Moles are clusters of cells called melanocytes. These cells produce the pigment in the skin and hair which gives them their color. Under normal circumstances, the melanocytes are spread out around the skin evenly but in some cases they may clump together, causing a mole.
Moles are fairly common in many people. Professionals believe that people are predisposed to getting moles before they are even born but most people are not born with moles.
By the age of 20, most people who have moles will have gained the vast majority of moles that they will have for life. They are no more common in men than they are in women; however, there are certain factors which could cause moles to appear.
Causes of Moles
- Genetics – Most people who suffer with moles will have close relatives who also suffer, leading experts to have the opinion that genetics are in some way involved with the occurrence of moles, hence the thought that some people are predisposed to contracting them even if they don’t appear until later on in life.
- Sun exposure – The sun brings out the melanin in the skin which is the color giving pigment produced by the melanocytes. Sun rays can cause damage to the skin, which is shown by way of a tan. Not only can the sun cause moles to appear, but it can cause the moles to become cancerous and present a risk of contracting melanoma, the most aggressive and dangerous form of skin cancer.
- Hormone imbalances – Out of whack hormones can cause the body to over or under-compensate for numerous things. Sometimes it may cause the overproduction of melanocyte cells, causing them to clump together and form moles. Changes of hormones can occur throughout puberty, pregnancy and menopause. In addition to this, thyroid problems could throw hormones out of balance so it is important to take note of any other symptoms which become present with the appearance of moles.
Avoiding the Appearance of Moles
Obviously there are some causes of skin moles which are unavoidable like hereditary factors for instance. Hormone imbalances are also hard to avoid as they are either part of life (puberty, pregnancy etc.) or people are unaware that their hormones are unbalanced and only find out when there are symptoms such as moles, in which case it is probably too late to be talking about prevention.
Sun exposure is something that people do have control over and to reduce the risk of both obtaining moles in the first place and having them turn cancerous, it is important to take certain steps to avoid damaging the skin.
- Avoid being in direct sunlight for prolonged amounts of time. Especially between the hours of 11am and 3pm as this is when the sun is at its highest position in the sky and its most powerful/harmful.
- Any planned outings where individuals will be exposed to the sun for longer than 20 minutes (walking the dog, going to the shops), a sun screen with a high SPF should be applied. The cream should be used 30 minutes before leaving the house and applied regularly throughout the day.
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Credits: Photo courtesy of Brian Moore.