Can you imagine people with blue skin? No? Well, such people really do exist. They are miners who live high up in the mountains of Chile. Do you know the reason for the blue appearance of their skin?
It is because they do not get enough oxygen since they live in such high altitude of about 6,100 metres above sea level. When oxygen levels in blood are high, blood is nice red in colour. When oxygen levels are low, blood gets a bluish tinge and this blue tinged blood gives a blue colour to the skin too.
Sometimes people inherit blue tinted skin from their parents. Some people are born with a defect - their bodies are unable to use the enzyme that is responsible for the red colour. This defect is passed on through generations which later led to a disease called methemoglobinemia, which is why some communities living in isolated areas have blue skin. Examples are the "Blue Fugates" in the hills of Kentucky.
It is because they do not get enough oxygen since they live in such high altitude of about 6,100 metres above sea level. When oxygen levels in blood are high, blood is nice red in colour. When oxygen levels are low, blood gets a bluish tinge and this blue tinged blood gives a blue colour to the skin too.
Sometimes people inherit blue tinted skin from their parents. Some people are born with a defect - their bodies are unable to use the enzyme that is responsible for the red colour. This defect is passed on through generations which later led to a disease called methemoglobinemia, which is why some communities living in isolated areas have blue skin. Examples are the "Blue Fugates" in the hills of Kentucky.