Yellow palms and soles: A rare skin manifestation in diabetes mellitus

Carotenemia with its yellowish-red tint is found in diabetes. The frequency of this phenomenon is unknown and the relationship between skin color and blood carotenoid level is controversial. Frequently the suspicion of diabetes arising from inspection of the skin color is in fact confirmed by the usual laboratory tests. As it is known that increased intake of carotenoid-rich fruit and vegetables leads to the yellowish-red skin discoloration, in the present case the patient was a known diabetic with uncontrolled blood sugar and showed the yellowish skin discoloration in spite of not taking any carotenoid-rich foods. After controlling his blood sugar level the patient showed improvement in his skin discoloration.