The main known cause is sun exposure over years. The epidermis is mainly made of cells known as keratinocytes. These cells give the skin its texture. With sun exposure, these cells undergo changes and actinic keratoses develops. The cells may change in size, organization or shape, and these changes make the skin look scaly and colored. The touch may be rough. Though sun exposure might have occurred in early age, the damage gets seen, as one grows older. Those who live in areas that are sunny most of the year, have the biggest risk.

Actinic keratoses> Treatment>

The only treatment of actinic keratoses is removal. The removal can be done by various methods that include surgery or topical application.

The most popular method is freezing with liquid nitrogen. That removes the lesions and allows new skin to grow. The new skin may be reddish.

The other method is laser surgery which removes the lesion.

In the third method, a chemical is applied over the lesions and the skin is exposed to blue light. The chemical gets activated by the light and destroys the lesions.

In another method, topicals that include anti-cancer drugs may be applied. This medication kills the affected cells leaving the healthy cells untouched.

Chemical peeling is another choice for your doctor.

You should discuss the alternatives with your doctor and decide about the treatment. The only prevention of actinic keratoses is protection from sun. Use high SPF sunscreens with broad-spectrum protection regularly, wear protective clothing, wear a wide brimmed hat and avoid the sun between 10 AM to 5 PM.

Begin sun protection at an early age.