Solar lentigines (age spots)

Solar len­ti­gi­nes are shar­ply defi­ned light to dark brown spots that main­ly deve­lop on sun-expo­sed are­as. They typi­cal­ly appear from the age of for­ty and are a visi­ble sign of light-indu­ced skin age­ing. Despi­te the com­mon name, they have litt­le to do with age itself.

Cau­ses

The cau­se is UV expo­sure accu­mu­la­ted over many years. It leads pig­ment cells to mul­ti­ply and depo­sit more mela­nin local­ly. Peo­p­le with a fair skin type and an inten­si­ve sun histo­ry deve­lop the spots ear­lier and in grea­ter numbers.

Sym­ptoms

Visi­ble are even­ly colou­red, round to oval spots ran­ging from a few mil­li­me­t­res to more than a cen­ti­met­re in size. Pre­fer­red sites are the backs of the hands, fore­arms, décol­le­té, should­ers and face. They are flat, non-sca­ling and cau­se no discomfort.

Tre­at­ment

It is important to distin­gu­ish them from len­ti­go mali­gna, an ear­ly form of mela­n­o­ma, which is why new or irre­gu­lar spots should be asses­sed by a der­ma­to­lo­gist. Laser and light pro­ce­du­res, cryo­the­ra­py or che­mi­cal peels are sui­ta­ble for ligh­tening. Wit­hout con­sis­tent sun pro­tec­tion the spots typi­cal­ly return.

Rela­ted tre­at­ment at Swiss Der­ma Cli­nic: Age spots & pig­men­ted lesions