this man’s skin mysteriously took on a gray tint

This patient was treated at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Hong Kong for complications related to an enlarged prostate. But these doctors especially became circumspect when discovering the color of his skin. His skin, but also his eyes and his nails had a gray tint.

This strange case was the subject of a case study in the journal The New England Journal of Medicine early January.

Gray complexion: silver in the body

The hospital team conducted several examinations to understand the origin of this color change, which occurred 5 years earlier according to the patient. A skin biopsy revealed the presence of gray granules in the octogenarian’s blood vessels as well as in the membranes of his sweat glands, hair follicles and skin fibers. Blood tests made it possible to determine the nature of these strange little grains. It was about money. Further analysis revealed that the concentration of the element was more than 40 times higher than the average level found in the human body.

This condition has a name: argyria. It is caused by prolonged contact with silver salts or by their ingestion. Dermatosis “is characterized at the beginning by a gray, gray-blue or gray-black coloring of the gums first, which progresses as the silver deposits spread throughout the skin covering”we can read on the Orphanet website.

This particular pigmentation is especially visible in areas of skin exposed to the sun. The reason? When silver ions are exposed to UV radiation from the sun, they begin to oxidize and react with other elements. Together they form compounds that reflect a dull gray or blue color.

Argyria: a mysterious intoxication

The origin of the patient’s silver poisoning remains a mystery. Most often, the source of exposure is professional, for example craftsmen working with this metal or miners. But the man was a waiter. Doctors therefore ruled out this possibility, as did environmental contamination since none of his relatives or neighbors had the same disorder.

Some medications may contain silver. But once again, the doctors failed, because none of the treatments taken by the man for his enlarged prostate had the element in their composition. Some alternative medicines rely on taking regular doses of silver. However, the patient assured that he had not used this type of care in recent years.

Although there was no answer as to the cause of the poisoning, the doctors let the patient go home since he did not present any problems other than his gray tint. Indeed, apart from the unsightly effect, argyria does not represent a vital risk for those affected. Doctors specify that the octogenarian risks keeping his gray color, because there is no treatment for the dermatosis.

Additionally, patient monitoring is planned to ensure that the level of silver in the blood does not increase further. Indeed, a very high level of silver can end up destroying organs such as the liver and kidneys.