Is Seborrheic Keratosis Hereditary?
Seborrheic keratosis is a skin disorder where there are growths on the skin resulting from keratinocytes. There is no particular cause for this kind of skin disorder. It mainly affects people of the older generation and can start showing as early as in the adolescent years. Seborrheic keratosis is however very rare in children. The lesions of this type of keratosis are usually wartlike and ugly looking. They are itchy and irritating when exposed to friction and bleed at times. These wart like growths differ in shape, size and color. They can be as small as the head of a pin or as big as an inch. These lesions can be black but they also do appear in shades of brown like light tan. Their shapes are also different as they can be flat or conical.
Seborrheic keratoses pose no health risk. It is very non contagious and it is also not cancerous. For this reason, treatment is not necessary unless it is for cosmetic reasons.
Seborrheic keratosis is said to be caused by overexposure to the sun. Did you know that this skin disorder is hereditary too? Yes, seborrheic keratosis is hereditary meaning that it can be passed from one generation in a family to the next; from parents to children. Suppose there are people who have had seborrheic keratosis in your family history, then you are very likely to have this type of skin disorder. In such a case, nothing can be done to prevent you from having seborrheic keratosis as it is in the genes and you are made up of genes.
As you have seen, it is not possible to prevent seborrheic keratosis from being inherited. Nonetheless, there are treatment options that you can use and in the end get rid of this nasty skin disorder.
Lasers are used to treat seborrheic keratosis. Lasers are very effective and take a very short time. For this reason, it is quite and expensive procedure but definitely worth it.
If the growth is conical, tie a knot at the base of it. This will inhibit blood flow to the growth and it will die, eventually fall off.
In conclusion, seborrheic keratosis is indeed hereditary. There is no way out in preventing this from happening but there is a way out in preventing staying with it for the rest of your life. See a dermatologist and you will get good treatment. Do not despair.