clear sign that significant changes have occurred in the body (and not in better side), so do not hesitate with qualified help.

The doctors determined main reason blue lips - lack of oxygen in the blood. As a result, blueness is observed not only in the mouth area, such a manifestation can form anywhere in the skin and mucous membranes of the body. This is the result of increased levels of reduced hemoglobin in the blood. And the reason is very simple: the functionality of the cardiovascular system is impaired.

Experts have identified another cause of blue lips. This manifestation is observed in people who are heavy smokers, as there is a constant poisoning of the body. higher doses toxic gases.

Obvious manifestations may also be unnatural pallor of the skin. The diagnosis is as follows - a lack of iron in the blood (iron deficiency anemia). Blue lips occur even in the absence bad habits, for example, in a woman during pregnancy. Iron plays an important role in the course of most processes in our body. The substance affects the formation of hemoglobin - that's why our blood is red. Decreased hemoglobin is associated not only with iron deficiency in the blood (in view of, for example, malnutrition), the cause can be frequent and intense blood loss - during female cycle, at peptic ulcers, from severe injuries and cuts.

Blue lips are a fairly common symptom of pathology. respiratory tract. A disease called croup is more common in children under 4 years of age. It is not difficult to notice him: blue lips, shortness of breath, a strong "barking" cough.

Changing the natural color of the lips is only outward manifestation. It can also be accompanied by rapid heartbeat, breath holding. it clear signs that the patient has heart or lung problems. Anything can follow, from inflammation of the bronchi to asthma or a heart attack. There is only one reason - oxygen starvation. Blue lips are common in people with vascular problems, such as pulmonary embolism. The patient will not be able to cope with this ailment on their own; emergency medical care is required here.

Blue lips are also found in severe hypothermia. As a result of it, the vessels narrow, and the blood does not flow through the vessels enough to completely fill them. Instead of evenly filling circulatory system, the blood will be sent to the internal organs (heart, kidneys, brain), in order to at least maintain the required temperature in them. The natural color of integumentary tissues is the result of constant blood circulation through the system with a uniform speed of movement. In order for your lips to regain their pink hue, you need to take a series of preventive actions to warm the body and dilate blood vessels in order to restore normal circulation. Then the blue small vessels will not be so clearly visible through the skin.

There is also such a cause of blue around the lips - Reynaud's disease. In patients under the influence of severe low temperatures, overexertion or stress small vessels they might just burst. The body independently tries to establish a natural blood exchange, as a result of which a change in the color of the integumentary tissues occurs.

In the body of a pregnant woman, processes are constantly occurring that do not occur in the usual state. So, lack of iron, one of the particular manifestations in this position. Here, the cause is easily eliminated: it is necessary to compensate for the deficiency of iron in the blood with the help of a special medication.

What to do if the lips turn blue?

First of all, provide your body with a sufficient level of warmth, if necessary, you can additionally wrap yourself in a warm blanket or dress warmly. The circulation will be restored, and the blood will be able to calmly flow to all the limbs and to the lips.

Hot drinks also help. True, in this case, not all drinks are equally effective, coffee, for example, on the contrary, contributes to vasoconstriction. This is how a substance called caffeine acts on the body.

Return quickly normal temperature body will help intense physical activity, such as running, jumping, gymnastics. Physical exercises increase vascular tone, which makes blood circulate faster.

If you smoke, try to get rid of this as soon as possible. bad habit. It has been observed that nicotine tobacco smoke affect the natural flow of oxygen into the blood, from which the vessels narrow, and the body temperature decreases.

If these measures did not help, or you are sure that the reason for the blue of your lips is not smoking or hypothermia, then consult a doctor as soon as possible. Especially if other negative symptoms are present at the same time.

Lips are muscular folds, covered on one side with a layer of skin, and on the side of the mouth with a layer of mucous. There is no subcutaneous tissue therefore, the vessels with which the muscle is abundantly saturated are very clearly visible. They give the lips a characteristic red color. The hue changes depending on the number and location of the vessels, the level of hemoglobin and its saturation with oxygen.

When a person's lips turn blue, this means that there is a lot of hemoglobin in the vessels, which has already given up its oxygen to the tissues, and at the same time has not replenished its reserves. This happens with diseases of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. Similar manifestations in children and adults can also occur with some blood diseases.

A little about respiration, blood circulation and hemoglobin

Hemoglobin, which is found in red blood cells, is a protein that carries oxygen to tissues, and carbon dioxide- of them. This is possible due to a special iron-containing part of the protein molecule, heme. To carry out its main function, the latter must be present in the amount of 4 molecules - one for each chain that makes up hemoglobin.

