Liver Spots: Treatment Options
Those level lesions which usually range in color from brown to gray to black are called liver spots but most ordinarily known as age spots. These lesions are most commonly found in the areas of the body that are exposed to the sun most of the time. The face, hands and arms are the classic problem areas. A liver spot’s shape is oblong and its size range is from very minute to one centimeter in diameter. Lastly, we see evidence that the skin obtained significant damage such as the appearance of wrinkles and the manifestation of dry skin.
The liver plays no part in the formation of liver spots in spite of what the name suggests. Why do liver spots appear then? Our skin contains melanin, the pigment responsible for giving our skin its current color. However, when our skin is frequently exposed to the damaging rays of the sun – the ultraviolet rays – the generation of this pigment is increased. This then gives way the development of age spots. But this is not an immediate process. Instead, it takes years of cumulative sun exposure. Therefore, the damage your skin obtains today will produce age spots only after years have passed. You might be surprised to know that this is not only caused by the sun. Even tanning booths popular to white individuals are to blame. Then the last cause is age.
Although liver spots do not pose any threat or do not bring upon, they instead negatively change your physical appearance and can make you look older than your years. Because of these, individuals who have liver spots decide to choose from the available treatment options to either lighten the spots or totally remove them. However, every treatment has a price.
One is the utilization of medicated liver spot removal creams or lotions that physicians prescribe. These creams containing hydroquinone, tretinoin or cortisone range from around ninety to two hundred dollars. Chemical peels are also present. The price is not standardized and fluctuates depending if it is a light peel, medium peel or deep peel. This utilization of chemicals to lightly strip off the skin costs about two to three hundred dollars. The next more high-priced peel, the medium peel, is about five hundred to thousand dollars. For three to six thousand dollars, you can procure deep chemical peels. Laser therapy is also used to perform superfluous skin melanocytes eradication. For a hundred dollars per session, you can heal a small area of your skin with laser. You can also decide to use light instead of laser – intense pulsed light therapy – which amounts to less than a hundred dollars per small area.
However, these price ranges are not definitive. There are factors which affect the costing and these are the size of affected area, the chemicals or materials to be used, the doctors’ fees or even the cost of living in the residence you live in. Why not question your doctor?
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