“Does sun exposure cause actinic keratosis?”
I've been diagnoses with actinic keratosis and my friend told me that sun exposure causes it. Is this true?
8 Answers
Can be a skin irritant
Excessive sun exposure causes skin damage including actinic keratosis which can be precursor to skin cancer
Actinic keratoses are aka solar keratoses because they are caused by excessive sunexposure especially during youth. Light skin, blue-eyed, fair-haired individuals are more prone to their development of actinic keratoses since they have less protection, as a rule, to the sun's ultraviolet rays than do persons with skin of color. It is important to treat them, or at very least to be closely followed by a dermatologist, since some may evolve into a certain type of skin cancer, known as squamous cell carcinoma of the skin.
Yes, the sun can cause these little pre-cancers. Please check with your local dermatologist for treatment options.
Yes sun exposure is a major contributing cause of actinic keratosis.
Yes that is the most common cause. Welders are also at risk but that is also from ultraviolet light exposure.
Yes, sun screen helps, but sun block, clothes, and hats may be necessary.
Thank you for your question. Absolutely, actinic keratosis can be caused by repeated exposure to the sun, especially to the UV light within the sun's rays, which can damage the keratinocytes or skin cells.
