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Brown spots on the skin causes and treatment
contents
- Brown skin spots: development and symptoms
- When to the doctor?
- skin diseases
- Bleeding and disturbed metabolism
- freckles
- age spots
- melasma
- liver spots
- Congenital brown spots on the skin: moles
- Milk Coffee Stain
- melanoma
- Cause Kaposi's sarcoma
- Brown skin spots due to inflammation
- Urticaria pigmentosa
- Purpura pigmentosa progressiva
- Peutz-Jeghers syndrome and hemochromatosis
- Cause rheumatic diseases
- Brown spots on the skin due to medication
- Perfume and metals
- Brown skin discoloration by plants
- Diagnosis and treatment
- Cosmetic corrections
Brown skin spots: development and symptoms
Brown spots on the skin form as speckles, larger areas of color or speckles. Sometimes they appear individually, then again in groups, sometimes they rise, sometimes the skin remains smooth. Such patches appear everywhere on the skin, on the ears as well as on the face, on the scalp and on the genitals.
Brown spots on the skin can occur anywhere on the body - both individually and in groups. (Image: glisic_albina / fotolia.com) In most cases, the dye melanin plays a crucial role. This is responsible for dark tones. If the organism produces too much melanin in one part of the skin, brown shades are produced. Melanin is mainly formed by sunlight, which is why the freckles are rightly so, because they form the more, the more we expose ourselves to the sun.
In addition to the sun, metabolism, genetic makeup, age, and hormones also play a role in the formation of dark spots, for example, when women get facial blemishes during pregnancy. Even skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis leave brown spots. We should always keep an eye on brown spots as it could be an early stage skin cancer.
The blotches are also caused by bleeding in the legs as a result of venous insufficiency, altered metabolism in liver disease, hereditary diseases and heart and lung diseases.
When to the doctor?
In cancer, cells grow uncontrollably. This also applies to skin cancer. If a mole or birthmark changes, then caution is advised. Even if suddenly new dark spots appear and increase, you should consult a doctor.
warning sign are when the dark areas change their shape and color, when existing patches fray out, ie they proliferate into the surrounding tissue, the surface becomes inflamed, a smooth surface becomes a knot, the skin itches or bubbles.
Other symptoms indicate basic diseases such as venous insufficiency. These include: Varicose veins, swollen legs, pain in the joints, fatigue and fever.
The family doctor carries out the first examination. In case of suspected illness, he will forward them to specialists, especially a dermatologist. He picks up a tissue sample, and then the lab finds out if it's skin cancer. In case of possible venous insufficiency, a venous specialist (phlebologist) is required.
skin diseases
Dark spots can indicate skin disorders. These include atopic dermatitis, dandruff or nodular lichen. Rare is neurofibromatosis, a hereditary disease. Systemic diseases affect the entire body and sometimes have an effect on the skin.
A very rare disease is genetically determined. This Peutz-Jeghers syndrome shows up with dark brown spots on the lips and the oral mucosa. Often, tumors form in the internal organs.
If a bruise (hematoma) heals, it often appears brownish-yellow. (Image: eyetronic / fotolia.com) Bleeding and disturbed metabolism
Not all dark discolorations of the skin are due to melanin. Bleeding may also be the cause. The dermis contains many blood vessels that supply the uppermost layer of the skin. If these blood vessels are damaged, for example, by blows or blows, then blood flows into the epidermis.
Such bruises appear red to blue when they are fresh. When the blue spot fades, it looks yellowish-brownish. Iron turns the blood red, but it changes color in the skin and turns brown.
Even a venous insufficiency leads to brown spots. The skin tissue becomes inflamed and the blood seeps into the epidermis. The brownish discolored areas, especially on the lower legs, announce inflammation.
The Pupura pigmentosa progressiva is a chronic disease of the skin and is expressed in punctate bleeding into the skin tissue. Brown-orange spots form on the lower legs.
Metabolic disorders lead to extensive discoloration of the skin. Liver and kidney can no longer degrade various substances and these accumulate in the tissue.
Addison's disease is a disease of the adrenal cortex. The skin and mucous membranes turn brown.
freckles
Freckles are small and numerous. The speckles show up in yellow to reddish brown, sometimes on the whole body, but especially in places that are particularly exposed to the sun: face, upper arms and shoulders. They fade in the winter or even disappear altogether to reappear in the summer.
It is caused by the increased formation of melanin in response to the UV rays of the sun, which is why people with light skin have a particularly high frequency of freckles.
age spots
Age spots are dimmer than freckles and light to dark brown. They are small and are often on the face, neck, back of the hand and forearms.
