By Saqib Majeed
As we get older, our skin goes through various changes. How skin ages will rely upon a few factors: your way of life, diet, heredity, and other individual propensities, smoking etc.
Sun exposure presents itself as the main factor for skin damage. Sun rays particularly ultraviolet (UV) rays harmful for skin. UV rays break down elastic tissue in the skin and cause the skin to stretch, sag, wrinkle, and become blotchy, occasionally with pre-cancerous growths and even skin cancer.
Other factors contributing to skin aging include the loss of fatty tissue between your skin and muscle, stress, gravity, daily facial movement (smiling and frowning, for example), and obesity.
Following are some of the skin conditions that come with age:
- Roughened or dry skin
- Benign growths such as seborrheic keratoses and cherry angiomas
- Loose facial skin, especially around the eyes, cheeks, and jowls (jawline)
- Transparent or thinned skin
- Bruising easily from less elasticity
With age come some of the very common skin conditions. Some of the age related skin conditions are as following:
Wrinkles:
Wrinkles mainly happen on the parts of the body that get the most sun exposure, including the face, neck, the backs of the hands, and the tops of the forearms.
Wrinkles fall into two categories: fine, surface lines and deeper furrows. If your wrinkles bother you, or if you’re looking to prevent them in the first place, there are things that can help.
Wrinkles are usually caused by, smoking, sun exposure, aging and repeated facial expressions. You can control two of these factors to avoid wrinkles. You can stop smoking and reduce sun exposure.
Dry and itching skin
It is a common problem among adults, especially with age. The loss of oil glands – which help to keep the skin soft – is the main cause of dry skin. Rarely, dry, itchy skin may be a sign of diabetes, kidney disease, or liver disease.
Skin cancer
Skin cancers, including melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma – often start as changes to your skin. They can be new growths or precancerous lesions – changes that are not cancer but could become cancer over time. An estimated 40% to 50% of fair-skinned people who live to be 65 will develop at least one skin cancer. Skin cancer can be cured if it’s found and treated early.
Age spots
Age spots are flat brown, gray, or black spots on the skin. They usually occur on sun-exposed areas. Age spots are also called liver spots, senile lentigo, solar lentigines, or sunspots. People of any age, sex, or race can develop age spots. However, age spots are more common in people with certain risk factors such as:
- being older than 40 years old
- having fair skin
- having a history of frequent sun exposure
- having a history of frequent tanning bed use
Bedsores
Bedsores can happen when a person is bedridden or otherwise immobile, unconscious, or unable to sense pain. Bedsores are ulcers that happen on areas of the skin that are under pressure from lying in bed, sitting in a wheelchair, or wearing a cast for a prolonged time. Bedsores are also called pressure injuries, pressure sores, pressure ulcers, or decubitus ulcers.
Bedsores can be a serious problem among frail older adults. A bedsore develops when blood supply to the skin is cut off for more than 2 to 3 hours. As the skin dies, the bedsore first starts as a red, painful area, which eventually turns purple. Left untreated, the skin can break open and the area can become infected.
Specific treatment of a bedsore is discussed with you by your healthcare provider and wound care team and based on the severity of the condition.
- Removing pressure on the affected area
- Protecting the wound with medicated gauze or other special dressings
- Keeping the wound clean
- Ensuring good nutrition
- Removing the damaged, infected, or dead tissue (debridement)
- Transplanting healthy skin to the wound area (skin grafts)
- Negative pressure wound therapy
- Medicine (such as antibiotics to treat infections)
If you are facing any health-related issues or need any assistance you can always contact Kandakacare. Our professional healthcare workers are fully qualified to assist you at home without risking your health.
We publish new and useful articles every week containing highly useful information about elderly and how to make their lives easier and healthier. If you have an elderly person at home, we advise you to follow our weekly articles on our Kandakacare page and share with your friends.
