Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians see lots of patients every week. When performing an eye examination, the Opticians Act requires that optometrists ‘examine the eye and its surroundings’ for abnormality or disease. Dispensing, fitting and adjusting spectacles also provides a good opportunity to spot unusual lesions on the skin around the eyes, face and ears. As clinicians dealing with the public and, in particular, an elderly population you are likely to see facial skin lesions regularly. Knowing which lesions need to be referred, which can be dealt with cosmetically and which are best left alone can be of great benefit to you and the patient.

In this article, we describe the most common skin lesions you are likely to come across and explain how to manage them.

We’ve also pulled together a library of images of the skin lesions online - click on the conditions below to see more images.

Basal Cell Carcinoma

Actinic Keratosis

Seborrhoeic Keratosis

Lentigo

Milia

Melanocytic Naevus (Mole)

Melanoma

Molluscum Contagiosum