Brown age spots are harmless in themselves, but should still be checked regularly by a doctor. (Image: zamphotography / fotolia.com) Cause is both a changed metabolism in old age as well as intensive irradiation by the sun. Age spots themselves are harmless, but those affected should have the spots checked regularly as they can develop into skin cancer.
melasma
Melasms are colored areas in yellow-brown, which show up particularly with women. Cause are probably the female hormones. Namely, the surfaces become stained especially during pregnancy and when women use hormonal contraception or use hormone replacement products. The sun intensifies the coloring.
Although melasms are harmless, but because they occur mainly on the cheeks, mouth, forehead and temples, the afflicted usually perceive them as unaesthetic.
liver spots
These pigmentary disorders are usually lens-sized, which is why they are called lentigines in the jargon - lenticular skin spots. They are sometimes innate, but can also be formed by sunlight.
From liver spots can develop skin cancer, people with many of these discolorations should therefore be examined regularly. Especially common are liver spots on the hands, arms, face, shoulders and back. They are often shallow and limited, but can also rise.
An alert signal is when the brown patches on the skin discolour, begin to itch and spill, as these are typical signs of a onset of skin cancer. Liver stains form when melanocytes multiply in certain places.
A small brown liver patch over the mouth is often not perceived as a "blemish", but rather as an attractive "beauty spot". (Image: Jürgen Fälchle / fotolia.com) How affected people perceive liver spots depends on their size, location and culture. In some societies, small liver spots are considered sexy in women about two centimeters from the upper lip and nose, and some women even have their "beauty spots" tattooed extra. Large liver spots on female breasts, around the eyes or in the middle of the forehead, on the other hand, are generally considered ugly, as are many liver spots on different parts of the skin.
Congenital brown spots on the skin: moles
Birthmarks are, as the name implies, innate. They appear in many facets from brown, reddish to blackish and vary in size. They occur individually or in so-called nests, so for example as a dark brown speckles on a yellow-brown surface. Often they are flat, but sometimes arched and round or even flat. Some of these brown spots are hairy.
Birthmarks are congenital benign growths of the skin. Either the melanocytes or the nevus cells are the trigger. They are benign, but can, like liver spots, grow into malignant growths. Birthmarks should therefore be protected from the sun and regularly examined by a dermatologist.
Milk Coffee Stain
These lesions do not indicate a specific type or symptom of a specific disorder, but innate patches of light brown color. They are of different sizes, but flat and distinct from the surrounding skin. Most of them are located on the trunk or limbs.
More than six of these spots at one site may indicate neurofibromatosis, a rare hereditary disease that causes bright spots of pigmentation, as well as tumors.
melanoma
Such a dark spot on the skin is anything but harmless. Melanoma, black skin cancer, rather describes a malignant proliferation that can lead to death. Such a spot may be dark brown, black-blue, reddish or even colorless. Common areas for skin cancer are the lower legs, shoulders, face and back.
If a melanoma is detected early, the chances of recovery are usually good. (Image: Dan Race / fotolia.com) Black skin cancer manifests as a spot or knot. The escalating margins are typical, as cancer is a cell proliferation and alteration of the site.
The pigment-forming cells grow unchecked in cancer. Particularly at risk are people with many liver spots, birthmarks and fair skin. With them, triggers of skin cancer act as common sunburn and intense UV radiation. In addition, there is a generally weak immune system and a genetic system.
Skin cancer is not necessarily a death sentence. Early recognized, it is considered to be the best cancer to treat, as the resulting tumors can be easily removed from the skin and the cancer does not quickly spread to vital organs. Even in later stages, the ability to cure skin cancer is still good.
Cause Kaposi's sarcoma
This is also a tumor formation. However, this is based on the vessels. Spots develop into ulcers, and the disease manifests itself in reddish rashes. Trigger is not the sun, but u.a. the human herpes virus 8. Endangered are all people with a weak immune system, and the syndrome is one of the typical diseases of AIDS patients.
Brown skin spots due to inflammation
Skin inflammation often leaves a discolored skin where the rash and infection were. Typical diseases that leave a brownish color are eczema, dandruff and nodular lichen.
Inflammatory skin diseases such as psoriasis can lead to a brownish discoloration of the skin. (Image: Farina3000 / fotolia.com) Also, when the skin becomes infected because corynebacteria multiply in excess, brown spots develop where the skin rubs on the skin, ie in the pubic area, under the armpits or on the breasts.
Urticaria pigmentosa
In this skin disease, raised spots form in so-called nests and occupy larger areas. The affected areas are extremely sensitive and respond to stimuli such as squeezing or rubbing, swelling and itching. What's more, pressure, cold and heat can cause dizziness, diarrhea and loss of consciousness.
In this rare pigment disease mast cells multiply unchecked. So far, medicine is a mystery why that is. Affected are young people.
Purpura pigmentosa progressiva
Here are the spots, not, as the name suggests, pupurn, but mostly red to orange brown. They spread from the lower legs over legs, stomach and Ame. At the edges of the spots small red dots are created.
