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What Causes Thin And Translucent Skin In A Hypothyroid Patient?
Question: My Mother is 93 and living in a nursing facility at Moosehaven in Orange Park, FL. Her skin has become very thin and translucent, and she bruises easily (just from normal assistance getting in and out of her wheel chair). She has arthritis in her knees and excessive swelling in the knees and ankles. She is also Hypothyroid. My biggest concern is the thin translucent skin and bruising. What do you think is causing this, and what should we do about it?
Brief Answer:
Considerations
Detailed Answer:
Hello & thank you for submitting your question.
Sudden bruising is a symptom that warrants further investigation. Bruising can be caused by a variety of causes such as low platelets or low amounts of coagulation factors in the blood. I see that your mother has been diagnosed with anemia. This may contribute to the appearance of her skin as translucent. Skin changes, including increased translucency, are also a normal part of aging and from the lovely photograph you provided the skin changes are not incredibly concerning and appear to be within the spectrum of normal aging. The multivitamin may help a bit with collagen and other skin/dermal protein production.
It would be very reasonable to address these concerns of bruising with the physician in charge of your mother's care. A review of her peripheral blood including complete blood count with quantitation of platelets as well as possible investigation into her blood's ability to clot (prothrombin, partial thromboplastin times) may be considered.
Sincerely,
Dr. Galamaga
Considerations
Detailed Answer:
Hello & thank you for submitting your question.
Sudden bruising is a symptom that warrants further investigation. Bruising can be caused by a variety of causes such as low platelets or low amounts of coagulation factors in the blood. I see that your mother has been diagnosed with anemia. This may contribute to the appearance of her skin as translucent. Skin changes, including increased translucency, are also a normal part of aging and from the lovely photograph you provided the skin changes are not incredibly concerning and appear to be within the spectrum of normal aging. The multivitamin may help a bit with collagen and other skin/dermal protein production.
It would be very reasonable to address these concerns of bruising with the physician in charge of your mother's care. A review of her peripheral blood including complete blood count with quantitation of platelets as well as possible investigation into her blood's ability to clot (prothrombin, partial thromboplastin times) may be considered.
Sincerely,
Dr. Galamaga
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Naveen Kumar
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