In order for hemoglobin to attach oxygen to itself, many conditions are needed:

Its supposed to be enough. To do this, the body must have enough iron, folic acid, protein, vitamin B12; the erythrocyte membrane should not be broken and there should be strong bonds between its subunits.
To respiratory center located in medulla oblongata(this is the end part of the brain that connects to the spinal cord), gave the command to breathe in right rhythm, and so that this rhythm is not interrupted by commands formed by consciousness. Yes, at panic attack a person feels a lack of air, and forces himself to breathe more often than necessary. A person can also consciously reduce the number of breaths (for example, when performing some spiritual practices).
The respiratory rate set by the brain must be transmitted without obstacles to the respiratory muscles - the diaphragm and intercostal muscles. For this, the spinal cord in the cervical and thoracic should not be pinched, interrupted, inflamed. Communications between spinal nerve and muscle, as is the case with botulism, poisoning with neuroparalytic poisons (including animal bites).
So that in the respiratory sections of the lungs, the membrane through which gas exchange occurs (oxygen enters the erythrocyte, and carbon dioxide is released into the alveolus, from where it will then be exhaled) should have normal properties. It should not be edematous, as with pneumonia, it should not contain fluid, as with pulmonary edema.
There must be a certain level of oxygen pressure that ensures the penetration of oxygen into the erythrocyte. It also depends on atmospheric pressure, and from the work of the heart, and from the patency of the vessels of the lungs (there may be atherosclerotic plaques, blood clots, fatty or air emboli), and from the patency of the bronchi and bronchioles.
The fluid pressure in the capillaries of the lungs must be low in order to liquid part no blood was released into the tissues. This is possible with pressure lymphatic vessels air (with pneumothorax), lung tumors.
In addition, hemoglobin itself should not be occupied by a molecule that is more tightly held in it. This is what a CO molecule can do carbon monoxide, some substances that either oxidize heme iron (this is how methemoglobin is obtained), or add a sulfo group to it, already connected to oxygen.

Violation of at least one of the conditions described above for the normal penetration of oxygen into hemoglobin (except for that associated with anemia - mucous membranes against the background of a small amount of oxygen) are the reasons why the lips turn blue in an adult.

In children, additional causes are anomalies in the development of the heart and blood vessels (“blue” defects). Here, inside the cavities of the heart, arterial, rich in oxygen the blood mixes with the venous, from where oxygen has already been “taken away”. Such blood is coming along its usual path - to every cell of every tissue, but does not provide them with sufficient nutrition, which is why the lips turn blue. "Blue" defects do not appear from birth, since for a couple of weeks fruit hemoglobin still circulates in the baby's blood - the one that provided tissue trophism and, accordingly, the growth and development of the child in the prenatal period. Such hemoglobin "knows how to feed" tissues more efficiently, but it is destroyed faster when pH and body temperature change. As erythrocytes mature and total blood volume increases, despite the fact that the body experiences oxygen starvation, fetal (fetal) hemoglobin is replaced by that which is found in adult erythrocytes.

The above reasons cause hypoxia of all tissues, which can be seen, first of all, by the bluish or purple tint of the lips. If it only turns blue upper lip or lower, this may mean that it is here that the microcirculation is disturbed due to poor venous outflow or impaired arterial inflow. This may be due to intradermal tumor or inflammation. Less often, periodic (in the cold, when swimming) blue lips may be due to the close location of the vessels in the circular muscle, from which the mouth is “made”.

Causes of blue lips that are not associated with the disease

There are few of them, they arise due to effects on the body external factors, which lead to the fact that hemoglobin associated with oxygen becomes 50 or more grams per liter (at a rate of 30 g / l and total hemoglobin over 100 g/l). It:

long stay in conditions of spaces where there is little oxygen: tightly closed car cabins, aircraft, wells, mines;
rise to height;
complication of such treatment as hyperbaric oxygenation, which consists in finding a person in a chamber with high blood pressure under which oxygen is supplied. If there is an oversaturation of oxygen, the O2 will produce a toxic effect, causing anoxia;
high physical activity, requiring increased oxygen consumption by tissues;
being in conditions of low temperature;
the influence of several factors. For example, the state when lips turn blue in water arises from a combination of general cooling and physical activity.

The chance that one of the above factors will cause oxygen starvation of tissues (which is primarily evident from the color of the lips) is especially increased in the presence of diseases of the heart, lungs, bronchi, or some hereditary blood pathologies.

