Doctors warn against popular plant supplement that turns people’s skin BLUE and is linked to spate of deaths

Doctors are warning Americans about the health effects of an increasingly popular supplement linked to a spate of deaths — which can also change the color of a person’s skin.

Kratom first became popular in the US as an opioid withdrawal drug, but has recently gained traction as a wellness supplement for anxiety and stress.

But the plant leaf extract – sold in wellness stores and gas stations for about 20 cents per pill – has been linked to a range of serious side effects, including seizures, hallucinations and crippling addiction.

Several deaths from using the supplement have also been reported.

Now doctors are warning again that it can also change the tone of a patient’s skin after the number of cases increases. They say this color change can last for months, even if a person stops taking the supplement.

Above is the 30-year-old patient who came to doctors in Kansas with blue skin after taking Kratom. The symptoms did not disappear 16 months later

He also had blue-colored skin on the back of his hand and the area on the back of his neck. It is not clear how Kratom can cause this

Among those affected is a 30-year-old man who came to doctors in Kansas with dark gray-blue skin on his cheeks, the back of his neck and the backs of his hands and forearms.

The patient had been using Kratom for five years and had no problems until his skin suddenly changed color. Sixteen months after stopping the supplement it is still blue.

He had started taking Kratom daily to alleviate an opioid addiction he developed after high school.

Dr. Heather Woolery-Lloyd, a dermatologist at the University of Miami, said in an interview with Medscape: ‘This is something we will see more and more often.

“Many of our patients think Kratom is a safe herbal supplement, but are often unaware that it can have various side effects and can be addictive.”

The supplement is made from the leaves of the rainforest tree of the same name from Southeast Asia and has been used in cultures in Cambodia, Thailand and elsewhere since the 19th century.

It can be boiled into a tea, smoked, chewed, mixed into drinks or put into capsules, with many taking Kratom daily to help them quit opioids.

The FDA warns against use of the supplement, saying it is not approved for any use in the US.

This image also shows the patient with blue skin on the side of his face, which did not disappear

The aforementioned patient in Washington State also came to the doctors saying their skin had turned blue after taking the supplement

But data suggests that use of the supplement — also referred to online as a “legal opioid” and “legal high” — continues to increase.

Dates of The United States National Poison Data System shows that only eleven Kratom poisonings were reported in 2011.

But in the first seven months of 2018 alone, this figure had risen to 357 cases.

A 2021 study estimated that 1.7 million Americans took the supplement — in part to help alleviate opioid addictions.

Drugs including methadone and naltrexone are used to treat opioid addiction, but these can have side effects such as constipation, headaches, sweating and insomnia, leading many to seek alternatives.

It’s not clear why Kratom can turn someone’s skin blue, but scientists have previously suggested it may be related to the supplement increasing dopamine levels, which can stimulate melanin production – causing thicker patches of color to appear.

It can also be linked to the supplement causing deposits around the blood vessels, which can cause blue spots or any impurities in the supplement.

Blue skin has only appeared in areas exposed to sunlight, which is also linked to increased melanin production.

This is different from the blue skin caused by a condition called cyanosis, where a lack of oxygen in the blood causes it to change color.

In a case that was revealed in February This year it involved a 30-year-old man who came to the doctors in Kansas. The patient said he started using Kratom to help with an opioid addiction.

He used Kratom for four and a half years before the discoloration occurred and told doctors that the discoloration had developed quickly.

He started using Kratom due to an opioid addiction, had no other medical conditions, and was not taking any other medications or supplements that could have caused the blue skin.

In another case from 2022A 54-year-old man who came to doctors in Washington State also revealed that his skin had turned blue while taking Kratom.

He said the color had slowly appeared on his arms and face in areas exposed to sunlight.

He also used Kratom three to four times a day with orange juice for five years to help with his opioid addiction.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) proposed banning Kratom in 2017 and listing it as a Schedule I substance alongside heroin, marijuana and LSD.

But these plans were later abandoned after widespread protests over the measure in many US cities.

An estimated 2.1 million Americans are currently struggling with opioid addiction.