It is a disease in which small vessels ignite, and which science can not yet explain.
Peutz-Jeghers syndrome and hemochromatosis
The iron storage disease (hemochromatosis) is a genetic dysfunction of the liver. The organ can not store and break down enough iron here, the metal instead attaches itself to the tissue, and that includes the skin.
Those affected suffer from blue-black spots, which show up especially on the ear, the eyelids, nose, cheeks and hands.
The so-called Peutz-Jeghers syndrome is a hereditary disease, which initially shows brown spots on the mouth, lips, oral mucosa and back of the hand. Later tumors are added in the internal organs.
Cause rheumatic diseases
Joint rheumatism sometimes leads to pigment discoloration on the back of the hand. These are not clearly defined spots, but "washed-out" lighter and darker areas.
A special form is the Felty syndrome. This manifests itself in recurrent minor bleeding that leads to yellow-brown spots. It can also form blood-red spots that form knots and itches or even dark blisters with bleeding. The skin is extremely flammable.
Affected are usually women after the middle years of life. Other symptoms include swollen lymph nodes and recurrent respiratory infections, abdominal pain, fever, coughing with sputum, and physical weakness.
Brown spots on the skin due to medication
Brown spots on the skin are also caused by various medicines. For example, acne remedies sometimes leave brown spots on the acne scars and where the skin is exposed to the sun. Chloroquine, a malaria drug, sometimes causes brown spots on the face and fingernails.
Gold salts for rheumatism also sometimes lead to discoloration, as well as some neuroleptics and St. John's wort extract. This is because these agents sensitize the skin to light.
Perfume and metals
Some fragrances lead to an increased reaction of the skin to UV light. This is especially true for bergamot oil and tea tree oil. Anyone who rubs in such essences and then sunbaths develops a condition known as berloque dermatitis. First, the skin becomes inflamed, after healing, brownish patterns remain.
Lead, arsenic, mercury and silver can turn the skin brown on contact.
Brown skin discoloration by plants
Caution is advised for some plants. The giant hogweed causes burns and rashes when it is touched in the sunshine with the skin. Lily plants and daisy family also cause toxic reactions on the skin when combined with sunlight. This means itchy rash and discoloration.
Beware of Giant Bear Claw: Even a short skin contact with the plant can - in conjunction with UV radiation - cause severe burns and brown skin patches. (Image: Martina Berg / fotolia.com) Diagnosis and treatment
You should never judge brown spots as a layman, but leave it to a doctor. For birthmarks or many liver spots, you should consult a dermatologist on a regular basis to determine if any risky changes are taking place. It does not matter if the patches are innate or acquired.
For particularly large and large brown spots on the skin, it is advisable to have an annual examination, regardless of whether you notice dramatic developments. Close monitoring should also be considered if skin cancer has occurred in your family, especially if you have already had a skin cancer.
The family doctor only performs the initial assessment. If he sees suspicious spots, he will refer you to a dermatologist. He initiates further investigations. If skin cancer is suspected, he takes a tissue sample and sends it to the lab. Also, growths that are not yet cancer, but are likely to develop, he removes surgically - either with laser or classic with a scalpel.
Such an operation is usually neither difficult nor risky. Mostly it takes place under local anesthesia, and they can leave the practice immediately thereafter. As a follow-up, the usual care for a small cut wound, so ointment and a patch, so that no germs come into the open tissue.
However, if the family doctor suspects a metabolic disorder or systemic disease, he is no longer the appropriate specialist and refers you to an internist who is familiar with internal diseases. If it is a disease of the veins, then a so-called phlebologist is required.
Cosmetic corrections
Although many people with dark patches of skin have no health problem, they perceive the discoloration as unaesthetic. Covers often help to conceal the spots. Also, bleaching creams with certain acids weaken the coloration especially with age spots, melasms or berloque dermatitis.
Dermatologists also remove latte stains or age discoloration when only aesthetic issues are involved. They use laser techniques for this, and it is a routine operation.
The health insurance companies do not pay purely cosmetic corrections, but the limit can hardly be drawn and ultimately counts the judgment of the dermatologist, who can always say that the spots are removed from cancer screening.
However, if you bother a large birthmark that is also deep in the middle layers of the skin, you should keep the following in mind: If the doctor scrapes off the upper dark layers and / or laser, it does not necessarily mean that the birthmark is gone forever.
The skin grows, and when it is a congenital pigment disorder, melanin is again increasingly formed. Even after cutting two or three times, the old birthmark returns in a slightly different shape.
In the end, only the classic method helps: A deep cut with the scalpel into the lower layers of the skin, which takes out the entire area, which otherwise stains. However, such a procedure leaves a scar, and you decide whether the birthmark looks worse at this body site than scarring. (Dr. Utz Anhalt)
Specialist supervision: Barbara Schindewolf-Lensch (doctor)