I went for a check up.
I have returned with 30 sun spots burnt off with liquid nitrogen, including a dozen on my face.
They really hurt when they have to burn near the corner of the eye at the bridge of the nose. Not game to move!
I am feeling really sorry for myself. Think I’ll eat some worms.
I’m proud of you for going. Arizona has recently replaced Australia as the number one spot in the world for skin cancer, but you’re still number two!
If your actinic keratoses come back, you do have other options for getting rid of them besides liquid nitrogen. There are creams and blue light/levulan treatments.
Use sunscreen! Wear a hat! Stay out of the sun! And don’t forget, sun is not the one and only factor for melanoma, so check yourself monthly in places like the soles of your feet, between your toes, your groin… and get your eyes checked regularly, they happen there, too!
Mr. brown had several burnt off of his head yesterday, too. It made his head ache so much that he didn’t go in to work, but stayed home with a bottle of ibuprofen and some ice water. He’s trying to think of a way to disguise the temporary burns and blisters when he goes in to work today, but a hat sounds too painful.
Yes, use sunscreen, wear a hat, stay out of the full sun.
I had a couple moles cut out late last year, along with a significant margin of skin around them. Ended up with scars about an inch long for each - not on my face, at least - and a decent amount of time for wound care, followed by stitch removal. One of them, a “haloed nevus” to be precise, came back from the biopsy as being precancerous. I rarely spend significant time in the sun and use sunscreen when I’ll be out for a decent amount of time, but apparently childhood sun exposure plus up to a half hour outside daily during my commute to/from work did the trick. I wear sunscreen a lot more now, even spraying some on areas that are covered by clothes - light clothing doesn’t provide very much sun protection, it turns out.
I rarely go out in the sun (voluntarily) these days. Trouble is, all the damage was done 30 years ago.