Why do people develop age spots? Can applying ginger and vitamin E remove age spots? increased knowledge
"Doctor, I'm only 27 years old this year. How could I have age spots? Did you misdiagnose it?"
Xiao Zhao looked in the mirror recently, and suddenly found that there were a few light brown spots on his face, which could not be faded after using various freckle creams. In desperation, he had to consult a doctor, but the doctor told him that "there are long spots on the face." It's age spots."
"Although they are called age spots, they are not only found in the elderly . Now more and more girls in their 20s and 30s have similar symptoms." The doctor patiently explained.
Obviously it is "age spots", but why do they appear on girls under 30? Is there any way to prevent or eliminate it?
1. "Age spots" are not an exclusive mark of the elderly
"Age spots" may sound like only the elderly will grow, but in recent years, more and more young people have begun to develop age spots.
Yang Shuxia, Chief Physician of Dermatology Department of Peking University First Hospital, said that every week, 1-2 young people come to see a doctor because of senile plaques, many of them are in their twenties, and the youngest is only in their teens . Why do young people also start to age spots?
Senile plaques, medically known as seborrheic keratosis, generally occur in the elderly. But in recent years, age spots have a tendency to become younger, especially for people under the age of 40 .
Age spots generally appear on the face, neck, and back, especially on the upper back and extremities. Most of them appear as dark patches with clear boundaries. According to different development stages, some of them can also protrude on the skin surface.
Under normal circumstances, the size of age spots is about 1 cm, and if the onset is long and untreated, its diameter can be larger than 5 cm.
The causes of age spots are mainly related to genetics, sun exposure and lifestyle.
Genetics : If parents or relatives with blood relationship have age spots early or more, then children or offspring are more likely to have age spots;
Sun exposure : Sun exposure may promote the development of age spots, and the chances of developing age spots are higher in areas with more sun exposure;
Bad habits : such as irregular diet, high stress, poor sleep, etc., will also accelerate the generation of age spots.
2. Can applying ginger and vitamin E remove age spots?
There are some sayings in the folk, such as "applying ginger can dilute age spots", "applying vitamin E to remove age spots", etc. Is this method really feasible?
First of all, although the flavonoids contained in ginger can effectively fight free radicals and help delay skin aging, this is only limited to theoretical and experimental data.
In clinical medicine, there is currently no clinical example that can prove that applying ginger directly can remove age spots . On the contrary, in many cases, the application of ginger caused irritation such as skin redness and swelling, and even left post-inflammatory pigmentation.
As for vitamin E, although it is an antioxidant substance. However, skin aging is the result of the joint action of many complex factors. The effect of using vitamin E alone is very limited , and it is even more ineffective for the senile plaques that have formed.
The methods that can really effectively remove age spots are actually the following. Don't believe in some folk remedies, which may be counterproductive.
1. Electrocautery or laser therapy
The most common treatment method for age spots is photoelectric therapy, which uses heat to gasify and necrosis the diseased epidermis, and then exposes the normal skin tissue underneath, and then just wait for the new epidermis to grow.
However, the effect of this treatment method is linked to the doctor's technique. If the treatment is too deep due to improper technique, pigmentation or scarring may occur.
2. Cryotherapy
Cryotherapy refers to freezing the senile plaque affected area with liquid nitrogen at a temperature of -196°C, which can cause irreversible damage to normal cells.
Because seborrheic keratosis is located on the surface of the skin and does not involve deep tissues, short-term cryotherapy can just limit the frostbite to the affected area, but a painful blister will form after the treatment , which may temporarily affect the appearance. .
3. Drug treatment
If senile plaques develop in a large area, the doctor may consider external use of compound retinoic acid cream, or oral administration of acitretin and other drugs for comprehensive treatment. At this time, patients need to pay attention to sun protection and eat less greasy food .
In addition, Chen Wenjing, chief physician of the Department of Dermatology at the Dermatology Hospital of Southern Medical University , reminded that although the malignancy of senile plaques is relatively low, if senile plaques suddenly increase rapidly in a short period of time, we should be alert to the possibility of malignant tumors and go to the hospital for examination as soon as possible.
3. Why do some people not age spots when they get older?
Under normal circumstances, age spots are common in the elderly around 60 years old. They all have age spots more or less, but why do some people not grow them?
Ma Guansheng, a professor at the School of Public Health of Peking University, said that the formation of senile plaques is because the unsaturated fatty acids contained in human cell membranes are over-oxidized by free radicals of human metabolites, and then further generate lipid peroxide and its decomposition products, which are then combined with phospholipids. Proteins, etc. react to form lipofuscin pigments that are deposited in skin cells and sweat gland cells .
Therefore, the key to preventing age spots is to scavenge free radicals in time, and antioxidant substances can be supplemented through diet. If you don’t want to grow age spots, you might as well supplement these 3 kinds of food in your daily life:
1. Foods rich in vitamin E
Vitamin E can prevent unsaturated fatty acids from forming lipofuscin pigments, and has certain anti-oxidation, anti-aging and beauty effects.
Green vegetables, grains, nuts and oilseeds are all good food sources of vitamin E. The recommended intake of vitamin E for normal adults is 100-200 mg/day.
2. Food rich in trace elements
In addition to vitamin E, trace elements such as selenium, zinc, copper, and manganese are also antioxidant substances. You can supplement trace elements by eating more foods such as walnuts, black sesame seeds, and lotus seeds .
Among them, the recommended intake of selenium for adults is 60 micrograms/day, 12-15 mg/day for zinc, 1-1.6 mg/day for copper, and 4.5 mg/day for manganese.
3. Antioxidant-rich foods
Vitamin C and β-carotene are also classic antioxidant substances. You can eat more dark vegetables and fruits every day, including dark green vegetables such as mustard greens and amaranth, red and yellow vegetables such as tomatoes, pumpkins, and carrots, citrus, kiwi, and fresh vegetables. Dates and other fruits .
Among them, the recommended intake of vitamin C for adults is 300-600 mg/day, and β-carotene is 10-15 mg/day.
In addition, if you want to prevent or slow down age spots, you should also do a good job of sun protection at ordinary times. It is recommended to use sunscreen, sun hat, etc. for physical sun protection while applying sunscreen . In addition, you need to work and rest regularly, and get rid of bad living habits such as staying up late, smoking, and eating greasy food.
Age spots are not only for the elderly, young people should also be careful. To prevent age spots, we need to start at a young age, do a full range of sun protection to avoid UV damage, and at the same time develop a healthy lifestyle, eat more fresh fruits and vegetables to supplement antioxidants, do not stay up late, do not smoke, and eat less greasy food.
References:
[1] " The first batch of post-90s have age spots! People who say stay up late, you only guessed 1/3 right ". Life Times. 2019-05-21
[2] " With You? Senile plaques appear before the age of 30, is it premature aging? Many people are still making these mistakes .” Popular Science China. 2020-06-17
[3] " Doctor Suggestion: Eat These 3 Foods More, and You Will Not Grow Age Spots at the Age of 80 ". Family Doctor Online. 2018-03-03
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