Why do some people have age spots on their faces, while others are clean? Age spots, what does it mean?

Xiao Li is a 27-year-old salesperson who often needs to see customers. But there is one thing that makes him very insecure, that is, there are many moles the size of rice grains on his forehead, cheeks and stomach. He heard that laser treatment can remove moles, so he decided to see a dermatologist.

The dermatologist who received the consultation found that some of the "black moles" on the exposed part of Xiao Li's skin were almost 1 cm in size, and they were easily peeled off, unlike ordinary pigmented moles, so a biopsy was taken from Xiao Li's belly. A pathological examination was done. The test results showed that the "black moles" on Xiao Li's skin were actually age spots.

Xiao Li is very puzzled about this, don't senile plaques only grow in the elderly? How could he have age spots at such a young age?

1. Before the age of 40, there are age spots, what is the reason?

Age spots, medically known as "seborrheic keratosis," are very common benign skin tumors associated with hyperplasia of keratinocytes.

Age spots usually appear as pale brown, flat papules or macules with a smooth surface or somewhat papilloma-like appearance on the head, face, arms, backs of the hands, and trunk. With age, the number of age spots will gradually increase, and the color will gradually deepen.

Why do some people have age spots at a young age, while others are clean?

Age spots are the result of excessive localized melanin in the skin, which is accelerated by UV exposure, skin inflammation and skin aging. For example, without daily sun protection, long-term UV exposure can damage the skin, causing local inflammation and hyperpigmentation, so it is easy to develop age spots.

In addition, unhealthy lifestyle habits such as smoking, unhealthy diet, lack of exercise or lack of sleep will accelerate the aging of the skin, resulting in melanin and free radicals that cannot be properly metabolized by the skin. When too much melanin accumulates in the skin, it is easy to develop age spots at a young age.

Moreover, age spots have obvious family genetic tendency . If you have a family history of age spots, and you don't pay attention to sun protection and living habits, the age of age spots will be earlier, and even age spots will start to grow around the age of 20.

Second, do you want to get rid of age spots? Will it harm health?

Generally, age spots are harmless and do not require special treatment. However, if senile plaques appear in large numbers and widely in a short period of time, or if senile plaques are found to protrude from the skin, feel hard to the touch, and have abnormal symptoms such as itching, scaling or bleeding , you should pay attention to them and go to the hospital for treatment in time.

If you want to remove age spots, are some online methods reliable? Let us analyze them one by one.

With ginger, garlic, vinegar, credible?

The most common folk remedies for removing age spots are topical ginger, garlic and vinegar. But in fact, these remedies have no scientific basis.

For some scabs or papilloma-like senile plaques on the surface, because the adhesion of the surface layer is not strong, when the above-mentioned things are applied, the senile plaques may partially fall off, but it does not mean that there are Therapeutic effect, because the surface layer will continue to regenerate after shedding.

Moreover, ginger, garlic and vinegar are all irritating to a certain extent. If they are directly applied to the skin, they may irritate the skin and cause discomfort such as skin redness, itching, pain, erythema, blisters, and erosion.

Can I use erythromycin ointment?

It is reported on the Internet that erythromycin ointment can be applied to the skin with senile plaques, which will help the subsidence of senile plaques. However, erythromycin ointment is an antibiotic and cannot be used for a long time. Moreover, in general, erythromycin ointment is suitable for skin infections such as folliculitis, barbs, frostbite, rotten mouth corners and hemorrhoids. Senile plaques are benign tumors, so they are not symptomatic.

Clinically, the methods of treating age spots mainly include the following:

· Laser or electrocautery treatment

The most common treatment method for senile plaques is photoelectric therapy, the principle of which is to vaporize and necrotize the diseased epidermis through thermal effect, so as to expose the normal tissue below, and then just wait for the new epidermis to grow. However, this treatment depends on the technique of the operating doctor, and if the treatment is too deep, it may cause hyperpigmentation or scarring.

· Cryotherapy

Using liquid nitrogen at a temperature of -196°C to briefly freeze the affected area of ​​senile plaques can freeze the senile plaques and remove them. However, after the treatment, a small blister will form on the affected area, and it will be accompanied by a certain degree of pain.

·Drug therapy

If the area involved in senile plaques is relatively large, a comprehensive treatment is usually performed with topical compound retinoid cream or oral acitretin.

3. Don’t want to grow age spots prematurely, do 5 points

To prevent age spots, you need to pay more attention to the following things on a daily basis.

1. Pay attention to sun protection

As mentioned above, excessive UV exposure is one of the main causes of age spots. Therefore, no matter what the weather is, you should take sun protection measures when you go out. In addition to applying sunscreen, it is also necessary to wear long-sleeved sunscreen clothing, sunglasses, sun hats, and umbrellas.

2. Eat a healthy diet

Eating barbecues, desserts, fried foods, high-salt foods, milk tea, etc., can easily cause saccharification in the body, which in turn produces too many free radicals and causes premature aging of the skin. Therefore, it is recommended to eat as much light and healthy as possible, eat more fresh vegetables and fruits, and drink more water.

3. Keep exercising

Exercise can help improve physical performance and speed up metabolism, thereby delaying aging. Therefore, we usually develop the habit of exercising and take more than 30 minutes of time to exercise every day, which can effectively prevent age spots to a certain extent.

4. Don’t stay up late

The skin repairs itself during sleep, and the body's metabolism is also more vigorous at this time. If you stay up late, this physiological mechanism will be destroyed, the metabolism will slow down, and the self-healing ability of the skin will also be reduced, which will eventually lead to accelerated aging of the skin.

5. Don't smoke

Although it is still controversial whether smoking can cause seborrheic keratosis, smoking will accelerate the aging of the skin, so from this point of view, if you have the habit of smoking, it is best to quit smoking as soon as possible.

Summary: Age spots are very common skin problems, which are more common in the elderly, but young people may also develop age spots if they do not pay attention to sun protection and poor living habits. Age spots generally do not need treatment, and you can also go to the dermatology department of a regular hospital to receive related treatment. It should be noted that do not use the so-called "freckle-removing remedies" indiscriminately, and do not use ointments indiscriminately.

References:

[1] Age spots without sun protection. Life Times, 2020-01-03

[2] Addicted to staying up late, the post-90s girl has age spots on her face, netizens: shivering... Guangzhou Daily, 2021-06-21

[3] "Laser" easily removes age spots. Health Times, 2008-01-28

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