Often times, having high levels of cholesterol doesn’t manifest any physical symptom. But, in some cases, an illness called familial hypercholesterolemia is an exception. Familial hypercholesterolemia as the name itself implies, is a genetic condition wherein high levels of cholesterol is present or is excessively produced by the body.
If your family has a history or a background of this condition, it’s more likely that you’ll have it too. A common sign of this condition is having cholesterol bumps or spots. These cholesterol spots appear to be raised, yellow-like fatty deposits that can be seen in various areas of the body. But the most common area where these cholesterol bumps are seen are found eyes in which medically termed as xanthomas.
Causes
These spots or raised bumps are typically caused by your uncontrollable high cholesterol levels. But, there are some illnesses that also manifest the same symptoms such as metabolic disorders, cancer, diabetes and liver failure which are commonly associated with excessive lipid count which is the reason why these fatty deposits are formed.
If you have no idea on which causes these deposits, you may want to check it with your physician and undergo some lab screenings to determine its underlying cause.
Treatment
Although having cholesterol bumps on the different areas of your body mean no harm, the underlying cause of it should be given prompt intervention and not be overlooked.
If you happen to inherit familial hypercholesterolemia, you need to make necessary adjustments to your lifestyle. Taking medications, supplements, modifying your diet and doing exercise are the least you could do to yourself to control your cholesterol levels. Also, you may want to seek the help of your healthcare practitioner for added information on how you can lower your overall lipid count.
Prevention
Prevention is better than cure. You’ve heard this statement several times before but are you really doing it?
In order for you to prevent cholesterol spots appearing from your eyes, face and on your other body parts, you need to take necessary steps to control your cholesterol. The American Heart Association or AHA, strongly recommend people starting from age 25 to have their cholesterol screened every three to five years.
If you’ve diagnosed of having elevated cholesterol levels, you need to take action and start lowering them. You can do so by modifying your lifestyle – eating a heart healthy meal, engaging with physical activities, abstaining from bad habits, and stress reduction.