The main causes of blue mucous membrane of the lips

Blue lips are a sign of what disease? It is impossible to say this for sure, without examination, since this symptom may be due various groups pathologies:

diseases of the respiratory system: foreign bodies in the bronchus or trachea, pneumonia, pulmonary edema, bronchial asthma, pneumothorax, lung tumors;
diseases of the heart and blood vessels: rhythm disturbances, hypertonic disease, thromboembolism pulmonary artery, myocarditis, cardiomyopathy, myocardial infarction, some heart defects: aortic insufficiency, coarctation of the aorta, defects of the interatrial and interventricular septum;
poisoning that causes either “blocking” of enzymes in tissues that are responsible for “assimilating” oxygen, or tightly binding to hemoglobin, which cannot then independently form a complex with O2;
shock states, which, being neglected different states- blood loss, loss of fluid (with diarrhea, vomiting), the action of microbial toxins, severe allergies - lead to impaired blood circulation in peripheral tissues.

Conditions when it turns blue over the lip (this symptom has the same causes) can be conditionally divided into:

arising acutely;
developing gradually.

It helps in the diagnosis by doctors; the patient himself or his relatives should call " ambulance". Moreover, in the case of an acute deterioration in the condition, this must be done quickly.

If the lips turn blue due to lung diseases

The pathology of the lungs is indicated by a cough, which can be either dry or wet, difficulty in inhaling or exhaling, wheezing when breathing. These symptoms may or may not be present. We will help you to roughly navigate the main diseases.

Pneumothorax

This is an emergency condition that develops when air enters the pleural cavity. This can happen with a penetrating or closed wound, with a rupture lung abscess, rupture of the esophagus, damage to a small bronchus by a tumor. It happens that pneumothorax occurs when healthy man, which has lung tissue there were air cavities (bulla), but he did not know about it, got injured or lifted a weight.

Pneumothorax is dangerous because incompressible air begins to compress the lung, and behind it the heart and large vessels. As a result, both breathing and circulation are disturbed.

Symptoms of pneumothorax appear after injury, coughing, or exercise. It:

stabbing pain or feeling of a blow on one side;
gives to the neck, arm, behind the sternum;
aggravated by movement, coughing, deep movement;
feeling short of breath;
dyspnea;
blue lips.

Severe asthma attack

Begins with the appearance of harbingers. Most often they resemble a cold: coughing, sneezing, headache, watery runny nose, sore throat. Then the attack develops directly:

difficulty breathing, especially exhalation;
when exhaling, whistling, noisy breathing is noted;
there is a lack of air;
viscous, glassy sputum may be produced.

asthmatic status

It's a complication bronchial asthma. It must be stopped, otherwise it may end in death.

At first, a person is conscious, he tries to find a position in which it will be easier for him to breathe. Breathing quickens, it is not stopped by the usual drugs. Coughing does not produce sputum. Over time, a person becomes inhibited, movements chest cease to be noticeable, the pulse is frequent, arrhythmic, poorly palpable. If no help is provided at this stage, consciousness is oppressed to the point of coma.

Pneumonia

This is the name of inflammation, when swelling and loss of function occurs in the area of the main respiratory structures - the alveoli. The causes are viral, bacterial and fungal infection.

Classic signs:

rise in temperature to high numbers;
chills;
pain in the chest;
cough: at first dry, then wet. Sputum may be bloody to purulent, yellow or green.

To date, pathology rarely has classic symptoms. Pneumonia can be manifested by diarrhea, pain in the bones, muscles. The main thing is to pay attention to the increased breathing and the blueness of the nasolabial triangle.

Pulmonary edema

To that emergency can lead to pathologies of the heart, and lung diseases, and disorders of the lymphatic capillaries of the lungs, which must be removed from the body excess water, and kidney disease, removing excess water from the entire body.

Symptoms can develop at lightning speed - within a few minutes. Clinical picture can develop over several days chronic diseases heart and lungs.

Before the appearance of signs of pulmonary edema itself, weakness, dizziness, headache, and dry cough may occur. Then, more often at night or before morning, an attack of pulmonary edema develops directly:

suffocation or paroxysmal cough that make a person sit down;
cold sweat;
blue lips and nails;
excitement, restlessness;
breathing quickens, the muscles of the neck and wings of the nose begin to participate in it;
breathing may become wheezing;
with alveolar edema (a stage at which the disease can still be eliminated by conservative measures), a cough appears with the release of frothy pink or bloody sputum;
increasing confusion.

Acute stenosing laryngoracheitis

This disease is typical for children aged 1-6 years, as a complication of a viral or bacterial infection respiratory tract. Most often, the disease manifests itself at night, when it appears:

difficulty breathing;
noisy breath;
a barking cough that may become silent;
loss of voice.

