What Are Keloid Scar?
A keloid scar is a scar that, in appearance, looks larger than the authentic wound, is thick or lumpy, and rises excessively above the rest of the pores and skin. This type of scar can be visible everywhere on the body. You will usually locate keloid formation on the higher chest, head (specially the earlobes after they’ve been pierced), shoulders, and neck. It’s not often visible everywhere on the face but may appear at the jawline. They’re no longer commonly risky, but a few sufferers may have concerns about how they look.
A keloid is an unusual proliferation of scar tissue that paperwork on the website online of cutaneous damage (eg, on the website of a surgical incision or trauma); it does not regress and grows past the original margins of the scar. Keloids should not be confused with hypertrophic scars, which can be raised scars that don't grow beyond the bounds of the unique wound and can reduce through the years.
Explanation of medical terms and concept Keloid scar
A keloid scar is a thick raised scar. It can occur anywhere you have got a pores and skin damage however generally paperwork on earlobes, shoulders, cheeks or the chest. If you are prone to growing keloids, you may get them in a couple of areas.
A keloid scar isn't always harmful to your bodily health, but it is able to motivate emotional misery. Prevention or early remedy is key.
Keloid scar remedy is viable. If you don't like how a keloid looks or feels, communicate with a doctor approximately how to flatten or eliminate it. Even with remedy, a keloid can last for years or recur.
A keloid scar is a type of overgrowth that develops after an injury It's often the result of a traumatic event such as surgery or an accident Although it can appear anywhere on the body keloid scars are most common on the shoulders chest and upper back area They're also known to develop following skin cancer treatment When someone has a keloid scar their body responds by producing too much collagen to repair the damaged area The excess collagen causes the scar tissue to grow beyond what's normal and form a hard mass beneath the skin Keloid scars take many years to develop and may continue to grow even without further trauma There are treatments you can use at home to prevent and.
A keloid scar is a scar that continues to grow beyond the original boundaries of the wound and in some cases beyond the boundaries of the original site Keloids are most likely to appear on the upper chest and they are more likely to appear in people with dark skin Since keloids are not easily treated it is important to prevent them by treating new wounds as soon as possible The earlier a new wound is treated the less likely it will be that keloids will develop.
Symptoms Keloid scar
Keloids come from the overgrowth of scar tissue. Keloid scars have a tendency to be larger than the original wound itself. They may additionally take weeks or months to increase completely.
A keloid scar may form within months to years of the inciting injury. Signs and symptoms might include:
Thick, irregular scarring, typically on the earlobes, shoulders, cheeks or middle chest
Shiny, hairless, lumpy, raised skin
Varied size, depending on the size of the original injury and when the keloid stops growing
Varied texture, from soft to firm and rubbery
Reddish, brown or purplish, depending on your skin color
Itchiness
Discomfort
When to see a doctor
Early remedy can help minimize the boom of a keloid. Talk with a doctor soon after you observe a keloid. If you want to deal with one that you've had for some time, speak with a doctor who specializes in skin situations (dermatologist).
Causes Keloid scar
Experts don't completely apprehend what causes keloid scars. But most agree it is likely a disorder of the wound-restoration manner. Collagen — a protein discovered in the course of the body — is useful to wound restoration, however whilst the frame produces an excessive amount of, keloids can shape.
Keloid growth might be triggered through any kind of pores and skin injury — an insect chunk, zits, an injection, frame piercing, burns, hair elimination, and even minor scratches and bumps. Sometimes keloids shape for no apparent purpose.
Keloids are not contagious or cancerous.
A keloid isn't the same as a hypertrophic scar. A hypertrophic scar remains in the bounds of the authentic wound and can fade over time without remedy.
An envisioned 10 percent of people enjoy keloid scarring. Men and girls are equally possible to have keloid scars. People with darker pores and skin tones are extra at risk of keloids.
Other risk elements associated with keloid formation consist of:
being of Asian descent
being of Latino descent
being pregnant
being younger than 30 years of age
Risk factors Keloid scar
It’s now not clear why a few people increase keloids, but medical doctors consider that these types of scars shape while fibroblasts — cells determined in our connective tissue that secrete collagen — overreact and convey excessive amounts of collagen in response to a wound, notes Stat Pearls.Proper up arrow
If you are vulnerable to developing keloids, any sort of skin harm which could reason a scar can lead to the formation of a keloid.
Risk factors for keloids include:
Having brown or Black skin. Keloids are most commonplace in human beings with brown or Black pores and skin. The cause for this predisposition is unknown.
Having a personal or family history of keloids. Keloids can run in families, indicating that the tendency is probably inherited. If you've had one keloid, you are at risk of developing others.
Being under 30. You're more likely to broaden a keloid if you're among the long time of 20 and 30.
