Yellow patches appeared on palm of hands when I woke up

[tamarawr43]

Last night my hands were fine, took a shower went to bed, woke up with very yellow stains on my hands, almost as if yellow was sweated out because when I washed them it washed off but stained my hands leaving more faded yellow patches. There was absolutely nothing I was around to do this, especially before bed. My left hand was worse then my right hand. 4 years ago this happened to me as I was driving a 6 hour drive  except it was not as intense but was random yellow stains appearing on my palms. I went to the doctor and he told me I just stained me hands but that was impossible because I was driving the whole time. It eventually just randomly disappeared that evening even though washing hands would not do a thing. Any ideas what this might be ? Currently still have the yellow patches, day 1

[SassyLassie]

Hello~Well, it could be due to food, are you eating lots of yellow veggies like carrots?  Orange/yellow tint: Ginger-hued hands are no cause for concern—in fact, they're a sign you have a diet rich in veggies full of the pigment carotene, like carrots, sweet potatoes and winter squash.

Infrequently, carotenemia (the name that is given to this condition) is caused by a medical condition. According to a March 2003 review in “International Journal of Dermatology,” conditions including diabetes, high blood fats, hypothyroidism, liver disease and kidney disease uncommonly cause carotenemia. This secondary carotenemia is believed to be caused by faulty metabolism. For example, significantly increased blood fats can bind the carotenoids and prevent normal excretion via sweat, urine and stool. Also liver enzymes and the thyroid hormone are responsible for conversion of carotenoids to vitamin A, so liver disease and hypothyroidism can lead to excess carotenoids in the tissues. Seeing a doctor to manage these conditions can help improve the associated skin discoloration.

If you are concerned and you are not eating a lot of yellow or orange veggies, then possibly seeing your physician might help, at least then you can ask for some blood work to rule out diabetes or other medical conditions that might cause this.