• Keratosis, causes
• Keratosis, treatments

Keratosis is an alteration of the horny layer of the skin that thickens due to abnormal keratinization processes  .

The areas affected by keratosis can be limited to some specific skin districts, or in the most serious and pathological cases extended more widely. They appear as raised patches of brownish color , with irregular outlines, possible peeling and red halos all around.

It is good to always investigate the triggering cause  of this phenomenon, especially if it lasts for a long time and if the affected areas expand.
Keratosis, causes

There are different forms of keratosis and the causes can also be of different nature:

• Actinic keratosis : essentially due to excessive exposure to solar radiation . This disorder occurs and degenerates with age and can represent a pre-cancerous lesion (10% of cases can evolve into squamous cell carcinoma). Prolonged exposure over time to UVA, UVB, but also X-rays causes the initial formation of erythematous papules that become covered with dry scales. Affected exposed areas can be the hands, scalp, ears, legs, arms, trunk.
• Seborrheic keratosis : appears as a warty formation of a benign nature, grayish in color and sometimes brown. Often the leathery part fragments and can be itchy. They can develop almost everywhere, often on the temples, on the trunk, to some people even in the zygomatic areas.
• Senile keratosis : this is an aging process of the skin, which over time, after exposure to ultraviolet rays over the course of life or for particular drug therapies, has more or less extensive thickened, wrinkled, dehydrated areas. They are generally benign in nature and linked simply to established lifestyles over the years when the skin has not been cared for and protected and the loss of physiological collagen has further exacerbated the process.
• Ichthyosis : hyperkeratosis due to genetic alterations and often related to other pathologies. Ichthyoses are extremely differentiated on the basis of several specific parameters, and present with very serious skin manifestations, where the skin looks similar to that of an elephant, with irregular thickening and grayish color.

Keratosis, treatments

In the case of diagnosed forms of circumscribed pathological keratosis , surgery is carried out, with the removal of the flap involved.

In cases where the areas are more extensive, therapies of a different nature must be prepared, which necessarily last over time and often are not entirely decisive, but preserve from degeneration.

Photodynamic treatments, cryotherapy with liquid nitrogen, laser and drug therapy are the treatments that medicine offers.

These can be associated with simple natural practices related to hydration and nutrition of the skin in depth and slowing down the keratinization processes:

• wheat germ oil : it is a very thick oil rich in vitamin E and carotenoids , which helps cleanse the skin of excess keratinization, removes itching, nourishes the skin. It has an antioxidant action against free radicals . Wheat germ oil can be taken either as a supplement or spread on the skin in areas affected by keratosis.
• carrot essential oil : it is a precious oil, even the price proves it. Rich in beta-carotene, vitamins A, C , B1 and B2, it helps detoxify the skin and nourish it deeply. It slows down the epidermal aging processes, and the desquamation. It can be used pure on the affected part if small in size or added to large germ oil to enhance its effects.