Complications
Keloids placed on a joint would possibly broaden tough, tight tissue that restricts movement.
Prevention
Treatments for keloid scarring can be difficult and not continually powerful. For this cause, it’s critical to attempt to prevent skin accidents that could cause keloid scarring. Using stress pads or silicone gel pads after a damage may help prevent keloids.
Sun publicity or tanning may additionally discolor the scar tissue, making it barely darker than your surrounding skin. This could make the keloid stand out greater. Keep the scar included when you’re within the solar to save you discoloration. Find out more about sunscreen and different approaches you may defend your skin.
If you're prone to developing keloids, take these preventive self-care tips:
- Practice good wound care. Keep a wound easy and moist. Gently wash the place with mild soap and water. Apply a thin layer of petrolatum jelly (Vaseline, Aquaphor) or different ointment. Reapply the ointment during the day as wished. Your health practitioner would possibly advocate making use of a stress pad or a silicone gel pad to a wound at the same time as it is restoration. Adults need to take those preventive steps for six months after pores and skin harm, and kids as much as 18 months.Applying pressure earrings to your earlobes after an ear piercing helps prevent keloids.
- Protect your skin from injury. Try to avoid injuring your skin. Consider now not getting body piercings, tattoos and optional surgical procedures. Even minor accidents — which include ingrown hairs, cuts and scratches — can incite a keloid to develop.If making a decision to go through a surgical procedure, talk with your health practitioner about your tendency to broaden keloids. Your physician can use surgical strategies that lessen the threat of developing keloids at the surgical website online. After surgical treatment, ask your doctor about postoperative care and observe the instructions carefully.
Diagnosis Keloid scar
Your health practitioner usually can inform whether you have got a keloid by searching at the affected skin. You might need a skin biopsy to rule out skin cancer.
Keloids are generally diagnosed via a dermatologist who will take your clinical history and conduct a visible exam of the scar to test its length, form, and boom sample. Your doctor may also perform a skin biopsy to rule out extra extreme conditions which include nodular scleroderma, a kind of connective tissue disease, or lobomycosis, a fungal infection of the pores and skin.
Treatment Keloid scar
Treatment alternatives for a keloid formation rely on a number of factors, such as its length, region, and whether the scar is inflicting ache or inflicting issue with shifting. The treatment may additionally rely on how vintage you are and how antique the scar is.
Keloid scar treatments include the subsequent. One or an aggregate of tactics might be exceptional in your state of affairs. Even after a hit pulling down or removal, keloids can grow back, every now and then larger than before. Or you can expand to new ones.
Wound care. For newer keloids, the first remedy choice might be compression dressings crafted from stretchy cloth or different materials. This approach is likewise used after surgical operation to put off keloids. The goal is to reduce or prevent a scar by putting pressure on the wound because it heals. Such dressings need to be worn for 12 to 24 hours an afternoon for 4 to six months to be powerful. This approach may be very uncomfortable.
Corticosteroid cream. Applying a prescription power corticosteroid cream can assist ease itchiness.
Injected medicine. If you've got a smaller keloid, your doctor may attempt decreasing its thickness with the aid of injecting it with cortisone or other steroids. You'll possibly want month-to-month injections for up to 6 months before seeing the scar flatten. Possible facet effects of corticosteroid injections are pores and skin thinning, spider veins and an everlasting exchange in skin color (hypopigmentation or hyperpigmentation).
Freezing the scar. Small keloids might be reduced or removed by freezing them with liquid nitrogen (cryotherapy). Repeat remedies are probably wanted. Possible aspect outcomes of cryotherapy are blistering, ache and lack of skin color (hypopigmentation).
Laser treatment. Larger keloids may be flattened via pulsed-dye laser periods. This approach has additionally been useful in easing itchiness and inflicting keloids to fade. Pulsed-dye laser remedy is introduced over numerous sessions with 4 to 8 weeks among periods. Your health practitioner might suggest combining laser remedy with cortisone injections. Possible aspect consequences, which might be more common in human beings with darker pores and skin, consist of hypopigmentation or hyperpigmentation, blistering and crusting.
Radiation therapy. Low-stage X-ray radiation by myself or after surgical elimination of a keloid can assist decrease or limit the scar tissue. Repeat remedies might be wished. Possible aspect effects of radiation remedy are pores and skin headaches and, inside the long time, cancer.
Surgical removal. If your keloid hasn't answered to different treatment options, your health practitioner may endorse eliminating it with surgical operation in combination with different strategies. Surgery by myself has a recurrence charge of 45% to 100%.
Alternative medicine
There are no proven techniques of doing away with keloid scars naturally. Some scientific research has proven that onion extract used orally or at the skin would possibly be effective in enhancing the advent of keloid scars and reducing itchiness and discomfort.
