What are Sun Spots on Skin?

Sun pots are dark spots on the skin caused by prolonged exposure of the skin under the sun. Sun spots are also called lentigines, liver spots, or age spots. These dark spots often appear at the age of 40 because of prolonged exposure to the sun, however, younger people may also have it.

Sun spots often do not cause serious problems, but cause unpleasant view especially when they occur on the skin on the face. Common concern especially of women is the reduced aesthetic appearance of the face or the skin because of sun spots.

Sun spots are dark spots that are usually flat and oval shaped, but some may be irregular in shape. Sun spots are usually dark brown in color and they appear on exposed areas on the body such as the hands, shoulders, face, upper back and top of the feet. The size of sun spots resembles freckles, but others may be larger and may clump together, which appear as a big dark spot on the skin.

More severe forms of sun spots are sun keratoses, which appear reddened, flaky, crusty or scaly areas of skin. Sun keratoses are considered warning signs of skin cancer because these spots may eventually lead to squamous cell carcinoma, a skin malignancy. The incidence of sunspots turning into malignant cells is little comprising to only 10% of the cases.

Spots normally do not grow in size and are not painful, however, when they turn red, scaly, thickened, bleeds easily, tender or painful and grows rapidly, it can be an indication of possible skin cancer.

When this occurs, diagnostic tests such as biopsy are needed to detect the presence of skin cancer. In the absence of pre-cancer indications, people with sun spots often do not consult any dermatologists thinking that they are normal. Sun spots are considered normal and part of aging, however, when further changes occur; it may be a sign of a more serious condition that needs treatment.

Sun Spots on Face

What Causes Sun Spots on Skin?

Sun spots appear on the skin due to:

• Prolonged sun exposure – The harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun may cause changes on the skin leading to hyper pigmentation.
• Fungal infection – An infection from tinea versicolor causes the darkening of the skin for light-skinned individuals and lighter pigmentations for darker individuals.
• Overuse of tanning booths – Tanning booths also uses ultraviolet light for skin tanning just like what the sun emits. Prolonged or frequent use of these tanning booths may eventually lead to dark spots or sun spots.

Risk factors for developing sun spots include being fair-skinned because of the lack of adequate melanin to protect the skin from the harmful rays of the sun, not using sun protection when going out, and always outdoors between 10 am and 3 pm. These times are more dangerous for the skin because the sun is very up in the sky and emits more UV rays.

How to Get Rid of Sun Spots on Skin?

Once sun spots appeared, it can be effectively removed or lessened. These tips are the most common suggestions of dermatologists for eliminating sun spots:

• Laser therapy – Laser therapy uses a beam of light that removes the dark spots from the skin. This is non-invasive and not painful at all. It also produces significant results even after the first treatment. Laser therapy requires successive treatments to fully eradicate the sun spots.
• Cryotherapy – Cryotherapy involves the use of very cold substances to freeze the pigment and totally remove it from the skin.
• Chemical peels – These techniques use chemicals such as isotretinoin to peel the sun spots away. It is important to stay away from the sun when chemical peels are used because it may lead to burns when the skin is exposed in the sun. Overuse of chemical peels may also lead to increased risk for sun pots because of inadequate protection of the skin.

• Dermabrasion – This uses abrasive materials or substances to carefully scrape away the outer lining of the skin removing the sun spots that appeared on it. Dermabrasion are considered safer than chemical peels, but may cost higher.

• Whitening creams and ointments – The use of creams and ointments are also an excellent way to remove sun spots and are significantly cheaper than the previous therapies. However, results are not as fast as the surgeries or peeling techniques and may require extended application of the topical medications. Significant results are usually observed after 4 weeks of continued use.
• Anti-fungal creams – Sun spots caused by fungi are treated by anti-fungal creams to totally eradicate the causative agent. Anti-fungal creams are used longer because fungi tend to reoccur.

Prevention of Sun Spots on Skin

Prevention is the best way to manage sun spots and prevent the occurrence of skin cancers. The most common prevention for sun spots include:

• Apply sunscreen, which is SPF 15 or higher to protect the skin from the harmful UV rays of the sun
• Wear protective gadgets such as hats, umbrellas and sunglasses when going out under the sun.
• Avoid going out under the sun during the most intense radiation of UV light, which is from 10 am to 3 pm.
• Wear protective clothing like long sleeves, pants, shirts rather than going out in sleeveless tanks or other clothes that tend to expose more of the skin.

Sun spots should not be dreaded, but care and preventive measures should be instituted to prevent more serious cases of skin cancer.

