AK Treatments that Beautify

It is possible to get a successful treatment of actinic keratosis (AK) due to sun exposure on the face and other  body parts.These spots develop on the face, but can be found on the scalp (especially in men), on ears, and in the decolletage and forearms preferentially, because these areas get the most sun exposure and are often sites forgotten by your sunscreen touch ups! If not treated they can progress, after further sun exposure, to squamous cell cancer of the skin.  They look like areas of abnormal pigmentation (could be brown, often red), which is patchy and often flaky. Treatments include watching: if you are young, they might go away; freezing with liquid nitrogen, surgically scraping, Some topical therapies actually do show promise, from creams used to treat warts to the anti-inflammatory medicine called diclofenac cream (one brand is Voltaran).Using a fractional laser non-ablative treatment also works. Devices called 1540 or 1550 wave length lasers are these types of treatments. Interestingly the skin is significantly improved in terms of texture and wrinkles while treating the precancerous condition.  Other FDA approved non-ablative fractional laser treatments include  laser include skin resurfacing procedures and the treatment of  wrinkles around the eyes, the treatment of acne scars, improvement and treatment of surgical scars,treatments to even out abnormal skin coloration  and pigmented lesions, such as age spots, sun spots, the AK, and deeper, more difficult to treat melasma. As with other laser treatments, your medical treatment provider can evaluate your skin and decide if these are AKs to be treated, or other conditions. Once you have a diagnosis, you can decide what treatment best suits you. Considerations such as location, your skin type, your tendency to hyperpigment, any recurrences, the amount of time you are outdoors will all factor into what she or he will recommend. But once all factors are weighed, the laser treatments both treat the AK, and are significant anti-aging treatments.