Benjamin Stacy. The Fugates, a family that lived in the hills of Kentucky, commonly known as the “Blue Fugates” or the “Blue People of Kentucky”, are notable for having been carriers of a genetic trait that led to the blood disorder methemoglobinemia, which causes the appearance of blue-tinged skin.
Methemoglobinemia is a blood disorder in which an abnormal amount of methemoglobin — a form of hemoglobin — is produced, according to the National Institutes for Health.
Moreover, What disease causes blue skin?
In their case, blue skin was caused by a rare genetic disease called methemoglobinemia. Methemoglobinemia is a blood disorder in which an abnormally high amount of methemoglobin — a form of hemoglobin — is produced. Hemoglobin is the molecule in red blood cells that distributes oxygen to the body.
Secondly, Is blue skin possible?
But at levels of between 10 and 20 percent a person can develop blue skin without any other symptoms. Most of blue Fugates never suffered any health effects and lived into their 80s and 90s.
Simply so, Does inbreeding cause blue skin?
After extensive inbreeding in the isolated community—their son married his aunt, for example—a large pedigree of “blue people” of both sexes arose. In “blue person disease,” excess oxygen-poor hemoglobin causes a dark blue complexion. Carriers may have bluish lips and fingernails at birth, which usually lighten.
What causes blue skin?
People whose blood is low in oxygen tend to have a bluish color to their skin. This condition is called cyanosis. Depending on the cause, cyanosis may develop suddenly, along with shortness of breath and other symptoms. Cyanosis that is caused by long-term heart or lung problems may develop slowly.
29 Related Question Answers Found
Why are the Fugates blue?
For the Fugate family, the excessive amount of blue methemoglobin in their blood turned their skin color blue. This blood disorder is the result of a recessive gene, and so requires that both parents of a child have the recessive gene for the disorder to appear in their offspring.
What medication can turn your skin blue?
Amiodarone may make your skin sensitive to sunlight. Exposed skin may turn blue-gray and may not return to normal even after you stop taking this medication. you should know that amiodarone may cause vision problems including permanent blindness.
What causes people’s skin to turn blue?
A bluish color to the skin or mucous membrane is usually due to a lack of oxygen in the blood. The medical term is cyanosis.
How does methemoglobinemia cause blue skin?
Individuals who have this disease are at risk of developing very dark, almost chocolate- colored blood or blue skin. This is because the hemoglobin that they produce is unable to carry sufficient amounts of oxygen throughout the body and oxygenate tissues. Methemoglobinemia can be inherited or acquired.
Why the Fugate family has blue skin?
Martin Fugate, a French orphan, married a woman named Elizabeth around 1820. They settled in Troublesome Creek, Kentucky. Unbeknownst to the couple, they were coincidentally both carriers of a recessive gene (met-H) that caused methemoglobinemia, which can tint the skin of sufferers blue.
What drug changes your skin color?
The main drugs implicated in causing skin pigmentation are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, antimalarials, amiodarone, cytotoxic drugs, tetracyclines, heavy metals and psychotropic drugs.
What causes a person to have blue skin?
People whose blood is low in oxygen tend to have a bluish color to their skin. This condition is called cyanosis. Depending on the cause, cyanosis may develop suddenly, along with shortness of breath and other symptoms. Cyanosis that is caused by long-term heart or lung problems may develop slowly.
What causes blue skin disorder?
Many conditions can cause your skin to have a bluish tint. For example, bruises and varicose veins can appear blue in color. Poor circulation or inadequate oxygen levels in your blood stream can also cause your skin to turn bluish. This skin discoloration is also known as cyanosis.
What happened to the man who turned blue?
A man who turned blue after taking silver for a skin condition has died. Paul Karason, 62, suffered a heart attack before contracting pneumonia and having a severe stroke at a Washington state hospital on Monday. His estranged wife, Jo Anna Karason, broke the news on Tuesday.
What medication causes blue skin?
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a drug safety communication on April 26, 2013, alerting the medical community that ezogabine (Potiga™; GlaxoSmithKline, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina), one of the newest antiepileptic drugs, may cause blue-gray skin discoloration and retinal pigment changes.
Is methemoglobinemia caused by inbreeding?
They also had to deal with the shame associated with inbreeding. Think back to the Punnett squares you had to diagram in 8th-grade science class. The gene that creates methemoglobinemia is recessive, so it likely wouldn’t have been a problem—except that the Fugate family married within itself.
Are there still blue Fugates?
Benjamin lost his blue coloring within a few weeks. Many Fugates were in good health despite having methemoglobinemia, and some reportedly lived into their 90’s. There are no known blue-skinned Fugates today.
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