Self-examination of the skin: what to pay attention to, said doctor Lyudmila Artyushkevich
To conduct a self-examination of the skin, you need to overcome your fears and choose a well-lit room. Then take mirrors and begin examining your skin.
Skin tumors, including cancer and melanoma, rank second or third among all types of cancer.
However, thanks to the ability to independently examine the skin, early detection of tumors becomes possible, which in turn allows timely treatment and a favorable prognosis.
Oncologist of the 1st category of the HappyDerm medical center Lyudmila Artyushkevich notes that self-diagnosis should be carried out with full responsibility.
When performing self-diagnosis of moles, it is necessary to take into account several important factors:
- you should know which moles appeared in childhood and which ones appeared recently;
- It is necessary to pay attention to new or changed “old” moles, as well as those that look unusual (the “ugly duckling” symptom);
- It is worth noting moles, which are often injured.
To examine moles, you will need two mirrors - a full-length one and a small one with a long handle. To examine the head, you will also need a comb. The examination should be carried out in a well-lit room.
It is important to check not only the face, chest and abdomen, but also all areas that are inaccessible to independent examination, such as the ears, scalp, back of the arms, legs, neck, back (it is on the back that melanoma is often detected). It is also necessary to examine the genital area and buttocks, and do not forget about the armpits and the skin between the fingers.
Self-diagnosis of moles is recommended to be carried out twice a year. The best option is to compare overview photos of body parts in dynamics, which will require the help of relatives. You should also know that a mole should not normally increase by more than 2 mm per year.
It is also important to count the number of moles on the body. People who have more than 100 moles have a 10-fold increased risk of developing melanoma. Such patients need to visit an oncologist-dermatologist at least once a year.
Self-examination of your skin is a responsibility to yourself that can help increase your chances of preventing and detecting cancer and other skin diseases early.
If you have many moles or any moles that are of concern, it is important to see a dermato-oncologist as a first step. The specialist will assess your phototype and risk of developing skin cancer or melanoma, perform a dermatoscopy of the skin lesions, and give recommendations for the removal or monitoring of moles, as well as for the prevention of skin cancer.
