Seborrheic keratosis

Fact Checked

Seborrheic keratosis is a condition that usually affects older people. The unexplained growths are similar with appearance to a cancerous mole, but they are not dangerous. The growths can happen in any area of the body. These growths have a waxy appearance, scaly and slightly elevated.

[youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_a-saSxcp7U” width=”220″]

Causes of seborrheic keratosis

• Seborrheic keratosis usually happens in areas of the body that are exposed to sunlight or the ultraviolet light.
• Can be inherited or run in families
• Can be due to accumulation of ordinary skin cells

Symptoms

• Usually begin with small rough bumps and eventually becomes thicker and forms a warty surface.
• Have a waxy appearance and look like as if they have been stuck in the skin.
• The size can range from tiny to over an inch or 2.54 centimeters across
• They are brown in color but with different shades between white and black
• May cause itchiness and does not cause pain
• Growths usually develop on the back, chest, scalp, stomach, neck, face and other areas of the body, except the palms of the hand and soles of the feet.

Treatment

• Apply a cold compress on the affected area to minimize the spread of seborrheic keratosis. Run cool water over a facecloth, wring out excess water, and then apply the cloth on the affected skin to lessen the itching and discomfort.
• Soak a cotton ball in undiluted apple cider vinegar and press it against the growth. Wrap it using a bandage to keep the cotton ball in place. After a few days, the growths will fall off, but sometimes there is a change after 3 days in which the seborrheic keratosis forms scabs which are dry and rough crust over a healing wound and then falls off.
• Use 23-80% hydrogen peroxide to help lessen the growth of seborrheic keratosis. Apply the hydrogen peroxide directly to the growth for best results. The growths become pink and eventually scabs will start to form. Hydrogen peroxide helps clean the affected area.
• Avoid wearing pieces of jewelry that can make the condition worse.
• Increase the intake of Vitamin D to improve immunity of the skin. Foods rich in Vitamin D such as salmon, herring, mackerel, tuna, and dairy products such as cheese, butter and milk. Fortified cereal, eggs, orange juice, pork and mushrooms are also rich in Vitamin D.
• Avoid scratching, rubbing and picking on the seborrheic keratosis growths to help prevent inflammation and bleeding.
• When growth develop on the scalp, long strands of hair can tied around the base of the growth in order to cut its supply of blood. Eventually the growth will begin to shrink, becomes dark and just fall off.

FACT CHECK

https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/picture-of-seborrheic-keratosis

https://www.healthline.com/health/seborrheic-keratosis

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/seborrheic-keratosis/symptoms-causes/syc-20353878