You yourself know your skin and the skin of your children or your partner best. You are inside your own skin. You feel if something feels strange. You see if something changes. If that is the case you should consult your doctor and have the area examined. If you are a person with increased skin cancer risk, we recommend a regular, systematic self-assessment / check-up. This should be done with the assistance of a mirror, so that you can assess also your back, neck, bottom and soles of your feet. It is important to know that skin cancer can also develop in body areas which are not exposed to the sun, for example in the mouth in the oral mucosa, on the head, both covered with hair or bald, in the anal region and on the soles of the feet.

The following rules will help you to assess changes in your skin better:

The first rule is also the easiest:

Look especially for everything that develops new on your skin or for change of any kind (Neophobia).  Naturally during the course of your life, many benign changes develop on the skin, for example moles, age / liver spots or strawberry marks. If a new mole appears strange or if an existing mole or other patch of skin changes, we recommend you consult your doctor for further checks.

Second rule: Ugly duckling

Some people have many moles all over their body.  Every single one by itself has noticeable characteristics: they are irregularly jagged and have different colour tones. This is where the ugly duckling sign is helpful to concentrate on which of the many moles looks or feels different, or that over time changes differently to all the other moles. This mole should be identified, examined and if doubtful be removed.

Third rule: The ABCD-rule

The ABCD-rule helps you to make a first assessment with a single spot / mole and find out if it is a benign or malign change. You assess the spot / mole with the following 4 criteria:

A-  for Asymmetry

B-  Border

C-  Colour

D-  Diameter

Warning signs are:

The changed mole is asymmetrical in shape.

The borders are uneven, i.e. the edges may be scalloped, notched or frayed.

A variety of skin tones appear in the changed area, for example reddish, blackish and brownish colour tones.

The diameter of the spot is larger than 5 mm.

Many benign changes fit these criteria and therefore you should not panic if in doubt, but should show the suspicious skin changes promptly to your dermatologist.