Wrinkles

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Skin layers

Facelift - series

Overview

Treatment

Wrinkles

Home Care:

To minimize skin wrinkling, stay out of the sun as much as possible. When you are outside, wear protective clothing and use sunscreen. If you smoke, stop smoking.

Call your health care provider if:

A spot on the skin has more than one color, has an irregular shape, or is raised
You notice any new or changing pigmented lesions

Wrinkles are not usually a concern unless they occur at an early age. Consult your health care provider if you think that your skin is becoming excessively wrinkled at an early age. A referral to a dermatologist or plastic surgeon is sometimes appropriate.

What to expect at your health care provider's office:

Your doctor may ask detailed questions about your wrinkles, such as:

When did you first notice that the skin was abnormally wrinkled?
Has it changed in any manner?
Has a skin spot become painful or does it bleed?
What other symptoms are occurring at the same time?

A detailed examination of the skin will be performed. If wrinkles are accompanied by a skin lesion that has changed in appearance, diagnostic tests may include a skin lesion biopsy.

TREATMENT

A dermatologist or plastic surgeon may provide choices from wrinkle creams to plastic surgery for dealing with aging problems. Current alternatives have relatively low risk, but are generally expensive.

Tretinoin (Retin-A) or other creams may be recommended, but these aren't guaranteed to help.

Chemical peels or laser resurfacing are very effective options for early wrinkles.

Botulinum toxin (Botox) may be used to correct some of the wrinkles associated with overactive facial muscles.

Plastic surgery (for a facelift, browlift, or other procedure) is available as an elective procedure that is generally paid for entirely by the patient, not by insurance.

Review Date: 10/29/2004
Reviewed By: Jonathan Kantor, M.D., Department of Dermatology, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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