What Causes Freckles On The Legs And Arms?

Posted on Mon, 19 Jun 2017

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Mon, 19 Jun 2017 Answered on

Sat, 8 Jul 2017 Last reviewed on

Question : Hello! Im attaching a few images of my legs and arms...you will see that I have some moles and alot of freckles. Would you be able to take a look and see if anything is concerning (I'm currently suffering from health anxiety)? I have had a recent skin cancer acreening and everything was fine. Unfortunately, when I look at my arms and legs and see what appear to be new freckles popping up I start to worry again. Also, is it normal to get new freckles at age 50, from what I presume was past sun damage (I avoid the sun now and use sunscreen)?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Kakkar (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Signs of photodamage

Detailed Answer:
Hello. Thank you for writing to us.
I am dr. kakkar (dermatologist). I have gone through your query and I have viewed the images.

You have mainly solar lentigines and freckles which are a result of cummulative sun damage over the years. They seem benign to me in the all the images.
Solar lentigines and freckles may keep on developing at any age with continued sun exposure. Therefore it is important to use a broad spectrum sunscreen throughout the day and avoid sun as much as possible.

Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Dr. Kakkar (7 minutes later)

Hi Dr. Kakkar thank you so much! I'm always so happy when it's you answering my questions! One last question....I'm attaching an image of a raised spot I have on my thumb...I have a few similar spots on my hand and also some very small flesh colored raised spots on my legs...they don't change in appearance, bleed or anything. They can actually be scraped off but then they reappear. Do you know what they could be? Flat warts or something like that? Thanks as always!!!

Answered by Dr. Dr. Kakkar (19 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Likely warts

Detailed Answer:
Hi.

The image of hand seems to suggest that these flesh colored lesions are most likely warts.

Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T