Xanthelasmata - Medtick
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Xanthelasmata

What is it?

Yellow nodule or patches around the eye and other parts of body

Cause

  • Age (harder for your body to clear excess cholesterol from the blood, as one gets older)
  • Bad diet – Products high in saturated fats and trans fats. In addition, when you eat more calories than you can burn off, those extra calories are changed to triglycerides, which can result in high levels in your blood
  • Lack of exercise – Low physical activity can result in weight gain and cause ‘LDL ‘ cholesterol and triglyceride levels to increase.
  • Overweight – change the way your body uses cholesterol, resulting in levels building up in your blood. Excess weight can also lead to high triglycerides, which are stored in your fat cells.
  • Smoking – Smoking won’t cause your LDL cholesterol to spike, but it can cause your HDL cholesterol levels (the good kind) to drop, as well as damage arteries.
  • Alcohol – Drinking heavily increases levels of both cholesterol and triglycerides.
  • Family history i.e.
    • Familial combined hyperlipidemia – common genetic disorder that can lead to an increase in body fats. It causes high levels of cholesterol and triglycerides and is made worse by other long term conditions i.e.
    • Familial hypercholesterolemia – an inherited disorder prevents your body from being able to remove LDL cholesterol from your blood, resulting in abnormally high levels of the “bad” cholesterol in the body.
    • Familial dysbetalipoproteinemia – a genetic defect that leads cholesterol and triglycerides to build up in the blood and is made worse by other long term conditions  such as :
    • Lipoprotein lipase deficiency (high triglycerides):
      • Rare genetic disorder with an autosomal recessive pattern of inheritance (Family history)
      • Recurrent attacks of acute pancreatitis
      • Eruptive xanthomas (lesions and/or lumps on the skin containing cholesterol and fats)
      • Hepatosplenomegaly (swollen liver and/or swollen spleen)
      • Lipemia retinalis (blood vessels that appear creamy/brown and thin in the eye)
    • Hyperlipoproteinemia type III

Syndromes

Medication

Symptoms

  • Yellow nodule or patches around the eye and/or elbows and/or hands and/or  buttocks and/or knees?
  • Range in size of 2mm–30 mm?
  • Flat-surfaced and has distinct borders (well-defined)?
  • Does not usually go away on its own?
  • More lesions developing or existing ones grow bigger?
  • Non- itchy or tender?
  • History of high cholesterol or high lipids in blood?

Complications /Information to beware of/General tips:

Do not wait, phone for an ambulance if have or develop:

This condition can be associated with:

This condition may show similar symptoms to:

Please talk to your healthcare professional (i.e. Medical Doctor/Pharmacist) for further advice

Detailed Information

Please copy and paste any key words from the title: Xanthelasmata in the following respective 'Medtick References and/or Sources' to find out more about the disease (this also may include diagnosis tests and generic medical treatments).

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