Discoloration of the skin

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. I can only speak to my own experience and hope that gives you some insight into what POTS is and how it can affect you or the people around you. 

What it feels like: Nothing, your skin just looks different. 

What it looks like: Your legs might turn red (see blood pooling) and you might go pale from lack of blood in your face. Maybe your feet or hands turn purple as well.

What causes it:

When the valves in your legs fail to close or restrict the blood flow the blood pools in your feet and legs. This causes your legs to turn red, at the same time the blood is staying away from the other parts of your body causing them to go pale or even purple. Circulation and POTS go hand in hand so you might see purple feet and toes or even purple fingers and hands.

Solutions I’ve found:

Keeping your blood pressure up helps, along with keeping your nutrition steady. Laying down will help move the blood from your legs to the rest of your body. Compression stocking can help a lot as well as Liquid IV and LMNT.

Further Reading

“Dermatological Manifestations of Postural Tachycardia Syndrome Are Common and Diverse.” NCBI, 26 November 2015, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4712289/. Accessed 2 April 2023.

“Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS).” Johns Hopkins Medicine, https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/postural-orthostatic-tachycardia-syndrome-pots. Accessed 2 April 2023.

Rice, Damien, and Matt Galbraith. “.,.” ., – YouTube, 16 November 2008, https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/circulationaha.112.144501. Accessed 2 April 2023.

How do you manage discolored skin?