Actinic Keratoses
Actinic Keratoses or AK's, also called solar keratoses, are lesions that occur primarily on sun exposed areas of the skin such as the face, ears, scalp, arms, or hands as a result of years of sun exposure. These may appear as patches of rough, dry, or scaly skin and can be tan, pink, brown, red or skin-colored. AK lesions are most likely to appear in fair-skinned individuals over the age of 40, especially those with years of prolonged sun exposure. Actinic keratoses are common. In fact, over 50% of older, fair-skinned people living in hot, sunny areas develop actinic keratoses. However, AK's also can occur in people with dark hair and dark eyes as well.

Why treat AK's?
Spending a lot of time in the sun can be harmful to your skin. Over time, the ultraviolet radiation in sunlight can damage skin cells. These damaged cells can become AK's that may eventually develop into skin cancer. Treating the AK's reduces the risk of these lesions becoming cancerous. AK's are lesions that are the earliest stage of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), a dangerous form of skin cancer that can spread to other parts of the body.

Treatment for AK's
Medications approved for the treatment of AK's include fluorouracil (Efudex® and Carac™) and imiquimod (Aldara™)). For more detail on these medications please see their respective websites: www.efudex.com, www.carac.info/, www.aldara.com.

Liquid Nitrogen
Liquid nitrogen can also be used to freeze and destroy the atypical cells. Photodynamic therapy or PDT can also be used to treat actinic keratoses. Please see section on PDT on this website: Photo Dynamic Therapy.

Please call our office for scheduling and pricing information: (208) 327-9521.