Actinic /Solar Keratosis

These are the most common sun-related pre-cancerous growths noted in fair-skinned individuals. They are benign (non-malignant) and appear as crusty, dry scaly bumps that are rough textured like sand-paper. If left untreated, Actinic Keratosis can develop into Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Acne/ Blind Pimples/Congestion/Clogged Pores

Acne lesions are caused when the sebaceous glands located near the hair follicle become overactive, inflamed, infected with bacteria and fills up with pus.

Dermatosis Papulosa Nigra (DPN)

These are fibromas that are prevalent in Fitzpatrick Skin Types V and VI (Indian, Asian and African skin tones). These benign lesions are darkly pigmented without scales, and are found most commonly on the face around the eyes, on the cheeks and the neck area. They can appear in adolescence and they increase with age.

Telangiectasia / Broken Capillaries

Tiny superficial dilated blood vessels appear as red wavy lines just below the surfaces of the skin, mostly on the nose, cheeks and decollete area. Constant blood stimulation causes the thin elastic walls of the capillaries to vasodialate causing breakage. Trauma, lifestyle choices, those who suffer from allergies tend to be prone to Telangiestasia.

Sebaceous Hyperplasia

Chronic sun damage contributes towards these lesions resulting in enlarged sebaceous glands. They appear as a soft, yellowish papule with a cauliflower-like or doughnut-shaped appearance ranging in size from 2 to 3mm. They are usually solitary and appear on the forehead and cheeks, particularly on oily and asphyxiated skins.

Keratoses

These are non-cancerous benign skin growths that originate in the keratinocytes of the epidermis. These “barnacles of old age” vary in colour from light to black, are round or oval or irregular in shape, slightly elevated and vary in size. These are commonly called skin warts, however they do not have a virus present to validate the name.

Cutaneous Horn (Dr)

These hard conical projections are made up of compact keratin. They can arise from bengin lesions like seborrheic keratosis ostraceouspsoriasis, or hypertrophic lichen planus or from pre-mailignant or malignant lesions like actinic keratosis, intra-epidermal crcinoma,keratoacanthoma, SCC and MM.

Wart

A wart is a local growth of the epidermis caused by a papilloma. Types of warts include: Common wart (verruca vulgaris) e.g. found on hands and top of feet, plantar wart e.g. found on the sole of the foot, genital wart (venereal) e.g. found on the genitals.

Molluscum Contagiosum

This is a common viral skin infection that causes localised clusters of epidermal papules mainly affecting infants and children caused by a poxvirus. These clusters of small round papules range in size from 1-6mm and are white, pink or brown. They have a waxy, shiny appearance with a central pit and the papule contains a white cheesy substance.

Moles (Dr)

A mole can be a benign or malignant lesion. Moles can be flat or protruding and vary in colour from pink or flesh tones to dark brown or black. Moles appear during the first two decades of a person’s life.

Solar Lentigo

This is a small pigmented macule uniform in colour on the skin, with a clearly defined edge surrounded by normal-appearing skin. A Lentigo has an increased amount of melanocytes, and these can range in colour from light brown to red or black.

Steatocytoma Multiplex

This is an inherited disorder in which numerous cysts appear at puberty due to hormonal stimulus of the pilo sebaceous unit. The cysts tend to be soft to semi-translucent bumps that contain oily, yellow liquid sometimes with a central punctum or without and some may have hairs.

Fibroma

Soft fribromas are benign tumors composed of fibrous or connective tissue and usually have a shaft, however they can be flat and are very common between and under the breast area, and are often found in areas where the skin creases.

Syringoma

A Syringoma forms when there is an overgrowth of cells within a sweat gland duct. The duct becomes enlarged by and clogged with extra cells, forming a hard, round, raised bump about one to three millimetres in diameter that is hard, can be white, yellowish or skin coloured. They are benign, harmless and painless, but unsightly and uncomfortable.

Angiokeratomas

Benign vascular papules. 1 to 5mm in diameter. Red, purple or blue in colour where the surface has become hyperkeratotic overtime. Often located on the scrotum, shaft of the penis, labia majora, inner thigh or lower abdomen. Composed of ecstatic thin walled vessels in the superficial dermis with overlying epidermal hyperplasia.

Pyogenic Granuloma

This is a benign, vascular lesion that occurs on both mucosa and on the skin. It is a smooth or lobulated overgrowth of tissue ranging from red/pink to purple, and ranges in size from a few millimetres to centimetres.