Understanding Scars: Types, Causes and Effective Treatments
Introduction
The body was made to do different things, such as have children and heal itself. And each body comes in different shapes, sizes, and marks. The thing is, society has taught people to be uncomfortable with certain body features, such as scars. It’s become challenging to accept oneself.
For instance, the University of Texas analyzed and compared the facial features of heroes and villains from classic movies. Among the most common facial features for villains were Scars. If people already view them as something terrible, the physical scars left on a person from a traumatic event can affect their mental health.
Whether traumatic or not, each person is entitled to want them to be less visual. It’s time to understand:
- what exactly scars are
- how they may be caused
- the types
- effective treatments.
What are Scars?
Scars are a result of how our bodies naturally heal once it has lost or damaged skin. Depending on various results, such as surgeries, injuries, or tissue inflammation, they may form anywhere on the body. Our skin is designed to repair itself by allowing new tissue, primarily made of collagen, to grow and fill any gaps caused by the injury.
Causes of Scars
The way a scar forms and heal throughout time highly depends on many factors such as:
- Types of injury: Accidents, results of surgeries, or inflammation of tissues.
- Location of scar: if a scar is forming on your thigh, it would differ from a scar that is located on your elbow.
- Skin types: Individuals that experience acne, chicken pox, or shingles are more likely to have a type of scar, which is named, Atrophic.
- Body changes: Such as Pregnancy, Weight gain, and Weight loss can cause stretch marks on the skin’s surface when the deeper layer of the skin tears.
- Age: Depending on the age of an individual, it can either make them heal slower or faster.
- Diet & Nutrition: Some foods help the body to make the healing process faster and minimize the look of it.
Different Types of Scars
Scars come in different forms because of the different causes mentioned above.
Keloids
When the body produces too much collagen, there is an overgrowth of tissue that keeps growing after the wound is healed.
This results in the scar to be seen above the skin. It can possibly turn a different colour, such as pink or red, or it may become darker. It often becomes painful and itchy or stiffens the area, restricting movement.
Contracture
Like the Keloid scars, these scars can tighten the skin and restrict the ability to move. This occurs because the skin is usually burned and shrinks the area.
Hypertrophic scars
These scars have extra tissue growth and can become red. However, they are confined within the original tissue’s boundaries.
Treatments for Scars
Not all scars require treatment and can be treated with over-the-counter or prescription ointments.
Yet if it’s causing pain or bothering you, treatment can help. Always consult a dermatologist when considering the best treatment option for your scar.
Noninvasive Treatments
Injections
The two most common injections are steroid and filler injections.
- Steroid injections help ease any discomfort and soften the appearance.
- Filler injections are treatments used to flatten the scar but are only temporary and can be done regularly.
Microneedling
The procedure uses thin needles to make tiny, punctured holes in the skin.
After creating these small holes, the skin is stimulated to produce collagen and even introduce collagen stimulators that help reduce scarring.
Laser Therapy
There are two types of laser therapy:
- Ablative: flattens the scar tissue.
- Non-ablative: kills abnormal tissue.
Invasive Treatments
Skin Grafting Surgery
Skin grafting is effective for large scar areas from burns or traumas that make skin loss occur. This treatment helps obtain healthy skin to replace what is damaged. The procedure commonly takes skin from the thigh or buttocks to complete this.
There is a skin graft scar left, but because most patients can replace the original scar and the meaning of how it was caused, it creates a whole new meaning for them.
After-care: On average, it takes 2-3 weeks to recover.
Scar Excision & Revision
This type of surgical treatment removes the entire scar to rejoin the skin, achieving a new scar that is less visible than the original one.
After-care: Sutures are usually in place for about 5-14 days, depending on where the scar is. After their removal, it takes around two weeks for downtime.
Dermabrasion
A resurfacing technique uses a rotating instrument to remove the top layers of the skin with acne, fine lines, sun damage and uneven skin textures.
This treatment creates a more blended look that reduces the visibility of the scarring.
After-care: Since the procedure creates an open wound, expect it to be red and swollen for about three days. The typical recovery period is 1-2 weeks.
Conclusion
Even with multiple factors causing scars, there are various treatments to choose from that help to minimize scars. No matter the type, there is a way to treat it.
If you want to achieve better and healthier skin, it’s important to note that a dermatologist is the only way to get a personalized experience and know which treatment is best for you and your scar.
Start your journey to feel more comfortable in your skin and book an appointment with your dermatologist.
