Derm Terms II: Notes from a San Francisco Bay Area Dermatologist

Another commonly seen, but non-cancerous growth found on the skin is known as a seborrheic keratoses (SK).  SKs can grow anywhere on the skin, except the palms of hands and soles of feet.  They can begin as small, rough bumps but become thicker over time and appear almost like someone pasted them on your skin.  The color ranges from brown to tan or black and the size can be from a pin-head to a quarter.

Sample of SK

The exact cause of SKs is still unknown, although their may be a familial component to their appearance.  Typically patients will notice and seek removal of SKs around age 30 and up.  More can appear as you get older.  While treatment is not required, SKs can become annoying as they can start to catch on clothing or jewelry and also lead to more aged skin appearance.

Removal of SKs is usually quite simple and may involve freezing the spot with liquid nitrogen, using an electric needle to sand it down, or scraping off the growth.  There is little downtime and these methods are quick and nearly pain-free.

I always say that the less things you have hanging off your skin, the better you will look and feel.  So if you start to notice these growths, or have already collected a few, see a dermatologist for easy removal.  Should you notice a sudden growth spurt of many or should any SK become itchy, bleed, change color or become irritated, please have a dermatologist check to make sure a more serious issue is not present, such as melanoma skin cancer.

Tags: san francisco bay area dermatologist, san francisco dermatologist, seborrheic keratoses, SK

This entry was posted on Friday, April 2nd, 2010 at 4:24 pm and is filed under Skin Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.