Our Skin As We Age: What to Expect
Your skin changes with age. It becomes thinner, loses fat, and no longer looks as plump and smooth as it once did. Your veins and bones can be seen more easily. Scratches, cuts or bumps can take longer to heal. Years of tanning or being out in the sunlight for a long time may lead to wrinkles, dryness, age spots and even cancer.
But there are things you can do to help protect your skin as you age and to make it feel and look better.
Older people may bruise more easily than younger people. And it can take longer for the bruises to heal. Some medicines or illnesses may cause bruising. If you see bruises and you don’t know how you got them, especially on parts of your body usually covered by clothing, see your doctor.
Age spots, once called “liver spots,” are flat, brown spots often caused by years in the sun. They are bigger than freckles and many times show up on areas such as the face, hands, arms, back and feet. Age spots are harmless, but if they bother you, talk with a dermatologist about removing them. Also, applying sunscreen may help prevent more of them from forming.
–Source: National Institutes of Health
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