Do you feel like you know your body?
Our skin, the body's largest organ, is a reflection of our overall health. It shields us from environmental factors, regulates temperature, flushes excess fluid and facilitates the sensation of touch. Given its pivotal role, regular skin checks are essential for maintaining skin health and detecting potential issues early.
Your skin does a vital job in protecting you; you need to protect it and take care of it to ensure it can work at its optimum.
Why Regular Skin Checks Matter
Regular skin checks are a simple yet effective way to maintain your skin health and detect potential issues early. By incorporating a regular skin examination into your routine, you can take charge of your skin’s well-being, address concerns promptly, and ensure that you’re taking the best possible care of your largest organ. A great time to do this is after a shower/bath. Get to know the skin all over your body and what is normal for you.
Early Detection of Skin Cancer:
One of the most critical reasons to monitor your skin is to detect skin cancer early. Skin cancer, including melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma, can develop in previously healthy skin or as a result of changes in existing moles. Early detection significantly improves treatment outcomes and survival rates. Regular self-examinations can help identify suspicious changes such as new moles, changes in existing moles, or unusual growths, allowing for prompt medical evaluation.
Identifying Skin Conditions:
Regular skin checks help in identifying a range of skin conditions beyond skin cancer. Conditions like eczema, psoriasis, and rosacea can present as changes in skin texture, colour, or appearance. Noticing these changes early can lead to timely intervention and treatment, preventing the conditions from worsening and affecting your quality of life.
Monitoring Existing Skin Issues:
If you have existing skin issues, such as acne or age spots, regular checks can help you monitor their progression. This is important for assessing the effectiveness of treatments and making necessary adjustments. Keeping track of changes in these conditions can also help in identifying new symptoms or complications that may require medical attention.
Recognising Signs of Systemic Health Issues:
Changes in your skin can sometimes signal underlying health issues. For example, jaundice, characterised by yellowing of the skin, can indicate liver problems, while sudden or severe itching can be a sign of systemic conditions like kidney disease. By monitoring your skin, you may detect early signs of these systemic issues, prompting you to seek medical advice and undergo further evaluation.
Maintaining Healthy Skin:
Regular skin checks are part of a comprehensive skincare routine. They encourage you to be proactive about your skin health and make informed decisions about skincare products and treatments. By understanding what is normal for your skin, you can better manage and maintain its health.
How to Conduct a Skin Check
Perform Regular Self-Exams:
Set aside time once a month to perform a thorough self-examination of your skin. Use a full-length mirror and a hand-held mirror to inspect your body from head to toe. Look for any new moles, changes in existing moles, or unusual growths. This can be more difficult in harder to see areas, darker skin tones, or those with many moles all over the body.
Combine a regular skin check with a full body ‘feel’ check; checking breasts/testicles and becoming more in sync with your body and aware of any changes. and a feel test, e.g. if a mole used to be flat but is now raised.
Don’t forget to check the palms of the hands, the soles of the feet and the ears. These are commonly overlooked areas to apply SPF and also regularly missed during skin checks.
Follow the ABCDE Rule:
When examining moles or spots, use the ABCDE rule to assess for signs of skin cancer:
A - Asymmetry: One half of the mole does not match the other half.
B - Border: Irregular, scalloped, or poorly defined edges.
C - Colour: Varied colours, including shades of brown, black, red, white, or blue.
D - Diameter: Larger than 6mm (about the size of a pencil eraser).
E - Evolution: Changes in size, shape, colour, or symptoms over time.
Another area to check is your nails both on your fingers and toes. Subungual Melanoma presents as brown-black discolouration of the nail bed. It can appear as either a streak of pigment or irregular pigmentation. Usually from top to bottom of the nail. The discolouration can progress to thickening, splitting, or destruction of the nail with pain and inflammation.
Any new or changing area of skin, should be checked out; it doesn’t have to specifically be a mole.
Mole screening:
At Victoria’s Aesthetics, we offer a mole screening service in clinic, using ‘Map My Mole’. If you notice any new changes or have concerns about a current mole or patch of skin - book in for an assessment where we can take medical photographs with a dermoscope and send them electronically to be reviewed by a Consultant Dermatologist. They will assess and review your images and provide a full report about what it is and whether any further treatment is required. (This report is also sent to you). These results can take up to 6 weeks, however are mostly back within 24 hours.
We also advise that you consult your GP in the first instance, in case I cannot see you in clinic before. They can also provide a professional evaluation and recommend appropriate tests, referrals or treatments if needed.
Proactive monitoring is key to preventing serious conditions and maintaining healthy, radiant skin throughout your life.
Knowing your skin and what’s normal for you, could potentially save your life.
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