Milia are hard, white bumps that appear on skin and take some time to disappear. Though not painful or contagious, milia can make people self-conscious about their appearance and can have an adverse affect on self-confidence.
Dehydration-related symptoms often result from insufficient natural exfoliation, burns or severe rashes, or long-term use of certain ointments or creams like steroid creams.
Causes
Milialar are harmless skin conditions caused by an accumulation of dead cells that build up inside pores instead of falling off on their own, blocking pores rather than being shed off naturally. They typically resolve within weeks or months. Newborns frequently exhibit symptoms; older children and adults may also be susceptible.
Home remedies can help reduce the number of milia. Steaming can soften skin and encourage it to break apart, while gentle exfoliation helps clear away dead cells that build up, leaving skin looking clearer than before. Furthermore, lightweight skincare products and non-comedogenic formulas such as sunscreen with broad spectrum coverage may reduce milia risk further.
Rare cases of milia en plaque may respond well to oral antibiotics like minocycline. In more serious instances, however, a dermatologist can perform surgical extraction or cryotherapy treatment in order to remove cysts.
Symptoms
Milia are small, dome-shaped bumps or cysts that usually don’t cause pain. They commonly appear on cheeks, jaw and chin or around eyes (eyelids). Milia can also appear anywhere else such as trunk or genitalia and are particularly prevalent among newborns, but can affect children and adults as well.
Milia are usually pain-free and typically fade within weeks or months on their own, depending on how clingy your mother is. They may, however, remain for an extended period.
Health care professionals can easily detect milia by inspecting the affected area. They may be able to tell if you have primary milia by the formation of its clumps; one or multiple can often appear together in one large patch of skin (called a plaque), along with itchy areas and sensations that the cysts lie underneath your skin. As opposed to pimples, however, home treatment of milia cysts should never attempt because this will exacerbate their condition further.
Diagnosis
An examination may be all your health care provider needs to diagnose milia. They’ll look out for small dome-shaped cysts with white or yellow centers that feel like seeds beneath your skin; typically painless but sometimes itchy.
Milia are common among newborns but can affect people of any age. Milia often appear on areas such as foreheads, cheeks, eyelids and genitals but may also appear on damaged parts of the body like hands.
Milia is usually harmless and will go away on its own within weeks to months. Squeezing or picking at them could cause infection and scarring, so if they remain stubborn it’s best not to squeeze or pick at them as this could cause further infection and scarring. For those still concerned a dermatologist can perform simple extraction or prescribe over-the-counter retinoids to help reduce milia numbers; another option would be cryotherapy where liquid nitrogen would be used to freeze and destroy them.
Treatment
Milia is often temporary; most cases resolve on their own or with help from dermatologists. Milia tends to affect infants and newborns more often; however, it can occur at any age and more likely in people with fair-skinned complexions.
Milia treatments include exfoliation, at-home chemical peels and prescription retinoids – with these drugs helping reduce milia by speeding up skin cell turnover and helping the cells shed faster than they otherwise would.
Utilizing gentle exfoliating products tailored specifically to your skin type and avoiding aggressive scrubbing techniques will help prevent the build-up of dead cells and encourage their natural shedding process. Squeezing or popping milia can cause infection and scarring if done too harshly; for this reason it’s essential that these procedures be avoided at all costs.
