dermatologist in Covington

The Importance of Regular Skin Checks


It's important to have regular skin checks to look for signs of skin cancer. Make an appointment with a dermatologist in Covington, LA each year to get a full body check, as it isn't easy to see all of the potential locations for abnormal moles yourself, and finding skin cancer early is one of the key factors that affect survival rates.

Prevalence

About 20 percent of Americans, or one person in every five Dr. Soine, will develop some type of skin cancer during their lives, making it the most common type of cancer among Americans. Those at highest risk for developing skin cancer include men over 50 and Caucasians. However, in those under 50, women are more likely than men to develop skin cancer. As long as they are detected early, most people can be cured of all three types of skin cancer, which are squamous cell, basal cell and melanoma. Melanoma is the riskiest type, especially if it isn't caught before it spreads to the lymph nodes.



Skin Checks

A dermatologist in Covington can perform yearly skin checks to look for early signs of skin cancer and remove any suspicious moles to check them for cancer cells. In between yearly checks with a dermatology specialist, perform self-checks about once a month. Look for moles that have changed in size, shape or color, as well as those that are oozing, itchy, bleeding, red, painful, inflamed or feel like sandpaper. Moles can hide even in the most unlikely places, so check the underarms, palms, in between fingers and toes, under fingernails, the bottom of the feet, the genital area, the back of the neck, behind the ears and the scalp as well as the arms, legs, stomach, chest, back, buttocks, feet and hands.

Other Ways to Limit Risk

Living in LA means having a lot of hot and sunny days, making protection from the sun especially important. Besides getting regular skin checks, it helps limit the risk of skin cancer if people stay out of the sun during the middle of the day when it's strongest, wear sun-protective clothing and hats, use sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher even on cloudy or snowy days and avoid using tanning beds or attempting to get a tan. A tan is a sign of skin damage, so use a self-tanning lotion instead of getting a tan from the sun if you want to get a little more color on your skin.