Seborrheic Keratosis is a skin condition, common in old people, that is due to benign outgrowths that appear on the skin. Although non-cancerous, these outgrowths may become itchy and sometimes even painful. Apart from this, they are very irritating and embarrassing especially when they appear on the most visible body parts like the face.
People who suffer from any kind of outgrowths have to seek diagnosis in order to determine if they suffer from seborrheic keratosis or any other skin condition. But how is this diagnosis carried out? There are many kinds of skin conditions and so, how does one identify Seborrheic Keratosis from the rest?
The outgrowths that are due to this skin condition, to begin with, appear in various different colours. They are usually round or oval in shape and have flat tips. In some individuals, they appear small, while in others, they appear large.
With these variations in the appearance of seborrheic keratosis, it becomes quite difficult distinguishing them from other skin conditions. In fact, what makes this even more difficult is the fact that these outgrowths greatly resemble warts.
Dermatologists first try to diagnose Seborrheic Keratosis by keenly observing the outgrowths. This condition only affects the epidermis and therefore outgrowths appear like they have been pasted on the skin. They further appear as if they have cysts within their structure.
Doubts of the condition may come by if the outgrowths are a dark in color. This is because in this state, they appear similar to melanomas and therefore further investigation has to be carried out to determine the particular skin condition.
In this case a skin biopsy should be carried out to determine if the condition the dermatologist is dealing with is indeed seborrheic keratosis. A biopsy is also very helpful in differentiating seborrheic keratosis with many other conditions like lentigo (when they appear on the face) and condylomas (when they appear on the genitals).
As indicated earlier, seborrheic keratosis appears similar to warts. If one is in doubt between the two, a dermatoscopy examination would greatly help in determining which skin condition among the two one is dealing with.
Once a dermatologist establishes that he or she is dealing with seborrheic keratosis, it would be wise to look into the different options of getting rid of the outgrowths. They may not be harmful, but they are definitely irritating and unpleasant.
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