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What is solar keratosis?
This is extremely common, especially among older people. Solar keratoses, or actinic keratoses as they're more formally called, are patches of scaly, dry skin caused by excessive exposure to ultraviolet light from the sun.
Although they aren't a type of skin cancer, solar keratoses may develop into a skin cancer known as squamous cell carcinoma. This cancer is malignant, although usually fairly slow-growing and easily treated. Even so, given its cancerous potential it's very important that any patch of solar keratosis is identified and treated as soon as possible.
Not all solar keratoses turn into cancer - 19 out of 20 disappear on their own or never progress - without treatment. But as it's impossible to predict which ones are harmless and which are the one in 20 that will turn into cancer, all should be treated.
In addition, solar keratoses are a sign of high exposure to UV light and therefore indicate that a person may also be at risk from more sinister pigmented skin cancers called melanoma.
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Symptoms
People with a fair complexion are most at risk. Always check any odd skin lesion with your doctor.
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Treatment and recovery
A freezing gun treatment (cryotherapy) is just one of several ways to get rid of a solar keratosis. They can also be cut out (curettage), given laser treatment or treated with drugs in a cream form. One of these creams contains a drug called a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory or NSAID, which has been used for years in pain relief, and is often the best choice when a large area of skin is affected.
Another cream treatment contains a drug called 5 fluorouracil, which kills the abnormal cells but can cause quite marked inflammation and blistering of the surrounding skin while it does so. It works more quickly than an NSAID cream but needs more care and the supervision of a skin specialist.
This is extremely common, especially among older people. Solar keratoses, or actinic keratoses as they're more formally called, are patches of scaly, dry skin caused by excessive exposure to ultraviolet light from the sun.
Although they aren't a type of skin cancer, solar keratoses may develop into a skin cancer known as squamous cell carcinoma. This cancer is malignant, although usually fairly slow-growing and easily treated. Even so, given its cancerous potential it's very important that any patch of solar keratosis is identified and treated as soon as possible.
Not all solar keratoses turn into cancer - 19 out of 20 disappear on their own or never progress - without treatment. But as it's impossible to predict which ones are harmless and which are the one in 20 that will turn into cancer, all should be treated.
In addition, solar keratoses are a sign of high exposure to UV light and therefore indicate that a person may also be at risk from more sinister pigmented skin cancers called melanoma.
Top
Symptoms
- Red, pink, scaly white or pigmented, or even the same colour as normal skin
- Flat to the surface or raised as bumps (especially on the arms or hands)
- Often found in groups that join to form a large lesion but may be single and less than one centimetre across
- Usually found in the skin that gets most exposure to the sun - head, scalp, face, arms, shoulders, hands, and so on
People with a fair complexion are most at risk. Always check any odd skin lesion with your doctor.
Top
Treatment and recovery
A freezing gun treatment (cryotherapy) is just one of several ways to get rid of a solar keratosis. They can also be cut out (curettage), given laser treatment or treated with drugs in a cream form. One of these creams contains a drug called a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory or NSAID, which has been used for years in pain relief, and is often the best choice when a large area of skin is affected.
Another cream treatment contains a drug called 5 fluorouracil, which kills the abnormal cells but can cause quite marked inflammation and blistering of the surrounding skin while it does so. It works more quickly than an NSAID cream but needs more care and the supervision of a skin specialist.