Doctors are warning Americans about the health effects of an increasingly popular supplement linked to a string of deaths — which can also change the color of one's skin.
Kratom first became popular in the US as an opioid withdrawal treatment, but has recently gained ground as a wellness supplement for anxiety and stress.
But the plant's leaf extract — sold in health stores and gas stations for about 20 cents a pill — has been linked to a number of serious side effects, including seizures, hallucinations and crippling addiction.
A few deaths from taking the supplement have also been reported.
Now, doctors are warning again that it can also change the shade of the patient's skin as they notice a rise in cases. They say this discoloration can continue for months, even when someone stops taking the supplement.
Pictured above is the 30-year-old patient who came to doctors in Kansas with blue skin after taking Kratom. Symptoms did not go away 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 taking 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 help ease 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.
"Many of our patients think that Kratom is a safe, herbal supplement, but often don't know that it can have some side effects and can be addictive."
The supplement is made from the leaves of the Southeast Asian rainforest tree of the same name and has been in use in cultures in Cambodia, Thailand and elsewhere since at least the 19th century.
It can be brewed into tea, smoked, chewed, mixed into drinks, or placed in capsules, with many taking Kratom daily to help them quit opioids.
The FDA warns against taking the supplement, saying it has not been approved for any use in the US.
This image also shows the patient with blue skin on the side of the face, which did not disappear
The above 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 — which has also been called a "legal opioid" and "legal high" online — is continuing to grow.
Data from The United States National Poison Data System indicated that there were only 11 Kratom poisonings reported in 2011.
But only in the first seven months of 2018, this figure had gone to 357 cases.
A 2021 study estimated that 1.7 million Americans were taking the supplement — in part to help ease 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 – prompting 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 boost melanin production — which can cause more freckles to appear. thick color.
It can also be related to the supplement causing deposits around the blood vessels, which can cause blue spots - or any impurities in the supplement.
Blue skin has appeared only in areas exposed to sunlight, which also has a connection with increased melanin production.
This differs from blue skin caused by a condition called cyanosis, which is when a lack of oxygen in the blood causes it to change color.
In a case discovered in February of this year involving a 30-year-old man who came to doctors in Kansas, the patient said he started using Kratom to help with an opioid addiction.
He took Kratom for four and a half years before the bleaching occurred, telling doctors that it had appeared rapidly.
He started taking Kratom for an opioid addiction, and had no other medical conditions or took any other drugs or supplements that could cause blue skin.
In another case from 2022, a 54-year-old man who came to doctors in Washington state also discovered 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 had also been taking Kratom with orange juice three to four times a day 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 along with heroin, marijuana, and LSD.
But those plans were later abandoned after widespread protests over the move in many US cities.
An estimated 2.1 million Americans are currently struggling with an opioid addiction.
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