Treating Skin Scars.(Skin Scars)

Skin Scars
Scars are areas of fibrous tissue that replace normal skin after injury. They are formed when all but the most minor wounds heal. Though skin scars do not pose a threat to health, they can be a source of shame or embarrassment. Some people complain that they are disfiguring, especially if they develop on the head, face, or neck. Though no blemish can ever be completely removed, there are a number of treatment options available which can diminish their appearance. If you decide that you want to undergo any treatment to diminish the appearance of one of these marks, you should contact your doctor or a cosmetic surgeon.
Needling is a process whereby the affected tissue is continuously pricked with a needle. The pricking promotes the production of collagen in the skin. Collagen helps to reduce redness, but it does not smooth the skin. Once the process is complete, the affected area is again allowed to completely heal. Needling is inexpensive, and home kits are available for those willing to perform the process themselves. It is crucial to work with sterilized equipment, as infection can worsen the appearance. Needling should be performed under professional medical supervision when used on the face or any area of the body surrounding major nerves.
A new treatment has been developed to reduce the redness of scar tissue. It is called laser resurfacing and has become an increasingly popular option in the cosmetic treatment of these blemishes. Like needling, however, it does not flatten the wounded area and is not an effective treatment option for abnormal scarring, like keloid and hypertrophic scars. The FDA has recently approved several cosmetic lasers for the treatment of severe acne scars, which often leave depressions in the skin.
If the skin mark is abnormal, then a doctor may recommend a steroid injection series. Every four to six weeks, a medical professional will inject a steroid into the affected tissue. This treatment option can reduce redness, flatten, and soften abnormal blemishes. Because the steroid is injected directly into the scar tissue, very little of the steroid enters the blood stream and side effects are minimal. Still, this treatment option thins the affected area and so it may pose a risk in rare cases of post-operative tendon scarring.
Dermabrasion is used to flatten disfigured tissue. A general anesthetic is used to numb the surrounding tissue and specialized equipment is used to remove the surface layer of the affected skin. This treatment option is only effective in treating raised scars; scar depressions, such as those caused by acne or chicken pox, will not readily respond to this treatment option. This treatment option may be paired with another in order to reduce redness in the affected tissue.
Skin Scars

White Scars & Hypopigmentation: Their Causes & Cures.(Skin Scars)

Skin Scars

White scars and hypopigmentation (loss of skin coloring) can result from trauma to the skin.

Scars take on a white appearance because melanocyte production has been impaired. Melanocytes make melanin- the pigment that gives the skin its color. If melanocytes are damaged, so is the skin's ability to produce darker skin tones.

After damage to the skin, whether or not hypopigmentation or white scarring occurs depends on how the injury took place.

Causes of hypopigmentation and white scarring

For example, if you were riding a bicycle, fell and only scrapped your knee, this would have created a superficial abrasion on the skin. A scab would develop to protect the wound. Over the course of the few days, the scab would fall off. Once the scab shed away, the skin would then produce pigment in response to sun exposure and eventually, the color of the scar would match that of the rest of the skin.

On the other hand, had the bicycle fall involved a deep gash to the knee, most of the pigment producing layers of the upper skin would be damaged while the deeper layers of the skin would need to repair the injured tissue.

To start the dermal repair process, the skin would then knit together collagen and elastin to protect blood vessels beneath the skin. If blood vessel damage occurred, increased amounts of inflammation would accompany the wound healing process. Under these circumstances, a mild form of fibrosis, or excessive scarring, may happen because of the increased in skin damage and inflammation.

With this build-up of scar tissue, melanocytes may not reach the surface of the skin where they make melanin and give color to the skin. This results in white, coarse scar tissue.

Laser resurfacing & hypopigmentation

Unlike bicycle accidents, laser re-surfacing is a form of intentional scarring. Since laser resurfacing corrects skin damage by inflicting tiny wounds in the skin, laser treatments can cause hypopigmentation. At times, the hypo-pigmented spots may not show up until two to six months after the laser treatment.

Treatments for white scarring and hypopigmentation

Treatments for white scarring that result from acne scars or accidents include medications for vitiligo. Vitiligo is a skin disorder of unknown cause involving loss of pigmentation in patches of otherwise normal skin.

Dermatologist Dr. R.W. Urbanek, reported to E Skin and Allergy News that a product know as V-Tar helps combat the effects of hypopigmentation. According to Dr. Urbanek, this compound causes the skin to produce melanocytes which in term create melanin and restore the skin's normal pigmentation.

Dr. Urbanek has seen improvements with using V-Tar in as little as eight daily applications. However, side effects of V-Tar include a burning sensation when exposed to direct sunlight. This can be mitigated with using a sunscreen. You can ask you doctor for V-Tar.

Ironically, when hypopigmentation results from skin resurfacing, the treatment could involve more laser resurfacing. In a study published in Dermatologic Surgery, Dr. James E. Fulton revealed his method for treating hypopigmentation that resulted from laser or chemical skin resurfacing.

Dr. Fulton gave 22 patients who had hypopigmented scars a pre-treatment with a vitamin A and glycolic acid lotion. Next, the patients received a series of laser and chemical resurfacing treatments. After the resurfacing treatments, researchers specially bandaged the treated hypopigmented scars and allowed them to heal.

At the conclusion of the study, melanocytes did return to the previously hypopigmented area and ultimately the skin spot blended with the rest of the skin's natural tone.

Preventing hypopigmentation and white scarring

Since hypopigmentation and white scarring have historically proven themselves difficult to cure, the best treatment is really prevention. You can help prevent hypopigmentation by properly bandaging deep wounds immediately after they happen. In the case of skin resurfacing, ask your health practitioner what steps she is taking to avoid post hypopigmentation and what you can do, in addition to wearing a good sunscreen, to prevent possible hypopigmentation.

Skin Scars