Healthy living: Spotless

Little things can turn into big problems, like moles. If you don’t want to flaunt it, consider these solutions.

Natural methods for mole removal may seem the cheapest but are not the wisest. By far the most innovative one requires you to peel it off with duct tape. But we highly recommend a trip to the dermatologist before you rip off more than you intend to.

What are moles?

This small patch forms when a collection of cells called melanocytes produce pigment in your skin. The lighter your skin tone, the greater the number of moles you can have.

More than one kind

You are either born with a mole, known as a congenital mole, or acquire it after birth. The most common ones are either brown, round and flat, raised, pale and sometimes hairy or light brown. Some moles are surrounded by a white ring, where the skin has lost its colour and people also develop blue ones.

Removal the right way

Save your cauliflower juice and garlic paste for cooking. Instead visit a dermatologist. “You’ll be in and out of the clinic within 15 minutes,” assures skin specialist and dermatologist Dr Badr Dhanani.

“The oldest and cheapest method involves burning them off or cauterisation,” says consultant dermatologist, laser therapist and cosmetologist, Dr Najjia Ashraf.  A wand-like heat device is used to shrink the mole until it falls off. This is only done on smaller moles that usually hang from the skin.

The more advanced and most effective method is laser removal as it causes minimal scarring. Prices range from Rs2,500 to Rs10,000 depending on the size.

Freezing with liquid nitrogen is another option. “The mole is frozen to a temperature of minus 40 degrees Centigrade which destroys the cells, after which the mole falls off within two weeks,” says Dr Badr, explaining cryotherapy. Contradictory to common belief, it is not the burning which causes more scarring, but freezing. The treated area should be covered to avoid infections.

Surgical excision involves either cutting the entire mole and suturing back the skin or using a scalpel to shave the mole down to skin level or just below it. “It is the most invasive and thorough way of removing a mole, but most people prefer the laser to the scalpel as surgery often leaves a big scar,” says Dr Badr.

However, if a biopsy test indicates cancer, the mole has to be surgically excisied. “But a cancerous type is quite rare here,” says Dr Badr. This is supported by Dr Najjia who adds: “Australia has the highest incidence for melanoma in the world because of genetics and too much exposure to UV radiation. In Pakistan, only government-run clinics have reported a slight rise in melanoma cases.”

Occasionally, a punch biopsy is recommended for a very small mole that run deeper in the skin and cannot be simply shaved off. The technique involves a small incision made by a cookie-cutter-like device.T

Use the ABCDE method to detect Melanoma:

A symmetry

One half is unlike the other half.

B order  irregularity

An irregular, scalloped or poorly defined border.

Colour change

Has shades of tan, brown or black; is sometimes white, red or blue.

Diameter

Melanomas are usually greater than 6mm (the size of a pencil eraser) when diagnosed, but they can be smaller.

Evolution 

A mole that looks different from the rest or is changing in size, shape or colour.

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, April 28^th, 2013.

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