When the skin is injured, fibrous tissue known as scar tissue forms over the wound to repair and protect the injury. In some cases, scar tissue grows excessively, forming smooth, hard growths called keloids. Keloids can be much larger than the original wound, and are most commonly found on the upper chest and shoulders, however they can affect any part of the body. Keloid scarring is a type of scarring generally associated to darker skin types and tends to run in families.
Although keloids are not harmful to your health, they can present cosmetic concerns.
SYMPTOMS ASSOCIATED WITH KELOIDS
Keloids occur from the overgrowth of scar tissue with symptoms often occurring at the site of a previous skin injury these include:
- Area that is flesh-coloured, pink or red in colour
- A lumpy or ridged area of skin
- An area that continues to grow larger with scar tissue over time
- Itchy patch of skin
Keloid scars tend to be larger than the original wound itself and may take weeks or months to fully develop.
WHAT CAUSES KELOID SCARS
Keloid Scars commonly result from severe acne, surgical procedures and burns, however most skin injury types can contribute to keloid scarring. This includes:
- acne scars
- burns
- chickenpox scars
- ear piercing
- scratches
- surgical cuts
- vaccination sites
According to the National Centre for Biotechnology Information, keloid scarring is common in people between the ages of 10 and 20, and also among African Americans, Asians, and Hispanics. Keloids tend to have a genetic component, which means you are more likely to have keloids if one or both of your parents has them.
Keloids typically do not require medical attention, but you may want to contact your doctor if growth continues, you develop additional symptoms, or you want to have the keloids surgically removed.
TREATMENT OPTIONS
The difficulty with treating this type of scarring is that they originally occur from trauma and inflammation to the skin, so treatments that are ‘traumatic’ may actually aggravate the scar. Therefore, Keloid scarring is a little more difficult to treat and requires expert procedural care to ensure that the scarring is treated correctly.
At Rejuven8 Cosmetix we use the most effective treatment for keloid scarring which entails a series of combination treatments involving the injection of cortisone, an agent called 5 Fluorouracil and laser genesis. The frequency of treatment can vary from 2-4 times weekly and the number of treatments required can be around 10-12.