Actinic Keratoses
Actinic keratoses is a skin disease that targets fair-skinned people who are fond of the outdoors, AK for short. They are unnoticeable at first because they often have the same color with the skin but only when one touches them do they identify the difference of the texture of the skin. People who are not familiar with the AK tends to dismiss this as something natural that appears on the skin but it should not be ignored as some skin changes could be a sign for precancerous disease, meaning that it is highly possible for it to develop to cancer.
AK does not appear on the skin suddenly. Its process of appearing on the skin is slow and they enlarge slowly as well. They sometimes appear as small spots on the skin and they appear on specific parts that are exposed much to the sunlight such as the face, the ears or the lips. The development of the AK takes years and it usually appears on older adults age 30 and above. Preventing AK from developing any farther is through minimizing oneself from exposing to the sun.
The symptoms and signs of actinic keratoses vary but usually it causes itchiness, rough to touch or sometimes there is a burning sensation on the affected area. The color of the AK on the skin varies from pink, brown or sometimes it has the same color with the flesh. When the symptoms of the AK persist, it is recommended to seek medical attention.
The main cause of actinic keratoses is from overexposure to the sun that is why most of the people who are fond of the outdoors are generally the ones who are affected with this skin disease. Generally the new and healthy cells push out the older cells onto the epidermis of the skin and then they eventually die but when the cells of the skins are damaged because of the UV rays of the sun, there are some changes of the color and texture of the skin which then causes lesions and blotchiness.
The common cause of the damaging of cells is through the UV rays of the sun and the commercialized tanning beds and lamps. The damages of the skin cells add up so the more one exposes themselves to these causes the higher the chances of acquiring skin cancer. The more it becomes possible if the outdoor activity one is doing is during high noon when it is the time for the rays of the sun to be very intense.
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