Is It Skin Cancer Or Just An Ingrown Hair?

Is It Skin Cancer Or Just An Ingrown Hair?

Is It Skin Cancer Or Just An Ingrown Hair?

skin cancer vs ingrown hair

While an ingrown hair may resem­ble some types of skin can­cer at first, there are some tell­tale dif­fer­ences. For starters, ingrown hairs often appear in clus­ters of raised red bumps. They also often cause flu­id-filled cysts to appear which may fea­ture a white or yel­low head (much like an infect­ed pim­ple), plus they can become itchy and sore.

Skin can­cer lesions, on the oth­er hand, tend to appear as sin­gle moles or bumps. They are usu­al­ly pain-free dur­ing ear­ly stages, and while they may appear crusty, they usu­al­ly don’t con­tain any pus.

Some signs of an ingrown hair include:

– Small, round, sol­id bumps (often filled with pus) appear­ing on the chin, cheeks, legs, pubic area, scalp and armpits

– Dark­en­ing skin

– Embed­ded hairs beneath the skin

– Bumps that are painful, ten­der and/​or and itchy

As a com­par­i­son, here are the signs of the most com­mon forms of skin cancer:

Basal cell carcinoma:

– A pearly or waxy bump

– A flat, flesh-coloured or brown scar-like lesion

– A bleed­ing or scab­by sore that heals and keeps returning

Above: Basal cell carcinoma

Squa­mous cell carcinoma:

– A firm, red nodule

– A flat lesion with a scaly, crust­ed surface

Above: Squamous cell carcinoma

Melanoma:

– A large brown­ish spot with dark­er speckles

– A mole that changes in colour, size, or feel; it may also bleed

– A small lesion with an irreg­u­lar bor­der and parts that appear red, pink, white, blue, or blue-black

– A painful lesion that itch­es or burns

– Dark lesions on your palms, soles, fin­ger­tips or toes, or on mucous mem­branes lin­ing your mouth, nose, vagi­na, or anus

Above: Melanoma comes in many forms

If you’ve noticed a ‘lump’ or ‘bump’ with any of the above features, it’s essential to get it checked out promptly. A MoleMap Skin Check or a Mole Check consultation with a specialist Melanographers (a trained skin cancer nurse) are both excellent options for this. These skin check clinics provide expert advice on whether the spot exhibits features of skin cancer and guide you on your next steps. Additionally, they can easily differentiate between a potential skin cancer and a benign condition like an ingrown hair.

This post was last modified on Tháng mười hai 6, 2024 6:03 chiều