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Sun damage & actinic keratosis

Keratosis actinica · Poškození sluncem a aktinická keratóza

What it is

Rough scaly patches on sun-exposed skin — the step before squamous cell cancer.

Symptoms & signs

  • Sandpapery patches on scalp, face, forearms
  • persistent
  • sometimes tender
  • more with age and fair skin

🚩 Get help if…

  • see a doctor soon A patch that becomes a painful, fast-growing lump
  • see a doctor soon A spot that bleeds, ulcerates or will not heal
  • see a doctor soon A thick crusted spot on the lip or ear
  • see a doctor soon Many new patches in someone on transplant or immune drugs

Where it strikes

Medical treatment

  • Cryotherapy
  • 5-fluorouracil or imiquimod cream
  • photodynamic therapy
  • regular skin checks
  • excise anything that thickens
  • Tirbanibulin ointment — approved (FDA 2020, EMA 2021)

Natural & lifestyle

  • SPF 50 daily on face and hands
  • hats and sleeves
  • no sunbeds
  • nicotinamide 500 mg twice daily (reduces new lesions)

Emerging & experimental

  • Field-directed combination protocols

Alternative, off-label & anecdotal

Approaches used outside the guidelines, with what their supporters report and what testing has found so far.

  • Euphorbia peplus sap (the source of ingenol) — traditional; small trials early / small studies
  • Black salve — burns away skin and has left cancers behind not confirmed in trials

ICD codes