SKIN CONDITIONS
Symptoms, causes and treatments of common skin conditions and procedures
Moles are benign skin lumps on the surface of the skin. Moles present as a raised, usually brownish lesion of the skin. They usually grow slowly, but sometimes grow quickly if they become inflamed.
They usually appear on the body areas that are frequently exposed such as face, neck, hands and arms. Moles can be flat or raised, smooth or rough. Any changes in the appearance of a mole, for example becoming larger or darker, will need specialist assessment to exclude skin cancer (malignant melanoma).
A cyst is a fluid-filled swelling. The most common type of cyst is called a sebaceous cyst. These can occur anywhere in the body, just under the skin. They represent blocked sebaceous glands.
Cysts present as a swelling under the skin and can produce a smelly, cheese-like substance called sebum. They can occasionally become infected and can grow larger, red and become painful.
There are three main types of skin cancer: basal cell carcinoma BCC, squamous cell carcinoma SCC and malignant melanoma MM. Skin cancer is becoming more common due to increased exposure to the sun, genetics and other factors.
Both basal cell and squamous cell cancers can appear in a variety of forms. They are usually painless and grow slowly. They can show up anywhere on your body but are most likely to appear on exposed skin, especially on your face or neck.