Seborrheic keratosis Causes, Symptoms And Treatment

Seborrheic keratosis is a benign dermatological condition that is manifested by the appearance of skin lesions or growth during adolescence. These skin lesions are not harmful. These are non-cancerous in nature. They mostly appear in the form of single lesions but they can also grow in the form of groups. They mostly appear on the shoulder, chest, neck, back or face. They mostly appear in areas which are exposed to sunlight. These skin growths are pale, brown or blackish in color. It is more common in pregnant females or females undergoing estrogen replacement therapies. The risk of getting seborrheic keratosis increases with increasing age. People with darker skin tone are less prone to the development of these skin growths. It is also known as basal cell papilloma, senile warts, brown warts or seborrheic warts.

Causes

The exact cause of seborrheic keratosis is still unknown. But there is certain evidence that supports that sunlight plays an important role in the growth of these lesions. Seborrheic keratosis runs in families due to the genetic alterations in genes that are encoding for epidermal growth factors. The risk of seborrheic dermatitis increases with increasing age.

Symptoms

The visible symptom of seborrheic keratosis is skin lesions or growths. These growths are light brownish, flat and sharp in appearance. They may range in color from light tan to brown to black. They mostly appear on the shoulder, neck, chest, back, face, scalp or abdomen. They can form on any body part except palms of your hands or soles of your feet. These skin lesions are mostly round or oval in shape. They are not painful but annoying in appearance. If you rub or scratch these lesions, it can cause discomfort, redness or inflammation.

Treatment

Seborrheic keratosis does not require any treatment because they are not harmful for your skin. But people who are very conscious about their physical appearance require medical treatment. Your doctor will remove these growths with the help of surgery. Laser procedures, electrosurgery or cryotherapy are used for the removal of these growths. These procedures leave behind minor or no scars. In cryotherapy, the liquid nitrogen is applied on the skin lesions with the help of cotton swab. This will freeze skin lesions and it will remove after a few days. In electrosurgery, these skin growths are burned by using electric current. This procedure is performed under local anesthesia. Your doctor may prescribe you some herbal products to slow down the growth of these lesions. There is no side effect associated with the use of these herbal products. You should not touch or scratch these lesions. By doing this, you may irritate the skin lesions.