Of all places, why does a Baal Lashon Hara get punished on his skin? We can suggest that your mouth is a “guard” to your entire being, since: םיִיַּח ץֵפָחֶה שׁיִאָה יִמ - רֹצְנ עָרֵמ ˃ְנוֹשְׁל תהלים לד יג- די If a person wants to live, let him guard his tongue from all negative speech, and we see that: ןוֹשָׁל דַיְבּ תֶוָמַהְו םיִיַּחַה משלי יח כא Life and death are in the hands of the tongue.
The skin is the Shemira and “protection” of the whole body, and when a person gets Tzora'as on his skin, it is a message that his “protection” is in danger. A Metzora is indeed similar to a: ֵמת dead person. The more you speak happy and positive words, especially Divrei Torah, the longer you live. ִכּ ַח י ִי ֵה םי ְל םמוֹ ִצ ֵאי ֶהי ְבּ ם ֶפּה א דנ ןיבוריע The words of Torah are a source of life when you articulate them verbally.
