In daily life, we may encounter various skin diseases, such as acne and eczema. If you feel there are small bumps on your arms that are neither painful nor itchy, but still look unsightly, it is likely caused by keratosis. This can be alleviated by applying more moisturizing products. However, if there are other symptoms, it could be a lipoma or hemangioma, and specific conditions require medical examination.
The causes of lipoma are not fully understood, but may be related to inflammatory stimulation of connective tissue degeneration, abnormal metabolism and dysfunction of adipose tissue, abnormal secretion of sex hormone levels in the anterior lobe of the hypothalamus, congenital dysplasia, intestinal malnutrition, and other factors. About one-third of patients with multiple lipomas may have a family history. There is a "lipoma tumorigenic factor" in the human body. Normally, this tumorigenic factor is in an inactive state and does not cause disease. However, under the influence of various internal and external environmental factors, this lipoma tumorigenic factor becomes active and has a certain degree of activity. When the body's resistance decreases, the monitoring ability of immune cells such as lymphocytes and mononuclear phagocytes to the tumorigenic factor decreases. Coupled with changes in the internal environment of the body, chronic inflammatory stimulation, abnormal systemic fat metabolism, and other predisposing conditions, the activity of the lipoma tumorigenic factor is further enhanced and combines with certain gene fragments in normal cells of the body, resulting in genetic abnormalities and mutations. This causes an abnormal proliferation phenomenon between normal fat cells and surrounding tissue cells, leading to the deposition of adipose tissue and the formation of prominent masses on the body surface or in various internal organs, namely lipomas.
Clinically, superficial lipomas cause almost no symptoms apart from local lumps. They can be either single or multiple, ranging in size from several millimeters to several tens of centimeters. The tumors grow slowly, are soft in texture, have clear boundaries, are lobulated, and have good mobility, which can cause skin depression during movement. Pain is rare and usually occurs as a later symptom due to compression of peripheral nerves by large lipomas. Deep or subfascial lipomas can cause various symptoms depending on their location and size. For example, surgical lipomas can cause a sense of stagnation or limited range of motion. Large mediastinal lipomas can cause dyspnea or palpitations. Lipomas are commonly seen in obese individuals and increase in size when weight increases rapidly. However, contrary to this, lipomas do not decrease in size when weight decreases significantly.
