Home Articles Medicines and Remedies

What is actinic keratosis?

Some people who are constantly exposed to the sun sometimes experience a small rough spot or a kind of discolored appearance on the skin. This rough and raised spot is also referred to as solar keratosis and usually measures between two to 6 mm in diameter and is often reddish in appearance with a white scale on top. Actinic keratosis symptoms include a feeling of tenderness and soreness when the rough spot is rubbed against fingers or clothes. Individuals who experience actinic keratosis usually tend to be people with fair skin who have spent a lot of time outdoors in the sun. Chronic exposure to the sun over the course of many years can result in @wrinkled and discolored skin appearance. Actinic keratosis treatment must be immediate as these rough spots are believed it to be premalignant and are likely to develop into skin cancer. However even though few of them actually become malignant, it is important to get them treated as soon as possible. Actinic keratosis usually occurs on the face, the scalp, the back of an individual's neck, the upper chest and also on the hands and forearms. The best treatment for actinic keratosis is prevention, and minimizing the exposure towards the sun plays a very big role in determining the health of the skin. Light-skinned individuals must especially be careful about sun exposure for prolonged hours.

Fortunately, there are many actinic keratoses treatment methods available. These include:

• Cryosurgery - The use of extreme cold (usually liquid nitrogen) to destroy unwanted tissue. Freeze-drying actinic keratosis with liquid nitrogen usually causes the spots to shed off and go away.

Other forms of surgery - to sever or burn up actinic keratoses.

• Medicated topical creams causing the spots to fall off - Although this method is believed to be highly effective, it often leaves behind unpleasant and painful skin appearance for a few of weeks.
• Photodynamic therapy - is a comparatively new treatment that involves the injecting of a specific chemical compound into the individual's bloodstream. This chemical collects in the spots and makes them more vulnerable to a specified form of light.
• Individuals who get actinic keratoses are normally suggested to have regular examinations in order to rule out the formation of new lesions, or check if the old ones are not turning denser or more questionable (for cancer). Moreover, deliberately avoiding unreasonable sun exposure can also reduce the incidence of recurrences.

Warning: The reader of this article should exercise all precautionary measures while following instructions on the home remedies from this article. Avoid using any of these products if you are allergic to it. The responsibility lies with the reader and not with the site or the writer.