What Is Actinic Keratosis - Treatment of Skin Cancer
Actinic keratosis is a rough small spot on the skin that developed due to too much sun exposure. It is sometimes referred to as solar keratosis or AKs. This growth appears on the surface or sometimes slightly underneath the surface of the skin.
Actinic Keratosis Symptoms
This spot or growth may be crusty or scaly with a rough texture and sometimes they are flat. Solar keratosis may be sore or painful to the touch or when clothes rub against clothing or may feel itchy or prickly. They are usually reddish or pink (or a mixture of both) and have a white scale on the very top in the center of the growth. The size can range from the point of a pencil to the size of a pencil eraser or 2mm to 6 mm.
Who Is At Risk For Actinic Keratosis?
Solar keratosis usually develops in fair skinned people with light eyes or fair hair who have spent too many years in the sun without protection. Their skin shows signs of damage and becomes discolored, molted, spotted, and/or wrinkled.
The areas most affected are the ears, lips, face, neck, and scalp. Also, included are the tops of the hands, forearms, chest, and shoulders. In addition to fair skinned people, sometimes those with an immune system disorders might be at risk for developing solar keratosis.
Solar keratosis usually takes years to develop and therefore most often appears in older people, however, it can appear in younger people if they’ve received too much sun exposure as children.
Facts About Skin Cancer – Actinic Keratosis Treatment
Solar keratosis is considered a precancerous condition which means they can develop into skin cancer. However, the good news is – very few develop into cancer. But when they do turn malignant this type of cancer is called squamous cell carcinoma – so it’s still important to keep an eye on these growths, even if they’re not malignant.
While some growths may disappear on their own, the only treatment required is to keep an eye on these growths and have then regularly checked by a dermatologists However, if a doctor does decided to remove them, he may do so using the following methods: Liquid nitrogen – this quickest way to eliminate the growth is to freeze it off.Chemical peel - chemical burns the top layers off of the skin. Cut or shaved - the growth can be cut, scraped, or shaved off.
When a patient is diagnosed with actinic keratosis, they are often surprised – explaining how they never go in the sun. However, what people don’t realize or forget – that keratoses take many years to develop and the over sun exposure you had 30 or 40 years ago, is now just starting to show up. That is why it’s extremely important to keep covered when in the sun and always use a sunscreen – winter or summer.
And you want to make sure your sunscreen is safe too. Recently studies from the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and University of California have questioned the safety and efficacy of many commercial sunscreens on the market. They found that out of 785 sun screens analyzed -- a staggering 84% contained ingredients with safety concerns or did not provide adequate protection from the sun’s ultraviolet rays.
The identified the following sunscreen chemicals as being harmful: - benzophenone-3
- 4-MBC (4-methyl-benzylidene camphor)
- PABA
- octyl-methoxycinnamate (OMC)
- homosalate
Click here Sun Safety to read more.....
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