Smoker’s Melanosis
Smoking has many more consequences than lung cancer, and one of them is smoker’s melanosis. Find out more about these black spots that appear in the mouths of smokers.
Being a smoker brings many problems. It is really harmful to health, although people are not aware of all the conditions that can be associated with this habit, beyond lung cancer. One of them is smoker’s melanosis.
Melanosis is the appearance of dark spots on the skin and mucous membranes. It is a benign process but one tends to confuse it with much more complex processes, such as oral cancer. These two situations are characterized, at the beginning, by dark spots in the mouth.
Currently, it is estimated that around 8 million people die from the consequences of tobacco every year. Moreover, it does not only affect smokers but can also worsen the health of everyone around them.
The number of smokers continues to increase, and this may be due to the fact that the population still ignores many of the negative effects of tobacco. So, in this article, we are going to tell you what smoker’s melanosis is and how to treat it.
What is smoker’s melanosis?
As we have already mentioned, melanosis is characterized by dark spots in the mouth, mainly in the area of the gums. It is a benign and reversible situation. According to scientists, it is entirely due to tobacco.
This means that there are no genetic factors which, a priori , are involved in the appearance of these spots. Moreover, although they appear mainly because of smoking, they can also appear when chewing tobacco.
Smoker’s melanosis is caused by the fact that certain components of tobacco stimulate melanocytes in the mucous membrane. Melanocytes are the cells that are responsible for producing melanin. It is the substance that determines the color of our skin.
It is calculated that melanosis affects about 30% of all smokers. The factors that most influence the development of this pathology are the time since which one smokes and also the quantity of tobacco that one consumes.
It is usually accompanied by bad breath and a yellowish discoloration of the teeth. At first, it is only a cosmetic problem. However, it is true that melanosis can lead to certain more serious diseases, such as cancer, not being detected.
How to differentiate melanosis?
As we have explained, the importance of melanosis is that it is easy to confuse. In other words, a person who has dark spots in their mouth because they smoke can have different conditions. It could be cancer.
Oral cancer is strongly linked to being a smoker. In fact, almost 8 in 10 people with oral cancer are people who smoke. The symptoms of this pathology are varied. The first sign that appears is that of color changes in the mucous membrane.
However, cancer is not the only pathology that can be confused with melanosis. It should also be noted that some lesions of the blood vessels have a similar appearance. In the same way, we find diseases like:
- The Peutz-Jeghers syndrome.
- Addison’s disease.
How is she diagnosed?
The only way to differentiate smoker’s melanosis from another pathology is by performing a biopsy. Thus, the doctor makes sure that the dark spots are not a sign of other diseases. However, before taking the biopsy, it is best to stop smoking.
When you stop smoking, if it really is melanosis, the spots disappear over time. As we have already mentioned, it is a reversible pathology. However, it can take years to disappear.
To conclude
Melanosis is a benign condition. However, if you are a smoker, it is very important to see your doctor when you see the slightest sign. It is necessary to check whether it is melanosis or, in fact, the spots are due to a carcinogenic process or some other disease.
In addition, it is essential to avoid tobacco. All the substances it contains have negative effects on our body. It should therefore be taken into account that there are forms of therapy, drugs and many other ways to give up this habit.
