Secrets About Actinic Keratosis Only A Handful Of People Know

A rough, scaly area of skin known as an actinic keratosis develops as a result of years of exposure to the sun. It often appears on the scalp, neck, forearms, lips, ears, and backs of the hands.

Atopic Keratosis

On the epidermis, actinic keratoses appear as scaly areas or patches. They could eventually harden and develop a wart-like surface.

Actinic keratoses, sometimes referred to as sun keratosis, are slow-growing lesions that typically develop in adults over the age of 40. By limiting your exposure to the sun and shielding your skin from ultraviolet (UV) radiation, you may lower your chance of developing this skin disease.

Actinic keratoses have a 5% to 10% chance of developing into squamous cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer, if left untreated.

Symptoms

The appearance of actinic keratoses varies. These signs include:

• A skin lesion that is rough, dry, or scaly and is typically smaller than 1 inch (2.5 cm) in diameter
• The top layer of skin has a hump or area that is flat to slightly elevated.
• Sometimes a rough, wart-like surface
• Changes in color, such as pink, red, or brown
• Itches, burns, bleeds, or forms crusts
• On exposed skin, such as the head, neck, wrists, and forearms, there are fresh patches or pimples

When to See a Doctor

Differentiating between malignant and non-cancerous areas may be challenging. In light of this, it is advisable to get any new skin changes examined by a healthcare professional, particularly if a scaly area or patch persists, worsens, or bleeds.

Causes

Frequent or prolonged exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun or tanning beds may result in an actinic keratosis.

Risk Factors

Actinic keratoses may happen to anybody. However, you have a higher risk if you:

• Have light-colored or blue eyes and red or blonde hair
• Have a history of being sunburned or exposed to a lot of sun
• Exposure to sunlight tends to cause freckles or burns.
• Are over 40 years old
• Live in a warm climate
• Work outside
• Possess a compromised immune system

Complications

Actinic keratosis may be cleaned up or eradicated if it is treated quickly. Some of these lesions may develop into squamous cell carcinoma if neglected. If diagnosed and treated early, this particular kind of cancer often doesn’t pose a life-threatening hazard.

Prevention

Actinic keratoses may be avoided by avoiding the sun. Follow these instructions to shield your skin from the sun:

Keep sun exposure to a minimum. Avoid spending time in the sun, especially between 10 am and 2 pm. Also, try to limit the amount of time you spend in the sun to prevent sunburn or suntan.

Put sunblock on. The American Academy of Dermatology advises using a broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 30 before going outside. Do this even on overcast days.

SPF should be applied to all exposed skin. And apply sunscreen-infused lip balm to your lips. Before heading outdoors, apply sunscreen. Reapply it every two hours, or more often if you’re swimming or perspiring.

For infants less than six months, sunscreen is not advised. Instead, if you can, keep them out of the light. Or shield them with caps, clothing that covers the arms and legs, and shade.

Wear tightly woven clothes that cover your arms and legs for additional sun protection. Also, put on a hat with a wide brim. The protection offered by this is more than that of a baseball cap or golf visor.

Skip the tanning bed. Just as much skin damage as a tan from the sun may result from UV exposure from tanning beds.

Regularly check your skin, and let your doctor know if anything changes. Regularly check your skin for new skin growths or modifications to moles, freckles, lumps, and birthmarks that already present. Examine your face, neck, ears, and scalp using mirrors. Look at the tops and backs of your hands and arms.

Diagnosis

By merely examining your skin, your doctor should be able to tell if you have an actinic keratosis. Your healthcare practitioner may do further testing, such as a skin biopsy, if there is any uncertainty. A little piece of skin is removed during a skin biopsy for laboratory examination. Following an anesthetic injection, a biopsy may often be performed in a clinic.

Your doctor may advise that you get your skin examined at least once a year for symptoms of skin cancer even after receiving therapy for actinic keratosis.

Treatment

Sometimes an actinic keratosis goes away on its own, but it might come back with further sun exposure. Since it’s difficult to predict which actinic keratoses may turn into skin cancer, removal is often performed as a preventative measure.

Medicines

Your doctor may recommend a medicinal cream or gel to eradicate multiple actinic keratoses, such as fluorouracil (Carac, Efudex, and others), imiquimod (Aldara, Zyclara), or diclofenac. For a few weeks, these products might result in blistering, scaling, or irritated skin.

Techniques

Actinic keratosis may be removed using a variety of techniques, such as:

Freezing (Cryotherapy). Liquid nitrogen freezing may be used to eliminate actinic keratoses. The material is applied to the damaged skin by your healthcare professional, which results in blistering or peeling. The injured skin cells peel off as your skin heals, revealing fresh skin. The most frequent kind of treatment is cryotherapy. It may be completed at your doctor’s office and just takes a few minutes. Blisters, scars, altered skin tone, infections, and changes in skin texture are possible side effects.

Curettage (scraping). The injured cells are scraped out during this treatment using a tool called a curet. Electrosurgery, which uses a pencil-shaped device to cut and vaporize the afflicted tissue with an electric current, may be performed after scraping. Local anesthetic is required for this surgery. Infection, scarring, and changes in the color of the skin in the afflicted region are possible side effects.

Laser treatment. Actinic keratosis is being treated with this method more often. Your doctor removes the patch using an ablative laser, which causes new skin to grow in its place. Scarring and skin discolouration of the afflicted area are potential side effects.

Photodynamic treatment. Your doctor may apply a chemical solution that is light-sensitive to the damaged skin before exposing it to a specific light to eradicate the actinic keratosis. Skin inflammation, swelling, and a burning feeling may be side effects of treatment.