Sebaceous hyperplasia is a common, benign condition of sebaceous glands in middle-aged to older adults. Lesions can be single or multiple and present as slightly white, flesh or yellow colored, soft, small papules on the face, particularly the nose, cheeks and forehead. Sebaceous hyperplasia occasionally also occurs on the chest, areola, mouth, and vulva. They often have a central indentation. A variant of this condition, known as Fordyce’s condition causes tiny yellow dots in groups and sometimes in sheets on the lips, inside the mouth, and sometimes on the genital skin. Lesions of sebaceous hyperplasia are benign, with no known potential for malignant transformation. Neither sebaceous hyperplasia or Fordyce’s condition is dangerous.
The cause is unknown and tends to run in families. While no treatment is necessary, they can be treated by:
- Tretinoin cream or gel used daily will reverse the condition slowly overtime and also help keep the condition from worsening.
- Accutane will reverse sebaceous hyperplasia, but new lesions will develop after stopping the medication unless you also use tretinoin cream regularly.
- TCA chemical peels will also reverse sebaceous hyperplasia, but new lesions will occur slowly after treatment.
- They can be destroyed with electrocautery or laser.
tend to go away by themselves if left alone. If inflamed, your doctor may use antibiotics or a cortisone shot to deal with the infection/inflammation. Difficult or troublesome cysts may require surgery.
There are some natural things you can try to promote resolution, but since they may resolve on their own, it becomes harder to assess if the treatment helped or not.