Look Similar, Milia VS Syringoma

Sounds familiar, milia is a common skin problem. Milia is associated with small white bumps that appear on the face especially the eye area, so what is milia? Besides milia, syringoma is a similar skin condition and is often referred to as milia. Here, we will review and find the difference between milia and syringoma.

Knowing Milia

According to one of studies, milia are small white "pearls" that are temporary for an indefinite period of time. Milia are usually small white bumps like whiteheads that can appear on the skin of any area such as the nose, cheeks, and chin in babies. However, milia can also occur in adults and frequently found in the eye area.

Causes of Milia

Basically, milia occurs due to sebum and dead skin cells trapped in the outer layer of the skin. In addition, there are several triggering factors such as moisturizer or eye-cream that is too heavy, build up of dead skin cells, and also not removing makeup before going to bed.

Furthermore, the study explained that the classification of milia is divided into primary and secondary.

• Primary milia occur spontaneously and are present at birth, which is common in some newborns.

• Secondary milia manifests because there is an association with underlying skin pathology, certain medications, or skin trauma.

Knowing Syringoma

Looking the same and located in areas similar to milia, syringomas is mistakenly referred to as milia. In fact, syringoma is a different case. Generally, milia are characterized as small white bumps, while syringoma is characterized by small papules or nodules that are about 1-3 millimeters wide, yellow, brown, or the same color as the skin. More than that, syringoma is a benign tumor that forms from the eccrine glands or sweat glands.

Causes of Syringoma

As already mentioned, syringoma is formed from the sweat glands. More precisely, syringoma can occur when sweat duct cells overgrow or sweat glands overreact to form a papule or abnormal tissue growth.

Unlike milia, which can appear on a baby's skin and some triggering factors, syringoma can appear suddenly on an adult's skin. In addition, syringoma can appear in other areas such as the neck, abdomen, armpits, and others.

Milia and Syringoma Treatment

Both milia and syringoma are not health worrisome conditions, however, in aesthetics, these two conditions often interfere with appearance and many patients want to remove them from the skin, especially if they are on the face. See the patients' concern, IORA has treatment options to treat this condition instantly and aggressively, including:

Electric Cauter

Electric cauter is usually carried out with a device similar to an electrically charged needle to remove milia and also syringoma. Before the procedure, numb cream will be applied to make the patient more comfortable.

Excision

Excision is an invasive medical procedure that aims to remove benign tumors located in superficial skin tissue. The procedure may take around 15-20 minutes with numb cream before the procedure.

Milia and syringoma may look similar, but they are very different. If you are unsure of the difference and want to get rid of it immediately, consult a dermatologist to find the best solution. Since milia and syringoma need aggressive treatment, sometimes topical cream is not enough or is unable to remove them.