What are brown spots on the scalp?

As people age, their originally fair and plump skin gradually shows signs of aging. Not only wrinkles appear, but also some spots begin to appear. Although this is not good for personal image, what makes people more worried is that these spots may become cancerous, thus posing a threat to human health, especially the brown spots on the scalp. These are actually age spots, which are the most common benign skin tumors clinically. Let's talk about the types and treatments of age spots.

The disease mostly occurs after the age of 40, and is prone to occur on the scalp, face, trunk, upper limbs, back of hands, etc., but does not affect the palms and soles. It starts as light brown macules or flat papules with a smooth or slightly papilloma-like surface. They increase in size and number with age, and are 1mm to 1cm, or several centimeters in diameter. They have clear boundaries and a papilloma-like surface with a greasy scab that can be easily scraped off. Some lesions may be very pigmented, dark brown or black, while older lesions vary greatly in color, ranging from normal skin color, light brown, dark brown, or black. This disease can be a single disease, but usually multiple diseases, with no subjective symptoms and occasional itching. The lesions develop slowly and rarely become malignant. There are several special types clinically:

1. Irritant seborrheic keratosis

Occurring at the site of cortical overflow or friction, the lesions may become inflamed due to irritation, the base becomes red, and the surface shows irregular proliferation.

2. Eruptive seborrheic keratosis

Occur suddenly and increase rapidly in a short period of time. Attention should be paid to whether there are concurrent visceral tumors.

3. Plaster keratosis

It mainly occurs in the elderly, often on the lower limbs. The skin lesions are multiple keratotic papules that are easily peeled off and do not bleed.

This disease usually does not require treatment. For cases with unclear diagnosis, skin lesions should be taken for histopathological examination. When treatment is needed for cosmetic reasons, it can be treated with carbon dioxide laser, liquid nitrogen cryotherapy, erbium laser, curettage, or surgical excision.