Since an estimated 20 percent of all Americans may develop skin cancer before their 70th birthday, many individuals feel understandably cautious about changes to their skin that might signal a problem in need of treatment. However, some skin changes can cause more alarm than they merit, including seborrheic keratosis.
Even though seborrheic keratosis doesn’t count as a form of cancer or pose a serious threat to your quality of life, you should cultivate an understanding of this kind of skin growth, why it occurs, and what it might indicate to how you can rid yourself of unsightly spots. Start with the following four key points.
1. What Seborrheic Keratosis Looks Like
A seborrheic keratosis usually takes the form of a round or oval spot. The color of seborrheic keratosis can range from light tan to dark brown. While it shares these common traits with moles, a seborrheic keratosis growth will also have a characteristic raised, waxy, flaky, or scaly feel to it, with a well-defined border.
You can develop a single seborrheic keratosis growth in your lifetime, or you may develop multiple growths as you age. This condition can affect young adults, but it becomes much more common in middle age. Typical areas where they might pop up include the back, arms, and chest.
2. Why People Get Seborrheic Keratosis
Seborrheic keratosis involves an abnormal buildup of certain skin cells known as keratocytes, most often in fair skin but occasionally in darker skin as well. Although researchers don’t know exactly why people get seborrheic keratosis, the fact that it runs in families indicates that genetic factors play a role in its development.
Apart from age and genetics, certain other factors may also increase your risk for developing seborrheic keratosis. For instance, hormonal changes brought about by estrogen replacement therapy or pregnancy seem to promote lesions in some women. However, sun exposure doesn’t necessarily boost your risk.
3. When to Have Your Seborrheic Keratosis Evaluated or Treated
Although seborrheic keratosis can’t harm you the way some skin cancers can, you need to know when a cancerous lesion might mimic a non-cancerous one. If a growth changes in size and shape suddenly or develops a bleeding sore that refuses to heal, play it safe by scheduling an evaluation from your dermatologist.
Seborrheic keratosis may cause you annoyance or self-consciousness even if it doesn’t threaten your health. In some people, these lesions can occasionally itch. They may also get caught on clothing or jewelry in a way that damages them and causes them to bleed, giving you sufficient reason to have them removed.
4. How Dermatologists Remove Seborrheic Keratosis
If you want to get rid of seborrheic keratosis growth, your dermatologist has a few different options for removing it. In one common treatment method called cryotherapy, the dermatologist applies the liquid nitrogen to freeze the lesion. The damaged lesion then dies, forms a scab, and falls away.
If you only have a few seborrheic keratoses that you want to remove, your dermatologist may use a technique called electrocautery. An electrical instrument applies a low-voltage charge to the lesion, burning it away and leaving the skin to heal over the next few weeks. Bear in mind that this technique may leave a scar.
In some cases, dermatologists recommend removing multiple keratoses through traditional surgical methods. A scalpel can easily remove the superficial skin that contains the lesions.
Don’t try to freeze, burn, or slice off a seborrheic keratosis growth by yourself. In addition to the risk of infection, you may also remove evidence of more lesions that calls for genuine medical treatment.
Advanced Dermatology & Skin Cancer Specialists can evaluate a suspected seborrheic keratosis growth and administer any treatment for it that you might choose to undergo. Schedule an appointment at any of our locations today.