What is Apple Cider Vinegar?

Apple cider vinegar is a type of vinegar extracted from apple must or cider. This type of vinegar has pale amber color. Apple cider vinegar (ACV) or cider vinegar is made by squeezing the apples to get the juice. Yeast is then added to it to ferment the liquid and turn it into alcohol. Acetobacter (acetic acid-forming bacteria) is added in the second fermentation process to turn it into vinegar. The acetic acid produces the distinct sour taste and aroma of vinegar. Apple cider vinegar also contains lactic, malic and citric acid

Apple Cider Vinegar

Health Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple cider vinegar is used as food preservative, salad dressings, chutneys, marinades and vinaigrette, but it is more widely used for its health effects.

Just like any natural remedies, apple cider has various health benefits which include:

1. Anti-obesity

Apple cider vinegar was studied to help in weight reduction. Acetic acid was found out to suppress accumulation of body fat due to regulation of the oxidation of fatty acid in the liver. Apple cider vinegar also prolongs the satiety after eating, preventing food intake even after mealtime. Apple cider is considered to prevent and reduce obesity as seen in obese people who had weight reduction after taking apple cider vinegar for 12 weeks.

2. Anti-diabetes

Research conducted among diabetic patients showed that apple cider vinegar significantly lowered the blood sugar levels of those experiencing hyperglycemia.

3. Anti-cholesterol

Apple cider vinegar has proved to reduce triglyceride levels while increasing the good cholesterol (HDL) in the body.

4. Blood Pressure Reduction

The acetic acid in apple cider helps in lowering down the blood pressure according to a study published in 2001.

5. Anti-dandruff

Apple cider vinegar promotes healthy scalp due to the action of lactic acid. It also prevents dandruff formation by keeping the scalp hydrated.

6. Anti-acne

Diluted apple cider applied on pimples reduces the redness, inflammation and prevents infection in the area.

7. Health tonic

Proponents of apple cider promote its use for regulating the acid-base balance in the body. Although the mechanism is unknown, it has been shown that apple cider vinegar neutralizes the acidity in the body, despite being an acid.

8. Anti-inflammatory effect

Apple cider has some forms of anti-inflammatory property useful in managing arthritis and rheumatism

9. Anti-gout

Apple cider also enhances the elimination of uric acid, which when gets accumulated, forms gout.

10. Anti-fatigue

Individuals suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome benefits from apple cider vinegar because it enhances the stress relieving hormones.

11. Digestive properties

Apple cider vinegar improves digestion thereby preventing dyspepsia, bloating and abdominal distention

12. Soothing effect

Diluted apple cider vinegar produces a soothing relief on the throat and oral mucosa.

Uses of Apple Cider Vinegar

The above benefits of apple cider vinegar are responsible for its various uses such as:

13. Weight loss remedy
14. Prevention of high blood sugar level
15. Reduction of cholesterol
16. Regulation of blood pressure
17. Dandruff removal
18. Improving of general well-being
19. Sore throat remedy
20. Heartburn treatment
21. Management of arthritis, rheumatism and gout
22. Treatment for acne and pimples
23. Increase in energy level

Apple Cider Vinegar Side-Effects

Prolonged and excessive intake of apple cider vinegar has proved to produce side-effects such as:

• Hypokalemia or low potassium levels in the blood
• Osteoporosis because of reduction in bone density
• Increase in rennin levels in the body
• Burns and skin irritation because of its highly acidic nature
• Alteration in insulin levels because of its chromium content
• Damaged tooth enamel
• Esophageal, gastric and duodenal irritation
• Allergies due to reactions to apples

Apple cider vinegar should not be used in conjunction with other diseases without a doctor’s advice. Diabetic individuals should consult their physician before taking apple cider vinegar. Use of apple cider as topical remedy should be applied diluted in water because it causes skin irritations and even burns because of its acidity. A recent case involved the occurrence of esophageal burns as a result of apple cider vinegar pill which stayed on the throat.

Where to Buy Apple Cider Vinegar?

Apple cider vinegar can be bought in grocery stores, online and health food stores in its usual unpasteurized and unfiltered form (mother of vinegar form). The mother of vinegar form is yellow to brownish in color and consists of sediments at the bottom of the container.

Apple cider vinegar can also be bought in tablet form in health stores. The use of tablet form should be monitored because some manufacturers do not put the correct percentage of apple cider vinegar in tablets. Another research has also indicated that some tablets only contain acetic acid, not necessarily coming from apple cider. Tablets may also lodge in the throat that can cause esophageal irritation or burns.