Seborrheic keratosis is a condition in which the skin produces excessive skin cells often resulting in a growth. This condition can easily be mistaken for warts or moles which are entirely different. These keratoses growths are non cancerous too. They may occur as one single growth or as a cluster of them. They are usually brown in color but can range from beige and light tan to black. Their size can range from half an inch in diameter to the largest being half the size of a dollar.
The main feature that makes this condition stand out is the way these growths look like they’ve been stuck on. They grow in such a pattern that they don’t look like they belong with the skin but like they’re from elsewhere. This is because they do not arise from the inner layers of the skin but from the epidermal layer only.
Their surface looks like that of warts. The difference is that they do not contain the virus known to cause warts which is the papilloma virus. As these growths continue developing they adopt a cauliflower look that has pits and fissures, almost like its being pulled apart.
Smooth surfaces that have horn pearls. Some seborrheic keratoses aren’t rough like the ones mentioned previously. And these surfaces are not that smooth in reality but they actually have small lumps but they are too small for them to be visible. These bumps may end up looking either lighter or darker than the surrounding skin. These so called horny pearls are actually an overproduction of keratin which is a protein found in the nails and hair. So these pearls are actually keratin which develops in a circular pattern. If you are interested in seeing what they look like, it would be best if you used a magnifying glass.
There is a lot of itching associated with seborrheic keratosis. This itching seems to worsen with age. Gone are the days when constant itching was associate with having lice, these days a lot of conditions and diseases cause itchiness, one of them being seborrheic keratosis. Out of sheer curiosity some people might actually begin to pick at these growths serving only to irritate them. If this continues, the growths themselves can begin to bleed. It would be best if they were left alone until medical advice is sought.
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