An emergency doctor has issued a crucial warning about skin, expressing concern that many individuals may be inadvertently jeopardising their health. The medical professional cautioned against tampering with any unusual skin lesions, as they could be indicative of a more severe condition.
It’s quite common to observe occasional changes in your skin, such as the emergence of pimples and freckles, which are usually harmless. However, skin lesions can sometimes be precursors to skin cancer, which ranks as the fifth most prevalent cancer in the UK, necessitating a professional evaluation.
Doctor Suraj Kukadia, widely recognised on TikTok as Dr Sooj, stressed that lesions should remain “intact” for proper assessment by a healthcare provider. He advised: “Really, really important point from today. If you have a skin lesion on your body somewhere, if it’s irritating you, please don’t pick at it.
“Don’t pick it off. Don’t do anything. If you’re worried about it and you’re going to come and see a doctor, please just leave it intact until you’ve seen the doctor because once you pick it it will start to bleed a bit, it will scab over.
“It’s now not the same skin lesion that you were worried about. And then there’s nothing for us to really see or examine.”
Skin lesions are any part of your skin that’s abnormal from the skin around it. According to experts at the Cleveland Clinic they are “common” and are often the result of an injury or damage to your skin, however, some have the “potential to be cancerous”.
Generally, benign skin lesions include the likes of birthmarks, moles, skin tags, freckles, and acne. However, changes in these can be a red flag for something more sinister. Key warning signs of skin cancer to watch for include:
- New growths on the skin
- Any change in an existing growth or mole.
- A wound that refuses to heal.
Dr Sooj advised: “So please just leave it be. Get it reviewed by a doctor if you’re worried and then try and avoid picking them anyway.
“But if it’s irritating you we can always give you a little cream or steroid cream or something to just reduce that irritation and hopefully give you some treatment for whatever the skin lesion actually is.”
The NHS urges a GP consultation if you notice any of the following:
- You have a new or unusual mark on your skin that has not gone away after a few weeks
- You have a mole that’s inflamed, bleeding or crusty
- You have a dark area under a nail that has not been caused by an injury
- You have a mole that’s changed size, shape or colour
- You have a mole that’s painful or itchy.
“Finding a melanoma as early as possible can mean it’s easier to treat,” the health body adds.