# It's not melanoma, but what is it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 5, 2003, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-melanoma-but-what-is-it/173283 "2003-05-05T22:49:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2003, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-melanoma-but-what-is-it/173283/1 "2003-05-05T22:49:55Z")
I have on my right hand several groups of raised skin - like moles but the same colour as healed scar tissue. The groups are of 3-4 raised bits, each approx 2mm in size, apart from the oldest grouping, on my wrist, where they are 3-4mm in size. I’ve had the ones on my wrist ever since I can recall; the others have appeared over the past 10 years. If I scrub or rub them off, they reappear. I do not have them on my left hand. Being in the UK, my right hand is the one most often in the sun when driving, hence my concern about melanoma. I’ve been to a number of melanoma websites and it does not appear to be anything like what they display, thank goodness. What are they? ---
**Author:** ![Yeah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/dbc845/32.png) [@Yeah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeah)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-melanoma-but-what-is-it/173283/2 "2003-05-06T00:09:53Z")
1. How old are you? 2. Are they on the palm side of your wrist or the other side? 3. Do they look anything like what is pictured at: [http://tray.dermatology.uiowa.edu/SebK001.htm](http://tray.dermatology.uiowa.edu/SebK001.htm) ? ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-melanoma-but-what-is-it/173283/3 "2003-05-06T05:32:53Z")
1 - 36 2 - On the back of my hand 3 - No, they’re normal skin colour. ---
**Author:** ![herman\_and\_bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f1d935/32.png) [@herman\_and\_bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/herman_and_bill)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-melanoma-but-what-is-it/173283/4 "2003-05-06T10:49:09Z")
Possibly warts? ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Nader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-melanoma-but-what-is-it/173283/5 "2003-05-06T10:56:26Z")
Are you left-handed? ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Nader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-melanoma-but-what-is-it/173283/6 "2003-05-06T11:02:13Z")
Woah, didn’t mean to send that fast… I ask because I have a couple spots like that, and they are scar tissue due to a nervious habit I have of picking at those little bumps. I think they’re called keloid scars. Here’s hoping an MD shows up soon. ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-melanoma-but-what-is-it/173283/7 "2003-05-06T12:05:37Z")
Could be one of the following: Seborrhoeic wart (basal cell papilloma) Pilar cyst Dermatofibroma All are benign, but see your doc. ---
**Author:** ![AllShookDown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d9b06d/32.png) [@AllShookDown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllShookDown)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-melanoma-but-what-is-it/173283/8 "2003-05-06T12:07:29Z")
I have something that sounds similar on my leg that’s been there since I was a kid but gradually got larger. My doctor told me it was nothing to worry about but it bugged me so I had a biopsy done. It came back as [seborrheic keratosis](http://www.emedicine.com/DERM/topic397.htm). I’d get it checked out by a doctor if I were you just for peace of mind. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-melanoma-but-what-is-it/173283/9 "2003-05-06T12:20:10Z")
I have exactly the same things, and wonder what they could be. I have 5 or 6 on the index finger of my right hand, just above the nail and one big one (maybe 3mm) below the knuckle; and two very close together on the back of my left hand just below the wrist. I’ve tried picking them off but they just come back. More seem to be appearing gradually, too. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-melanoma-but-what-is-it/173283/10 "2003-05-06T21:53:22Z")
Thanks all. Seborrheic keratosis looks like the best fit, but it’s nowhere near a perfect match. The main difference is that what I have is skin-coloured (white-pink, in my case), whereas keratoses are typically discoloured and rather larger. I’m **very** glad to read that they are benign and nothing to worry about. I wonder if Qagdop will do a vanity search? ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-melanoma-but-what-is-it/173283/11 "2003-05-07T02:35:56Z")
Probably warts, but no doctor in their right mind would make a dermatology diagnosis without seeing a picture, since so many things look pretty similar.