Potential future treatments
Research into wound-recovery issues, such as keloid formation, shows promise. For example, studies encompass:
Experimental topical creams and injectables to reduce and stop the growth of keloids
Botulinum toxin type A (Botox) to improve wound healing
Identifying genetic markers in keloid tissue
Stem cell therapy
Lifestyle and home remedies
Try these keloid self-care tips:
Care for your wound as directed. Wound care may be time-ingesting, and compression dressings can be uncomfortable. Try to stick with the habit encouraged by the means of your health practitioner, as these steps are vital to keloid prevention.
Apply a corticosteroid cream. This form of nonprescription cream can help ease itchiness.
Apply silicone gel. Applying nonprescription silicone gel can help ease itchiness.
Protect the area from re-injury. Avoid irritating the keloid with clothing or other types of friction or injury.
Protect your skin from the sun. Sun exposure would possibly exchange the color of your keloid, making it extra substantial. That trade is probably everlasting. Before going outside, shield your pores and skin with the aid of masking the keloid or via liberally making use of sunscreen.
Preparing for your appointment
Call your medical doctor if you observe an alternative in your pores and skin that might indicate a keloid is forming or in case you've been living with a keloid for some time and need to seek treatment. After your preliminary appointment, your doctor may additionally refer you to a health practitioner who specializes in the prognosis and treatment of skin conditions (dermatologist).
You would possibly need to ask a trusted family member or pal to come back in your appointment, if feasible. Someone near you could offer additional insight about your circumstance and assist you to consider what is discussed during your appointment.
What you can do
Before your appointment, make a list of:
Any symptoms you've been experiencing, and for how long
Your medical information, Consisting of different accidents or surgical procedures you've had and whether your circle of relatives has a records of keloids
Questions to ask your doctor to make the most of your time together
Questions may include:
Am I at risk of developing keloids?
How can I reduce the risk of developing a keloid?
What if I want to get a tattoo or body piercing?
What if I need surgery?
How soon after beginning treatment might my symptoms start to improve?
When will you see me again to evaluate whether my treatment is working?
What are the chances of the keloid coming back?
What are possible side effects of the treatment you're suggesting?
I'm scheduled for surgery. What can I do to minimize the risk of a keloid developing from the scar?
What's your advice on wound care after surgery?
Can my keloid turn into cancer?
What self-care steps might prevent a keloid from coming back?
Do you recommend any changes to the products I'm using on my skin, including soaps, lotions, sunscreens and cosmetics?
Don't hesitate to ask any other questions.
What to expect from your doctor
Your doctor or mental health provider may ask:
When did you first develop this problem?
Have your symptoms been getting better or worse over time?
Have any of your relatives had similar symptoms?
How is your skin condition affecting your self-esteem and your confidence in social situations?
What treatments and self-care steps have you tried so far? Have any been effective?
Have you ever been injured?
Have you ever had surgery?
General summary
treatment keloid scars are caused by an overproduction of collagen in the body When people have keloids they should take precautions to avoid injury to the area where they appear Special attention should be paid during shaving and haircuts because these can cause cuts and abrasions that can lead to further scarring In addition a person with keloid scars should reduce stress in his or her life The best treatment for keloid scars is prevention.
What is the best cure for keloid scar?
When you're trying to get rid of a keloid scar there are many things that you can try One thing that has been known to work is taking aspirin Take 1-2 aspirins and rub it into the scar Do this every day until it's gone If you don't have any aspirin available use toothpaste instead.
Can keloid scars go away?
A keloid is a type of scar that's larger than the original wound and it grows beyond the edges Keloids are usually red or purple in color but they may also be pink or brown They're most common on the chest shoulders upper arms and back but they can show up almost anywhere They can also appear after ear piercings acne and insect bites While it's not uncommon to have one keloid and even a few some people develop many at once.
How do you flatten a keloid naturally?
The doctor may prescribe a steroid injection which will help flatten the keloid Steroids are normally prescribed to treat certain skin conditions such as dermatitis and eczema However steroids can also be helpful in reducing the appearance of keloids The steroid is injected directly into the lesion and helps to stop the growth and inflammation For less severe keloids topical corticosteroids may also be used but these must be applied regularly and should not be used for prolonged periods of time.
Can keloid scars heal naturally?
Keloid scars are caused by an excess of collagen which is a type of protein Collagen affects the way skin cells grow and repair themselves after injury Normally the body contains just enough collagen to enable optimal healing However people who develop keloid scars have more collagen than normal This can be caused by genetics injury or even sun exposure.
Is keloid removal successful?
Keloids are a common skin condition that can make you self-conscious about your appearance. They're lesions that grow beyond the original boundaries of the wound they’re forming in response to and they often don't look very good. Fortunately there are treatment options available that can reduce their size and make them less noticeable.