Out Damned Spots!

 

Purpura on arms. Source: American Osteopathic College of Dermatology. Photo credit:  Jere Mammino, OD.

"Out, damned spot! out, I say!"

Lady Macbeth

From No Sweat Shakespeare, is this reference about the famous quote from Macbeth: 

As [Lady Macbeth] walks she rubs her hands as though washing them, trying to get rid of the blood. The spot she’s referring to is a spot of blood on her hand. She’s rubbing it, trying to erase it, but cannot. “Here’s yet a spot,” she cries, desperately rubbing. “Here’s the smell of blood still.”

So as we age, some of us find, in addition to other dermal indignities, that blood spots inexplicably appear, then disappear, then appear, on our arms. 

In addition to wrinkles, these small lesions are blaring horns of aging. No, not just aging, but of agedness completed. Of OLD PEOPLE. And we are not an Old Person yet. We cannot be! Are we? Are we? 

To add insult to injury, a common name for these lesions is senile purpura, although there are more neutral names available: 'actinic purpura', 'solar purpura' or 'Bateman's purpura.'

I can't go back in time and do a better job of protecting my arms from sun damage, but I can do a better job of protecting it from additional damage with:

1. Sunscreen (instead of just on my face)
2. Long-sleeved tops
3. Sun sleeves

I didn't know sun sleeves were a thing until I saw a friend wear them for his walks in the desert. 

These damned spots piss me off.