What is Age spot, Its symptoms and treatment

Age spots:

Age spots are flat brown, gray, or black spots on the skin. They usually occur on sun-exposed areas. Age spots are also called liver spots, senile lentigo, solar lentigines, or sun spots.

Causes of age spots

Age spots are the result of an excess production of melanin, or skin pigment. Doctors don’t always know why age spots develop. Skin aging, sun exposure, or other forms of ultraviolet (UV) light exposure, such as tanning beds, are all possible causes. 

• your face
• the back of your hands
• your shoulders
• your upper back
• your forearms

Symptoms of age spots and treatment:

Age spots range from light brown to black in color. The spots have the same texture as the rest of your skin, and usually appear on sun-exposed areas. They do not cause any pain.

a)      Prescription medications:

Your healthcare provider may prescribe bleaching creams to fade the age spots gradually. These usually contain hydroquinone, with or without retinoids such as tretinoin. Bleaching creams usually take several months to fade age spots.

Bleaching and tretinoin creams make your skin more sensitive to UV damage. You will need to wear sunscreen at all times during treatment and continue to wear sunscreen, even on cloudy days, after fading the spots.

b)      Medical procedures:

There are several medical procedures that can remove or reduce age spots. Each medical procedure carries a risk of side effects and complications. Ask your dermatologist, plastic surgeon, or skin care professional about which treatment is the most appropriate for your skin.

Medical procedures for age spots include:

• Intense pulsed light treatment, which emits a range of light waves that passes through the skin and targets melanin to destroy or breakup the spots
• Chemical peels, which remove the outer layer of your skin so new skin can grow in its place
•  Dermabrasin which smooths off the outer layers of the skin so new skin can grow in its place
• Cryosurgery, which freezes individual age spots with liquid nitrogen

Preventing age spots:

While you can’t always prevent age spots, there are several ways you can reduce your chances of developing them:

• Avoid the sun between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., when the sun’s rays are most intense.
• Wear sunscreen every day. It should have a sun protection factor (SPF) rating of at least 30 and contain both UVA and UVB protection.
• Apply sunscreen at least 30 minutes before sun exposure. Reapply every two hours, and more often if swimming or perspiring.
• Wear protective clothing such as hats, pants, and long-sleeved shirts. These help protect your skin from UV rays. For the best protection, wear UV-blocking clothes with an ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) of at least 40.

For more information and query you may visit KEMPS Skin Clinic Vaishali. KEMPS Skin Clinic is a leading skincare & Laser hair removal Clinic in Ghaziabad.