Hyperkeratosis:
Experts say feeding sweets to monkeys at Jaipur’s Galtaji temple is causing hyperkeratosis among them.
- Hyperkeratosis is a condition that causes skin to thicken in certain places.
- The thickening occurs when body produces too much keratin, a protein found in your skin’s outer layer.
- Keratin helps to protect the body against infiltration by water and other chemical and biological agents with which it comes in contact every day.
- Hyperkeratosis can affect any area of body. Anyone can get hyperkeratosis. Some people have it at birth. Other people develop this condition as children or adults.
- There are two main types of hyperkeratosis:
- Non-pressure-related hyperkeratosis: Thickening of your skin due to genetics.
- Pressure-related hyperkeratosis: Thickening of your skin due to inflammation, irritation, or pressure.
- Several factors may cause hyperkeratosis, including:
- Allergies.
- Autoimmune diseases.
- Chronic inflammation of the skin (dermatitis).
- Infections of the skin, including HPV (human papillomavirus).
- Genetics.
- Medications, including chemotherapy.
- Pressure or rubbing of your skin.
- Psoriatic arthritis.
- Reactions to chemicals, including tattoo ink.
- Skin infections.
- Sun exposure.
- Vitamin A deficiency.
- Forms of hyperkeratosis include:
- actinic keratosis, which causes rough, sandpaper-like patches of skin to develop as a result of excess skin exposure
- calluses
- corns
- eczema
- epidermolytic hyperkeratosis, an inherited skin disorder present at birth
- lichen planus, a condition that causes white patches to grow on the inside of the mouth
- plantar warts
- psoriasis
- Warts
