Why does Anemia cause pale skin?
Good answers so far but not quite right about the colour of blood. De-oxygenated blood is actually darker than Oxygenated blood. The pale colour is to do with the way the body works in order to keep core organs and tissues functioning. Just like the extremities going pale during exposure to cold temperatures to keep the heat into the vital organs and brain, the low oxygen levels cause the blood to be drawn away from the skin and directed to the brain and vital organs to keep them functioning optimally. When Phlebotomists take blood they predominantly take it from the veins where it is already depleted of Oxygen. It may be especially dark in an Anaemic person looking at the colour of the blood is unlikely to be an accurate method of measuring Anaemia.
