Understanding Actinic Keratosis

May 21, 2009
Naheed Ali

: Understanding Actinic Keratosis - MorgueFile/Free Photo

Actinic keratosis, also termed solar or senile keratosis, is a precancerous skin problem that arises in sun-exposed skin, particularly on the face, forearms, and neck.

Actinic keratosis is observed most often in pale-skinned, fair-haired, light-eyed people, starting at age thirty or forty and becoming more frequent with older age. Keratoses are little, reddish, brown, or skin-colored patches that do not disappear. They typically appear on the head, neck, or forearms but could be detected on other regions of the body.

Actinic Keratosis Symptoms

Typically, more than one symptom is present in a person with Actinic keratosis. Kerotoses could:

Have an aggressive texture.
Burn, itch, or sting.
Range from one to three millimeter or larger (approximately the size of a small pea).
Be numerous, with a lot of patches close together.
Be encircled by reddish, irritated skin.

Actinic keratosis needs to be assessed by a physician, particularly if the keratosis gets painful, bleeds, gets open sores, gets inflamed, or increases in size.

Diagnosis of Actinic Keratosis

Actinic keratosis is diagnosed via a skin test. Your physician may employ a lustrous light or magnifying glass to search for developments, moles, or lesions. The scalp is analysed by separating the hair. If there's any possibility of cancer, your physician may take a sample of your skin cells and examination (biopsy) it.

How is Actinic Keratosis Treated?

Preliminary therapy of actinic keratosis is advisable to block off the possible advancement to a form of skin cancer (squamous cell carcinoma). Therapy may involve:

Freezing the abnormal skin cell's maturation with liquid nitrogen (cryotherapy) to kill it; cryotherapy could cause moderate pain that could persist up to three days. Healing normally takes 7 to fourteen days, and there's very little or no scarring, though a few people with darker skin have lasting skin color lightening. This technique could be done in your doctor's office.

Scraping and employing electric current (curettage or electrosurgery); The skin cells are numbed, and the outgrowth is scraped off utilizing a spoon-shaped tool (curette). After scraping, electrosurgery can be performed to restrain bleeding and kill any leftover cancerous cells.

Curettage is a fast treatment, but it could bring about scarring. On occasion, a heavy scar, or keloid, emerges after curettage therapy. A keloid could be itchy or get bigger over time but it does not require medical therapy.

Fluorouracil (5-FU), a drug that you place directly on the keratoses.

Imiquimod cream (Aldara), a drug that has recently been authorized for caring for actinic keratosis. The cream changes the body's reaction to sun exposure, serving to prevent the formation of keratoses.

Actinic Keratosis and Cancer

If anyone suffers from actinic keratosis, he could have a raised risk of acquiring squamous cell carcinoma. There is no way to find out whether actinic keratosis will turn to squamous cell carcinoma or how quickly this may happen.

Keratoses on the lip and ear are at the greatest risk of turning into cancer due to the increase in sensitivity of the lip and ear to sunlight exposure.

You can avoid actinic keratosis by remaining out of the sun and employing sunblock when you're in the sun. You need to also check your skin for the disease and additional suspicious outgrowths at least once a month, particularly if you spend plenty of time in sunlight.