What should you know about SK seborrheic keratosis?

These growths often have a waxy, rough, or crumbly surface and may be tan, brown, grey, or nearly black. They can appear on the chest, back, scalp, face, or other areas, and several may develop over time. They are also called age warts, barnacles of ageing, or stuck-on growths. Their appearance can overlap with other lesions, so a clinician may examine a new, changing, bleeding, or very dark growth before calling it a seborrheic keratosis.

Do not scratch, cut, or burn the growth at home. Arrange a skin examination if it catches on clothing, becomes inflamed, or is difficult to distinguish from a mole. If removal is appropriate, options may include cryotherapy, curettage and cautery, or electrosurgery. The choice depends on the lesion's thickness, location, appearance, and your skin-healing history.

Seek prompt clinical review for rapid change in size, shape, or colour, repeated bleeding, an open sore, marked pain, or a lesion that looks unlike your other growths. These features do not prove cancer, but they should not be judged from a photograph alone.

Ask whether the lesion has features of seborrheic keratosis, whether it needs sampling, which removal method fits its site, and how to care for the area while it heals.