Prevent Scarring

by BioCutis

prevent scarringThe human body was created to sustain a variety of injuries, including puncture wounds, burn or blunt trauma, etc. All of these incidents set into motion a chain of events that are involved in the healing process. Healing is a beautifully complex and dynamic mechanism that results in the restoration of the skin and body. There are many different factors when it comes to whether or not the damaged skin will be scarred for life and crush the dream of perfect youth-like-skin. One thing is for sure; scar removal is far more difficult than to prevent scarring in the first place.

When an injury happens, many different cells come quickly to the aid of the wounded area and the intricate process begins. The normal functional tissue (skin) is replaced by connective tissue (scar); this is the body’s natural way of protecting itself from infection. The connective tissue is made up mainly of collagen and normally will disappear in time, but if not, a scar remains.

Simple Tips for Scar Prevention

*Don’t clean injuries with hydrogen peroxide. The bubbles make it seem like something beneficial is happening, but hydrogen peroxide is known to destroy the new skin cells that immediately start to grow.

*Don’t treat your skin with Vitamin E. Research done in the University of Miami demonstrated that Vitamin E interferes with wound healing. In addition, one out of three patients tested also developed an allergic reaction.

*Don’t expose new scars to the sun. UV rays can slow down the healing mechanism and excite melanocytes (the cells that produce pigment) that can promote dark coloration. When outdoors, always use a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher.

*Cover up the injury. There is a common misconception that wounds need to “breathe” in order to heal, but this isn’t true. As a matter of fact, a great way to safeguard a wound is to cover it with a bandage because it’s able to absorb any fluid from the wound and maintain a natural moisture balance which is ideal for healing. Continue the use of a bandage until the injury is fully covered with new tissue and healed.

*Maintain regular pressure on the wound with special bandages or silicone sheeting pads. Several studies have demonstrated that accessories like these help to compress scars like keloids or hypertrophic scars.

Prevention is worth a pound of cure, but if it’s too late to avert them, there are several organic scar treatments available that are not only non-irritating, but rejuvenate your skin to eliminate scars. Products that use a natural serum gathered from the snail, Helix Aspersa Muller, have proven effective in penetrating and dissolving damaged collagen and scars and reduce post inflammatory hyperpigmentation (redness and dark spots) as it smooths out the skin, leaving it soft and suple like that of a child.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post Post to Plurk Plurk This Post Post to Yahoo Buzz Buzz This Post Post to Delicious Delicious Post to Digg Digg This Post Post to Facebook Facebook Post to MySpace MySpace Post to Ping.fm Ping This Post Post to Reddit Reddit Post to StumbleUpon Stumble This Post

Related Posts

Comments (2)

  1. Sydney Johnston Vote: Add rating 0  Subtract rating 0  :
    July 6, 2009 at 9:16 am

    Wow, there are two things I didn’t know about scars in this article:

    1. I thought vitamin E was great for scar prevention! In fact, I had a college friend who had a noticeable scar on her cheek and she healed it to the extent that it didn’t appear any more and did so with vitamin E. Perhaps it’s better at ‘curing’ a scar than preventing one?

    2. I’ve used hydrogen peroxide on wounds soooooo many times. I, too, thought the bubbles were a good sign of clearing out germs and infections. I won’t be trying that any more.

    I agree 100% that it’s easier to prevent scars than get rid of them, so will be more careful in the future. Thanks for the good info.

  2. Sandy Vote: Add rating 0  Subtract rating 0  :
    July 10, 2009 at 11:57 am

    I was shocked about those 2 points too. I did a quick search and there are differing views on both topics, so I guess it greatly depends on the individual. But now I’m really curious about a product made from snail goo, sounds very interesting and will check into it.

  3.  

Leave a comment