subject: Fordyce Spot - The Scoop On Fordyce's Spots [print this page] Sometimes referred to as Fordyce's Disease, the small granules on the skin that are called Fordyce's spots are actually not a harmful disease at all. They are a natural and normal skin condition that occurs in a vast majority of men and many, many women. About seventy percent of all people have Fordyce spot growths somewhere on their bodies. When only males are considered, that percentage grows to about ninety percent. These spots are not indicators of some underlying disease or cancer. They cause absolutely no health problems and therefore are often not treated. However, they can be confused with sexually transmitted diseases and should be checked by a doctor rather than self-diagnosed.
The Fordyce spot papules are present in babies at birth but are tiny. Around puberty, the prominences enlarge and become more noticeable. After that first growth, they may become more numerous but they stay about one to three millimeters in diameter. These granules about the size of rice are typically white or yellow, within the range of skin tones. They present most commonly in genital areas. Men usually find them on the scrotum and shaft of the penis. Women might find their Fordyce spots in the labia of the vagina. However, in both sexes they also show up on the lips, face, and nipples.
John Addison Fordyce is the dermatologist for whom the Fordyce spot is named. Fordyce practiced dermatology in the late eighteen hundreds and early nineteen hundreds. He was born in 1858. He got his medical degree in Chicago in 1881. He studied dermatology in Europe and returned to the United States for a prestigious career focused on dermatology and syphilis. Fordyce settled in New York and served as a professor as well as in his own practice. He died in June of 1925.
Treatments exist for Fordyce spot growths not because of ill effects on health but because of cosmetic and lifestyle desires of the patients. Affected people sometimes find their sex lives inhibited by the benign skin growths because the condition is not well understood or because they are unsightly. Successful treatments target these sebaceous glands. Topical gels that reduce the size of the glands and decrease the production of sebum make the Fordyce spots smaller and much less noticeable. Fordyce spots are actually enlarged sebaceous glands. These glands in their normal size are found in the outer layers of the skin all over the body.
