Age spots as the term indicates are seen in elderly people of age over 55 years and are sign of a greater degree of free radical destruction within the body. People who get exposed to sun are the high risk group. Spot formation underneath the skin can be considered as a protective mechanism against the high intensity UV rays from sun rather than a disorder. Spots that are formed in the superficial layers of the skin due to accumulation of pigments can be categorized in to two types. Ephelides that are seen in people with lighter skin type and get easily burned in sun. Another type is the lentigines, the age spots we are talking about. These are mainly seen in old age irrespective of the skin type. Another type of these age spots is the Liver spots that are seen irrespective of sun exposure. These spots are formed due to accumulation of a different pigment, the ceroid. Rather than just the age, our regular dietary habits and the extent of physical activity do determine the extent of age spots formation.

Having known the basics of what the age spots are, let’s see how we can fight against them.

• The treatment used for age spots aims at destructing the external skin layers. Various forms include freezing, treatment with acid, skin sanding, use of electric needle and laser treatments. Except for the laser treatment, the rest of them leave a scar on the skin and takes long time to heal. While laser treatment is safe, healing time is very short and an added advantage is that it leaves a very light or no scars.

• Bleaching agents like hydroquinone can be used to lighten the color of the spots. But this works well only for light skinned people as in dark skinned people hydroquinone increases the secretion of melanin that darkens the spots even more. An added advantage for light skinned people is that the light spots get mixed with the skin color and become invisible. But one disadvantage is that the hydroquinone molecules will be broken in sunlight making them useless. Hence, if you wish to use hydroquinone as the bleaching, it still does not forget to cover yourselves from sunlight.

• For dark skinned people, kojic acid, mandelic acid products and other vitamin C rich products can be used to make the spots lighter.

• Other treatments include the use of hydroxy acid gel, beta hydroxy acid gel and retin-A cream that are applied over the spots every night. Regular use for about six months will improve the condition.

• Chemical peels or spraying of liquid nitrogen over the spotted area are also found to give promising results.

• Natural remedies include the use of Aloe Vera gel, castor oil, onion juice, and garlic paste. Regular application of these natural ingredients results in lightening of the spots and at the same time, they are safe. By using these natural products, you don’t need to worry about the possibility of skin cancer that is seen in case of hydroquinone usage. Hence, hydroquinone is banned in some countries like Japan and Australia.

• As said earlier, age spots are the sign of destruction of free-radicals that generally occur in the liver. Thus, except for damaged liver conditions, the situation can be made better if you are very strict with your dietary habits and quit the habit of alcohol consumption.

Mark Perry

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