Emphysema

This is the name of the condition in which the alveoli swell, becoming more airy. Symptoms of the disease increase gradually:

shortness of breath: at first it appears during exercise, then at rest;
exhalation is done through closed lips, puffing out the cheeks;
cough is rare, scanty mucous sputum is secreted;
blue lips;
body weight is lost.

lung infarction

This is the name of the death of a larger or smaller section of the lung, occurs due to the blockage of the artery by a thrombus, a fatty particle (during fractures or liposuction), air. The first symptoms appear 2-3 days after the blockage of the vessel. It:

acute pain in the chest, which is aggravated by coughing, bending over, breathing;
there may be pain in the abdomen, very reminiscent of that of appendicitis or other surgical diseases;
the temperature rises - to low numbers, and this lasts 1-2 weeks;
due to oxygen starvation blue lips.

Diseases of the cardiovascular system

These include various diseases, which can be suspected by the described symptoms.

Cardiac tamponade

it dangerous state develops with the accumulation between the heart and its membrane (heart bag) of pus, blood, lymph, gas, effusion. Most often it is a complication closed damage heart and manipulations carried out on it. It can occur with rupture of the heart due to myocardial infarction, as a result of aortic dissection and pecricarditis.

Appears:

heaviness in the chest;
increasing shortness of breath;
weakness;
cold sweat;
feeling short of breath.

Myocarditis

Inflammation of the heart muscle usually occurs after suffering infectious disease- viral or bacterial etiology. It shows up:

increased fatigue
shortness of breath;
blue color of the mucous membrane of the lips;
swelling in the legs;
pain in the heart;
cardiac arrhythmias.

cardiomyopathy

This is the name of non-inflammatory, non-tumor, non-tumor ischemic lesion heart muscle, resulting from genetic defects, myocarditis, viral infections, toxic and allergic lesions.

Appears:

shortness of breath;
blue nasolabial triangle;
pain in the heart, not removed by nitroglycerin;
heartbeat;
arrhythmias;
swelling of the neck veins.

"Blue vices"

To additional reasons when blue lips are observed in a child, "blue heart defects" are included. They are operated on at 3-6 years of age, so they are not observed in adulthood.

The “blue vices” include those in which the organs and tissues are fed with mixed blood - the one that flowed in the aorta is mixed with venous, not enriched with oxygen, from the right heart. It:

tetrad, triad and pentad of Fallot;
common arterial trunk;
transposition of the great vessels;
tricuspid valve atresia.

Baby is born on time normal weight body, skin and lips of its normal color. By 8-12 weeks of age, attacks with shortness of breath, anxiety and crying appear. At the same time, the skin is gray, and the triangle above the upper lip and both lips turn blue. After a cry, the child may lose consciousness, convulsions may occur. If not carried out surgery, pathology can end fatally.

Impaired communication with hemoglobin

We will consider conditions in which hemoglobin binds tightly to another molecule that interferes with either attaching or donating oxygen to tissues.

Methemoglobinemia

The reasons for the oxidation of iron in hemoglobin are an overdose of vikasol, sulfanilamide antibiotics, novocaine, nitrites, poisoning with silver nitrate, water and products with nitrates. It can occur with some hereditary pathologies of methemoglobin reductase. The latter manifests itself in the neonatal period, when there is a blue area of the lips, nasolabial triangle, nails, ear lobes. Such children also have other malformations (for example, underdevelopment upper limbs), often - lag behind in psychomotor development. With methemoglobinemia, which has developed as a result of poisoning, shortness of breath, dizziness, blue mucous membranes and nails are noted.

Sulfhemoglobinemia

Pathology occurs when: long-term treatment sulfonamides or sulfur, as well as hydrogen sulfide poisoning. Manifested by excitation followed by oppression of consciousness. Requires emergency care.

shocks

This is the name of the state when the vessels and the erythrocytes with hemoglobin contained in them cannot satisfy the need of tissues for oxygen. This may be either significant expansion vessels (with anaphylactic, septic shock, damage spinal cord, which sets the tone of the vessels), or with the loss of blood or its liquid part.

In this case, either against the background of vomiting or diarrhea, or after blood loss, or after an injury, or when antibiotic treatment was started, or after some time when symptoms of an infectious disease were observed, suddenly appear:

weakness;
dyspnea;
pale or gray skin with blue lips;
increased heart rate;
inadequacy or oppression of consciousness.

What to do if your lips turn blue

When the lower, upper lip or area of the nasolabial triangle turns blue, this requires an immediate visit to the doctor. If the blueness of these areas was observed after chest pain, blood loss, profuse diarrhea, vomiting; if it is accompanied by shortness of breath, increased heart rate or inadequacy, an ambulance call is required. Prior to this, a person needs to be seated, freed from restrictive clothing, to provide an influx fresh air, soothe.

If you notice blue lips in the background, it would seem full health need to see a therapist. He, having listened to complaints and made primary examination, prompts you to first visit a cardiologist, and then a pulmonologist, or do the opposite.