Skip to content

What You Can Expect With Aging Skin

What You Can Expect With Aging Skin

Those of us over 60 may feel young; we do our sports, go to the gym, dye our grey hair, use our “anti-aging” creams, and get Botox, fillers, and laser treatments to approximate what we looked like at 40. No matter what you do, some of the changes you are seeing are as inexorable as time itself. The same goes for aging skin. Here are some changes you might notice with your skin as it gets older.

Why is this Happening?!

Skin is your body’s largest organ and it has many functions. It protects what is under it against the germs, chemicals and ultraviolet radiation we encounter every day. It regulates your temperature and maintains the balance of water and electrolytes. It can give us pleasure when touched and alert us to painful stimuli.

With aging, all layers of the skin and the fat layer beneath it thin out and become less effective in their tasks. The skin becomes less able to regulate temperature- you may sweat less in the heat and be prone to overheating. You may have more trouble staying warm in cold environments. The number of nerve endings in your skin decreases as time rolls on, and you become less sensitive to pain, pressure, and temperature-but more sensitive to itch. The cells that protect against radiation, fight infection and help make vitamin D decrease in number.

As time goes on, your skin becomes drier and more lax; wrinkles spots and growths appear. The aging of your skin affects not only its appearance but also its function. Older skin is damaged more easily and heals more slowly after injury. Certain skin conditions occur more commonly in older adults. We all complain about the changes we see in our skin and more than 50% of older adults have skin problems that prompt a visit to their doctor for treatment.

Conditions You May See More Of

Dry and itchy skin is common in older adults. Your skin makes less of the essential oils that keep the skin moist, comfortable and protected from outside bacteria and irritants. Dry scaly skin affects nearly all adults by age 70. Anywhere or everywhere on the body can be affected, but the lower legs are often the driest, especially in the low humidity of indoor winter heating. The itching can be very intense, and too vigorous scratching can cause raised thickened areas or bleeding. You can often take care of your dry skin at home but if it is severe, came on suddenly, or does not relent with home treatment, visit your doctor who may be able to give you a prescription topical and who can investigate whether the underlying cause is more than just over-drying.

Seborrheic Dermatitis affects as many as 30% of older adults. The mildest form is scalp dandruff, but it can also cause red greasy flaking skin in other areas with many oil glands, such as the eyebrows, eyelids, the sides of the nose, behind the ears, and the mid-chest. It is more common in those who have neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and can also flare up when you are tired or stressed. A variety of nonprescription dandruff shampoos can help (with ingredients such as ketoconazole, salicylic acid, selenium sulfide, tar and zinc pyrithione). If these don’t work, visit your doctor for a prescription antifungal or steroid cream or shampoo.

Bruises become more common as your skin becomes thinner from aging and sun damage. There is less connective tissue and fat under the skin and so less support for the capillaries. Scratching hard may cause pinpoint bleeding and the usual clumsy bumps of life may cause more frequent or larger bruises than before. Many older people also take medications made to decrease clotting and so bruise larger and more easily than before.

The type of eczema caused by overly dry skin affects older adults more, and the same treatments that help dry skin can help the red itchy rash. Contact dermatitis is a two-way street; although aging causes you to be physiologically less susceptible to allergic reactions, you also have lived long enough to been repeatedly exposed to (and therefore develop a reaction to) many substances such as topical medications, fragrances, additives, and plants. Even after you identify which things give you the itchy stinging or burning sensation and stay away from them, it can take up to three months for your symptoms to improve. If you suspect that you are getting a contact dermatitis, your doctor can do a skin patch test to find the allergen and give you a steroid cream to help your symptoms.

A drug rash usually starts within several days of starting a new medication but can sometimes not show up until you have taken it a while and develop a sensitivity. The most common symptoms are red spots that spread over large areas of your body, but can also show up as hives or firm bumps. Don’t stop essential medications without talking to your doctor. If s/he does think that a drug has caused your rash and discontinues it, the rash may take days or weeks after stopping the medication to disappear. If along with the rash you feel very ill or have trouble breathing, you should go to the emergency room.

Seeing New Things Growing

Each person’s genetics and amount of sun exposure are different, but you may notice more things growing on your skin. While many of them are distressing but harmless, it is a good idea to show your doctor, since growth could be skin cancer.

Seborrheic keratoses are tan or dark brown raised spots that sit on top of the skin. They are extremely common in older adults. They are not dangerous but if they are bleeding, itching (or distress you cosmetically) they can be removed with a variety of methods in the doctor’s office. You should be aware that insurance sometimes does not cover their removal.

Actinic keratoses are scaly pink spots that may feel rough or gritty. They are a common manifestation of sun damage and are considered precancerous, the earliest stages of squamous cell carcinoma. Since not all of them will actually change into cancer, there is no cause to panic. Some of them can be watched and treated when they show signs of worsening. They can be spot treated by freezing them with liquid nitrogen or an area can be treated by applying a cream that destroys cancerous cells. These creams cause redness, scaling and burning of the treated skin that may last as long as four weeks, but its overall appearance should be better after you heal. Because actinic keratosis can change, if you have them, you should be checked at least once a year for skin cancer.

Two more annoying but benign common growths are cherry angiomas (small bright red or purple bumps) and skin tags attached to the skin by a narrow stalk. Large angiomas or skin tags may bleed or get irritated by jewelry and clothing. If they do, they can be easily removed in the doctor’s office.

Staying Comfortable In Your Skin

We all age; your skin will show the effects of time, sunlight, and gravity. Your heredity, health history and habits also have an influence on how your skin ages. Keep it as healthy as possible. Take care of it at home with moisturizer, indoor humidity when it’s cold, and sunblock all year round. Watch for changes or growths that might need your doctor’s intervention. You cannot control everything, but aging gracefully is a learned art; some things can be accepted and you can be “comfortable in your own skin”.

At Advanced Dermatology Care, our dermatologists Dr. Kenneth Egan, Dr. Rebecca Hall, and PA, Melissa Raue specialize in all of your family’s skincare needs in general medical, surgical and cosmetic dermatology including impetigo, acne, skin cancer, eczema, warts, moles, fungal nail infections, rashes, and scars. Our offices are located in the Fairfield County, CT towns of Danbury, Norwalk, and Ridgefield.

– Melissa Raue


How to deal with distressing your dry skin


Same Day Appointments Available

Sign up to receive email

As a new subscriber you’ll enjoy:

Special offers and exclusive deals. Information on new product offers and more…

Categories

About Us

Multi-Specialty Private Practice with six locations in Fairfield County, CT