A seborrheic keratosis or senile wart is a harmless skin growth. It is a common sign of skin aging. It is very common in adults over the age of 60 years. These occur in both males and females of all races. Usually, the growth begins to erupt in middle age.
Understanding Seborrheic Keratosis
Dos & Don’ts for Getting Seborrheic Keratosis
Causes of Seborrheic Keratosis
Symptoms of Seborrheic Keratosis
Treatment of Seborrheic Keratosis
Seborrheic keratosis is a brown or black growth. Usually, it is seen on the chest, back, head and neck. Seborrheic keratosis can appear anywhere on the skin except the palms and soles. They originate from cells called keratinocytes. Their appearance and continued progression may get worrisome for people. But they are neither contagious nor premalignant or malignant lesions.
Some of the other names for seborrheic keratosis are basal cell papilloma, senile wart or brown wart. Seborrheic keratosis treatment is actually a misnomer. To explain, the skin growth is neither limited to a seborrheic distribution (scalp, mid-face, chest, upper back). Moreover, it is not derived from sebaceous glands or associated with sebum.
DO: Use a back-brush or loofah to get rid of dead skin cells.
DO: Consult a doctor in the initial stages itself.
DO: Use broad-spectrum sunscreen daily.
DO: Remove any jewellery that might irritate the keratosis.
DON’T: Leave the house without sun protection.
DON’T: Ignore initial stages of any skin condition.
DON’T: Scrub your skin too roughly.
DON’T: Pick at the scabs or attempt to extract them by yourself.
DON’T: Touch the lesion.
The exact seborrheic keratosis cause is unknown, However, ageing is the usual cause for seborrheic keratosis. Other risk factors include:
Seborrheic keratosis is degenerative in nature, growing in number with age. Here’s how they can be described:
Seborrheic keratosis is not premalignant. However, it may be difficult to tell a cancerous skin growth apart from it. Especially if the cancer cells coincidentally arise with or within it. Also, very rarely, eruptive seborrheic keratoses may denote an underlying internal malignancy.
An irritated seborrheic keratosis can become red and inflamed. This gives rise to eczematous dermatitis around it. Subsequently, this will trigger new seborrheic keratoses to appear.
To avoid complications, visit your doctor immediately if the following should occur:
In most cases, a dermatologist will be able to determine if your skin growth is a seborrheic keratosis simply by looking at it. Also, in most cases, no treatment is necessary. Removal of the growth may be recommended in the following scenarios:
The seborrheic keratosis medical procedure used for removal are:
This is the most common method, especially for light-skinned individuals. About two-thirds of the patients involved use this method. Liquid nitrogen is applied to the lesion with a spray gun or a cotton swab. This freezes the lesion and destroys it. The inflamed senile keratosis falls off within a few days. Any blisters formed under the main lesion dry and form a scab which eventually falls off too.
This method is ideal for thin or small lesions, irritated growths and lesions found all over the body. This method has rarely caused a patient to bleed, does not consume much time, is easy to carry out and has a low risk of infection while being cost-effective.
It can be painful since the liquid nitrogen (Cryosurgery) is at a freezing temperature of -196C or -320F. It can sting a lot when applied and some patients feel a lingering pain for over an hour. While being an imprecise technique since it can impact the skin in an unpredictable way, cryosurgery can cause hypopigmentation and hyperpigmentation. Most dark-skinned patients face hypopigmentation, a process in which the skin lightens in comparison to its natural colour. Whereas hyperpigmentation refers to the darkening of the skin in comparison to its natural colour. Scarring is a potential risk. This Seborrheic Keratosis treatment requires a few sessions to be successful.
Local anaesthesia is given to the patients. Then a needle-like metal tip creates an electric current. This burns off the lesion. For lesions that are on parts of your body that are highly visible, small and thick in nature or lesions present on dark-skinned patients, this is the best option.
There is no bleeding, scarring or hypopigmentation and the healing period usually lasts a week which is lesser in comparison to cryosurgery. Occasionally, electrodesiccation can cause hyperpigmentation.
This involves numbing the growth with an anaesthetic and then using an electric current to destroy it.
After the injection of a local anaesthetic, an intense beam of light burns and vaporizes the lesion. The type of laser used varies, depending on the patient’s skin. This is the most suitable method for small and dark lesions. Additionally, there is no pain or bleeding and the recovery time is minimal. However, this is an expensive method. Moreover, it may cause scarring.
A chemical solution such as 70%, or (TCA) trichloroacetic acid peel, is applied to the lesion. Usually, chemical peels are ideal for thin facial lesions with lighter skin types.
However, it can not remove thick or dense keratosis. The skin feels raw and swollen. It is tough to predict how each patient’s skin will react. This treatment requires considerable post-procedure care. Additionally, the healing period lasts long. Moreover, this senile warts treatment requires multiple sessions.
Lastly, though the growth rarely recurs, new ones may appear in other areas of the body.
If you need treatment for a skin problem, please contact one of our top dermatologist in Pune. To make an appointment at a skin clinic near you, contact +919584584111 to book an appointment at one of our skin clinics near you.
A seborrheic keratosis or senile wart is a harmless skin growth. It is a common sign of skin aging. It is very common in adults over the age of 60 years. These occur in both males and females of all races. Usually, the growth begins to erupt in middle age.
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Read more...Seborrheic keratosis is a e. harmless warty spot that appears during adult life as a common sign of skin ageing. Technically, there are clusters of extra cells that appear on the outer layer of the skin. Seborrheic keratoses are round or oval in shape, brown or black in color, and appear as a skin colored, yellow, grey, light brown, dark brown, black or mixed colored smooth, waxy or warty surface. They are present within the scalp, under the breasts, over the spine or in the groin. People above the age of 50, those with a family history of this skin growth and light-skinned people are more likely to get seborrheic keratosis. Being non-cancerous (or benign), they are not serious or a reason to worry. However, they may resemble certain cancerous skin growths, so it is best to get them checked by a dermatologist.
Seborrheic keratosis occurs when skin cells called keratinocytes multiply rapidly, leading to skin growths on the outer layer of the skin. Thus, seborrheic keratosis is not fungal. However, seborrheic dermatitis is a fungal disease of the skin.
Since seborrheic keratosis is a non-cancerous skin growth, you should not worry about it, but since these skin growths can look similar to some cancerous skin growths, it is necessary to get them checked from a dermatologist. Moreover it is difficult to tell a cancerous skin growth apart from it, especially if the cancer cells coincidentally arise with or within it. So get them checked from a dermatologist in the following scenarios:
.There is new growth or change in the appearance of an existing one.
.A large number of growths occur within a short period.
.There is a single growth (since in seborrheic keratosis usually appears in multiple numbers).
. A growth with irregular borders (blurred, jagged) or an unusual colour (purple, blue, reddish-black)
. There is irritated or painful growth
Being harmless, they do not require medical treatment, but if they bother you, you can get them removed as per the advice of a dermatologist.
Coconut oil does not help in the removal or reduction of seborrheic keratosis. Mostly,, no treatment is necessary. Removal of the growth may be determined by a dermatologist with the following ways:
. Cryosurgery
. Electrodesiccation
. Electrocautery
. CO2 Laser