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A scar is a trace of skin damage. Most of the scars that develop from minor and shallow cuts will disappear without a trace over time. But there are also some scars that require treatment. What does it depend on and how to proceed to make the scar less visible?

A scaris a trace of a skin wound. We do not pay attention to some scars because they are small and not very visible. There are alsoscars , which are not only an aesthetic problem, but also a he alth problem.

The scars after operations are usually the least visible. Problems are caused byextensive scars , abnormal - hard, thickened scars, extending even beyond the wound.

They can cause contractures, pain and severe itching. Fortunately, there are various means and methods of treating this type of scar - the sooner you apply them, the less visible the wound marks will be.

How is a scar formed?

Scar formation is a natural healing process for the body. Connective tissue replaces damaged skin. Wound healing takes place in 4 phases.

  • The inflammatory phasebegins at the moment of injury. Within 24-48 hours, tissue hyperemia occurs and the capillary permeability increases. The wound is filled with a blood clot, which is a biological dressing - it protects the wound from dehydration and pathogenic microorganisms. Fibrin accumulates at the edges of the wound, which is a scaffold for the scab formed on the wound.
  • The limited inflammatory phaseis the stage in which the wound cleans itself. It receives food cells (macrophages) which remove the dead ones. Blood vessels penetrate the wound, for which the body needs about 7 days.
  • The healing phaseis the time when fibroblasts, or connective tissue cells, intensively produce collagen that supports the scar. Connective tissue cells multiply and an epithelium is formed above them. There is a balance between the amount of collagen produced by the body and the amount that is broken down and removed. It is worth knowing that the proper healing process is influenced by the proper cleansing and disinfection of the wound. A proper healing processreduces the risk of visible scarring.
  • The remodeling phasethe scar usually lasts from several months to even over a year.
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What determines what a scar looks like?

What a scar looks like is influenced by many factors.

  • Important are: the type of injury (injury, burn, surgical incision), the place on the body where the skin has been damaged, and the individual characteristics of the body, i.e. the tendency to so-called scarring.
  • Each scar is more or less pink at first, fading with time to finally turn into a pearl color. However, it never acquires the natural color of its skin. This is because the scar tissue does not contain the pigment that gives it the color that is appropriate for a given person.
  • Skin scarsare devoid of the so-called skin appendages, i.e. sebaceous glands and hair follicles.
  • The least visible are usually scars after operations, i.e. after cutting the skin with a scalpel, along straight lines, often in line with the natural furrows or folds of the skin.
  • Extensive scarscalled plane scars are more visible. Their surface is usually uneven, the skin often becomes pink, red and even bluish. These are usually crush or burn scars. The sooner we start properly caring for the scar, the less visible it will be.

Scar - how to care for scars?

How to care for a scar and what to use on a scar? This is determined by the type of scar formed at the site of the injury.

  • Regular scarsare initially thickened, hard, bluish-red, itchy. They soften over time, become lighter, and the itching subsides.

What to do: If the scar is small and in an inconspicuous place, leave it alone. The larger ones or those visible after the wound has completely closed should be covered with scar ointment or gel and gently massaged in a circular motion.

  • Hypertrophic scarsare formed when the natural healing process of a wound has been disrupted. They can spread beyond the point of injury and are often inflexible.

What to do: Protect the skin from stretching or stretching. To prevent the scar from growing larger, it is worth applying onion ointment or covering it with a special silicone plaster for scars.

  • Atrophic scarsare formed after chickenpox and adolescent acne. They resemble tiny dimples. They occur when the body does not make enough connective tissue fibers while a wound heals.

What to do: Krostekyou cannot squeeze and you must not pick the scabs off. You can apply zinc ointment to the spots to eliminate itching. If there are visible scars after acne, it is worth having a microdermabrasion treatment.

  • Keloids (keloids)are formed after the wound has healed. They have the shape of a bulge and are usually larger than the area of ​​damaged skin. They are hard, often very pink and painful to touch. They arise in people whose body is prone to excessive collagen production.

What to do: Keloids can be injected with steroids (the injection is made directly into the scar), treated with pressure, special silicone patches or removed surgically (there is a risk, however, that the kelo will re-emerge).

How to speed up scar healing?

What it looks likescardepends on our diligence and the time we spend on caring for it. But creams and ointments are not everything.

  • Do not tear off the scabs formed during the wound healing - they will fall off by themselves. Breaking them off can lead to skin infection. Also, the scar may look ugly.
  • After abdominal surgery or caesarean section, make sure you maintain a proper weight so that the skin does not have to stretch too much.
  • If the injury occurred in a place with increased skin tension (e.g. on the elbow, knee), do not exercise intensively, do not kneel, or bend the arm too much, so as not to cause the scar to "dissipate".
  • Protect the scar from sunlight for at least one year. Also, do not go to the solarium. Solar radiation stimulates the deposition of collagen in the scar, which can lead to hyperplasia, itching, burning and pain. A scar exposed to sunlight can also become much darker and more visible.

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Category:

Dermatology