Seborrheic Keratosis

Seborrheic keratosis is a common kind of a non-cancerous growth on the skin that occurs in older people. In fact, they are so common that seborrheic keratosis occurs in most people at some time of their lives or other. The term 'seborrheic' implies 'greasy' while 'keratosis' means the skin getting thickened. It may occur just singly or appear in clusters. Seborrheic keratoses start off by being light tan in color but usually darken to a dark brown shade later or almost black. They can be small rounded spots or form long patterns that can measure several inches. A seborrheic keratosis is scaly and waxy to the touch. Although they may look like cancerous growths on the skin, seborrheic keratosis typically does not get cancerous.

Seborrheic keratosis is usually painless, requiring no treatment. Although many people decide to have these growths removed due to cosmetic reasons or if the clothing causes them to become irritated.

What are the Features of Seborrheic Keratosis?

Seborrheic keratosis usually occurs on the face, shoulders, chest, and back. One of the main features of seborrheic keratosis is the stuck-on or pasted-on waxy look, and is usually likened to brown candle wax having been dropped on the skin. When they occur on the fact, they can be quite unsightly.

Seborrheic keratosis does not spread to other people because it is not contagious. Plus, it does not cause any health risk because it has got nothing to do with skin cancer. They often become a darker shade when sunless tanning creams are used. And, they never develop into melanoma, as moles have a tendency to. Some people are simply more prone to them, and with increasing age, they just get more of them. Occasionally, there may be an eruption of seborrheic keratoses during pregnancy, either due to some medical problems or because of hormone replacement therapy.

Seborrheic keratosis is not caused due to exposure to the sun, and is usually hereditary. In fact, people often inherit characteristics like the locations as well as the patterns they have a tendency to grow in. A different kind of seborrheic keratosis may occur in age or liver spots, also referred to as solar lentigines, but these are usually rare. A few keratoses that are brown and rough, and occur on the face, may actually be actinic keratosis, which is caused due to sun damage.

Although seborrheic keratosis is usually not painful, it can become bothersome, depending on its location and size. Care must be taken not to pick, scratch, or rub them, as it may cause them to become inflamed, thus leading to bleeding as well as infection.

When clothing rubs on them it can result in irritating the seborrheic keratoses and causes them to grow more. Mild steroid creams and alpha hydroxy lotions may alleviate this. However, in case they bleed easily, are irritated, and are very itchy, they need to be removed. If the seborrheic keratosis becomes a black shade of color, it might require a biopsy to distinguish it from skin cancer.

What is the Treatment for Seborrheic Keratosis?

Usually, seborrheic keratosis does not need any treatment. But, if they bleed because of clothing rubbing on them, or they bleed, or because people find them unsightly, they may want to have them removed.

Since seborrheic keratosis is not deeply rooted, removing them is quite a simple procedure usually, and generally does not cause any scarring. There are various methods of removing seborrheic keratoses, such as:

Cryosurgery, or using liquid nitrogen to freeze them: This is usually an effective method of removing seborrheic keratosis. But, it may not be as effective for thick and large growths, and it may also cause hypopigmentation, or lightening of the treated area of the skin.

Curettage, or using a special instrument to scrape the skin: Sometimes flat or thin growths may be treated with this method along with cryosurgery.

Electrocautery, or using an electric current to destroy tissue: Used by itself, or along with curettage, this is a highly effective method of getting rid of seborrheic keratosis. However, if not done properly, it may cause scarring. Also, compared to the other methods of removing seborrheic keratosis, this may take a longer time.