Skin Conditions As You Age

As we get older, our skin undergoes a number of changes. How skin ages will depend on several factors: your lifestyle, diet, heredity, and other personal habits (such as smoking).

Sun exposure is the main cause of skin damage. Skin damage from the sun is due to the sun's ultraviolet (UV) light, which breaks down elastic tissue (elastin) in the skin and causes the skin to stretch, sag, wrinkle, and become blotchy, occasionally with pre-cancerous growths and even skin cancer.

Other factors contributing to skin aging include the loss of fatty tissue between your skin and muscle, stress, gravity, daily facial movement (smiling and frowning, for example), and obesity.

Skin changes that accompany aging include:

• Roughened or dry skin
• Benign growths such as seborrheic keratoses and cherry angiomas
• Loose facial skin, especially around the eyes, cheeks, and jowls (jawline)
• Transparent or thinned skin
• Bruising easily from less elasticity

Common Skin Conditions in the Elderly

• Wrinkles are the most visible sign of aging skin. They follow chronic sun exposure and form when the skin loses its flexibility. Smokers tend to have more wrinkles than nonsmokers.
• Facial movement lines, often known as "laugh lines" and "worry lines," become more visible as the skin loses its elasticity (in your 40's or 50's). The lines may be horizontal on the forehead, vertical above the nose, or curved on the temples, upper cheeks, and around the mouth and eyes.
• Dry and itching skin is a common problem among adults, especially with age. The loss of oil glands (which help to keep the skin soft) is the main cause of dry skin. Rarely, dry, itchy skin may be a sign of diabetes, kidney disease, or liver disease.
• Skin cancer: Sun exposure (UV radiation) is the most common cause of pre-cancers and skin cancer, either basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma. Many Americans (a million each year) will develop a form of skin cancer by age 65.
• Age spots: "Age spots" are brown patches that appear on sun-exposed parts of the body (face, hands, and forearms), usually during the adult years.
• Bedsores: Bedsores (also known as pressure ulcers) are skin ulcers that develop from pressure when people lie in bed or sit in a chair for long periods of time. Bedsores are a fairly common problem in people who have trouble moving on their own. People with diabetes are more prone to bedsores because of their poor circulation and decreased feeling in their skin. Frequent rotation or re-positioning helps to prevent bedsores.