Your skin is your body’s largest organ, and it often serves as the first line of defense against infections, environmental damage, and harmful UV rays. However, it can also act as an indicator of internal health problems. Among the many warning signs the skin can present, certain dots, spots, or discolorations should never be ignored. While some skin changes may be harmless, others can be a sign of something more serious, including skin cancer
The Importance of Monitoring Your Skin
Early detection is key when it comes to skin cancer. Many people tend to overlook small changes in their skin, dismissing them as harmless blemishes. However, certain patterns, colors, or evolving marks could indicate the presence of a dangerous condition. One of the most alarming signs to watch for is the appearance of unusual dots, which could signal melanoma or other types of skin cancer.
What Kind of Dots Should You Be Concerned About?
While freckles and benign moles are common, certain spots require medical attention. The most concerning types of dots or lesions on the skin include:
- fatigue or easy bruising, immediate medical consultation is necessary.
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4. Dark Dots Under the Nails
- A small black or brown spot under a fingernail or toenail that does not grow out with the nail could be a sign of subungual melanoma.
- This type of melanoma is often mistaken for a bruise but does not fade over time.
- If you notice a persistent dark mark under your nail, consult a dermatologist.
- Putting the paschal mystery at the centre of our lives means feeling compassion towards the wounds of the crucified Christ present in the many innocent victims of wars, in attacks on life, from that of the unborn to that of the elderly, and various forms of violence. They are likewise present in environmental disasters, the unequal distribution of the earth’s goods, human trafficking in all its forms, and the unbridled thirst for profit, which is a form of idolatry.
Today too, there is a need to appeal to men and women of good will to share, by almsgiving, their goods with those most in need, as a means of personally participating in the building of a better world. Charitable giving makes us more human, whereas hoarding risks making us less human, imprisoned by our own selfishness. We can and must go even further, and consider the structural aspects of our economic life. For this reason, in the midst of Lent this year, from 26 to 28 March, I have convened a meeting in Assisi with young economists, entrepreneurs and change-makers, with the aim of shaping a more just and inclusive economy. As the Church’s magisterium has often repeated, political life represents an eminent form of charity (cf. Pius XI, Address to the Italian Federation of Catholic University Students, 18 December 1927). The same holds true for economic life, which can be approached in the same evangelical spirit, the spirit of the Beatitudes.
I ask Mary Most Holy to pray that our Lenten celebration will open our hearts to hear God’s call to be reconciled to himself, to fix our gaze on the paschal mystery, and to be converted to an open and sincere dialogue with him. In this way, we will become what Christ asks his disciples to be: the salt of the earth and the light of the world (cf. Mt 5:13-14).
Francis
