A spot never looks good, whether it is on your clothes or face. Spot on clothes an easily be washed or clothes can be changed with no concern. But when it comes to a spot on your body, there might an issue, especially if it on a visible part like your face. A bump or spot on lip is very clearly visible and can cause some inconvenience too. Let us see what is a spot on lip?
What are Fordyce spots?
Fordyce spots are small raised, white or yellow colour spots or bumps that may appear labia, penis or lips. Fordyce spots occur when the sebaceous glands produce water resistant oil that causes the spots or bumps at the hair follicles. This happens when the body has no way to secret sebum. This means, Fordyce spots appear on hairless areas.
Causes of Fordyce Spots
Fordyce spots are caused by sebum which is natural oil released by skin at the fair follicle and gets out naturally. But when the secreted oil gets trapped in the sebaceous glands where there is no hair, it causes the spots to grow.
Do they need medical attention?
This is a dermatological condition. These spots are not contagious, not painful or itchy nor are they sexually transmitted disease.
These spots usually go away on their-own. Though it is not a serious medical condition but people with Fordyce spots feel low on self-esteem because they appear on key areas of body.
Your doctor will prescribe some ointments only if they are too uncomfortable from an appearance point of view.
Treatments of Fordyce spots
Spot on lip does not need a medical attention. They fade away on their own. However, as they appear the place where lips meet the normal skin, they may look bad. Hence, one may need treatment.
- Trichloroacetic acid: This treatment helps by peeling off the skin where these spots have appeared. Once the treatment is complete, it is essential to keep the lips moisturized. But the con of this treatment is that the spots may reappear.
- Tretinoin gel: This gel reduces the appearance of the spots and is most effective when used with alpha hydroxyacid gel.
- Cyrosurgery: This procedure involves the removal of spots by using cold temperature. Due to cold temperature, it may affect tissues and nerves around that area.
There are a few laser treatments also available in severe cases.
- Electro desiccation: This, carbon dioxide laser treatment that can be used to reduce the appearance of these spots and make it less visible.
- Pulsed dry lasers: Thisis used to treat the sebaceous glands and is an expensive way of treatment.
- The latest technology is the Micro-punch technique where the duration of reappearance of these spots is reduced to 12- 84 month.
Natural Remedies:
Some natural ingredients like coconut oil, tee tree oil, turmeric, jojoba oil, aloe Vera gel, honey and lemon have effective results in treating Fordyce spots.
Intake of plenty of water has also shown to be very useful.
For the people who are suffering from Fordyce spots, keeping good personal hygiene is essential to avoid these spots from getting aggravated.
A diet rich in vitamin B complex, Vitamins A,C,D,E& K will help in reducing the spots and helps to resolve them faster. Include garlic, spinach, citrus fruits, broccoli and asparagus in your diet.