Skin problems are not good, as they impact a person’s skin appearance and self-confidence. This is because such a person becomes too conscious about his skin. After all, it is the most visible part of the human body. Scars are one such problem. A person may be having scars for plenty of reasons, based on which scars are usually divided into many categories. One such type of scar is Keloid. In this article, we will discuss every important thing about Keloid and Keloid skin removal so that you can take suitable actions in dealing with them if you are having such an issue. So, without any further delay, let’s get started.
What is Keloid?
When our skin gets injured, the scar tissue, a type of fibrous tissue, forms over the wound to repair and protect the injury or the damage to the skin. In some cases, extra tissues of such kind are formed over the injury, which creates a smooth and hard growth known as KeloidKeloid. Such Keloids or scars occur surgery, trauma, vaccinations, blisters, body piercing, or acne have injured the body’s skin. Keloids are much different from normal scars in terms of size and composition. Some people may be more prone to Keloids because of the nature of their skin cells.
Cases of the Keloids are more common in the African-American people. These scars mainly occur on the upper back, shoulders, or chest. But it is not necessary that Keloids will occur only at these specific places, and they can occur anywhere. Suppose the Keloid scar has occurred because of any injury. In that case, the KeloidKeloid keeps becoming more prominent and visible even after the actual wound has been closed until it reaches its final form. The chances of Keloid scars are usually equal in men or women, but it can be said that most of the cases are associated with young women with pierced ears. Although Keloids are not harmful from a health perspective, there are chances that they may create cosmetic concerns.
Symptoms of the Keloid
Following are some of the significant symptoms of Keloid scars: –
- A ridged or lumpy area of the skin which is usually raised
- A localized skin area that is flesh-coloured, red, or pink
- An area of the skin where the scar tissue goes on growing over time
- An itchy skin patch
- Smooth, shiny, and rounded skin elevations, which may be purple, pink, or brown
Causes of the Keloid scar
The cause of the Keloid scar may be any. Some of the major causes of the Keloid are discussed below: –
- Burns: Sometimes, that skin area that had burnt a few days back for any reason, such as fire or hot metal, gets the burn marks. These burn marks, after some time, start developing into a keloid, which gets bigger and bigger with time. Such kinds of Keloids that resulted because of the burns may be dark in colour.
- Acne scars: Almost everyone faces or has faced the problem of acne. Sometimes acne leaves a scar behind itself, which after some time, gradually becomes a Keloid. This is one of the significant causes of keloid scars. Thus, one should try to avoid acne.
- Chickenpox scars: In chickenpox, one has to bear the painful dots all around the body, leaving marks or scars on the body even after these dots are gone. Any of these scars may result in a Keloid on the body. This is why many precautions are instructed by the doctor even after the chickenpox signs are gone in the patient.
- Ear piercing: Some people may be surprised to know it, but ear piercing may also be one of the causes of the Keloid scar. When a person gets his ear pierced, it may disturb the skin cells and create a scar tissue growth-over on the pierced area. Usually, the African-American people do many piercings on their skin because of the prevalent customs there; that’s why they are more prone to the Keloids.
- Surgical incision sites: If you have undergone any surgery, then proper care of the area which was treated should be taken as chances are there that it will result in a Keloid in that particular area.
- Vaccination sites: vaccination also leaves some small scars on the human skin, in response to which the scar tissue may overgrow and can create a Keloid.
These were some of the major causes which may give rise to the keloid scars.
Treatment of the Keloid
You can find the best keloid treatment available, the help of which can be taken to deal with the problem of the Keloid scar. These areas below: –
- Conventional surgery: This treatment can remove the keloids, but proper care should be taken while getting conventional surgeries done as they can also worsen the situation. If the Keloids re-appear after the surgery, they may be even more significant than before. Also, the chances of the reappearance of the Keloids even after the surgery are 45%. Thus, one should think wisely before taking this step.
- Dressings: Wound coverings made of silicone gel sheets can reduce the keloids’ size compared to before. This has been proved by many studies that have been conducted in the past. Moreover, this technique is much safer and painless.
- Corticosteroid injections: Corticosteroid injections can also be used to deal with the issue of Keloids. These injections are usually repeated at intervals of 4 to 6 weeks to reduce the irritation and the size of the Keloids. But one issue is that the injections are painful and uncomfortable.
- Compression: This technique applies pressure continuously on the wound for 6 to 12 months and 24 hours a day. This is usually done with the help of a tape or bandage. It helps in reducing the size of the keloids. For example, if after the ear piercing, the person faces the issue of the Keloid, then a clip called “Zimmer Splint” is used to create pressure on the Keloid and reduce its size.
- Radiation therapy: This therapy is not that trustworthy as radiation can increase the chances of cancer in the person. However, this therapy can reduce the scar size if such a technique is used after the surgery, during the healing process of the wound.
One remedial bonus measure is also here for people suffering from the problem of the Keloid scar. This is in the form of NoScars cream, which is an effective product for tackling the problem of Keloids. This product is a pigmentation reducing cream loaded with the power of 3 active ingredients Tretinoin, Hydroquinone, and Mometasone. These ingredients help in providing anti-inflammatory benefits to the skin. If you are suffering from Keloid scars, then this cream can be used to reduce their effect. This cream can be used even after a scar has been created after an injury to reduce the chances of occurrence of Keloids. Also, this cream is much affordable as compared to the other expensive treatments. This is probably the best keloid scar treatment.