Scarring Easily

[Aggie_Ama]

My husband has had a few wrecks on his mountain bike in the past couple of years that have scarred badly. One of them I helped clean and it really didn't seem that bad, a little ugly but not for the level of scarring it left. He is on Remicaid (an immunosuppresant) for Crohn's, we were talking last night and he wondered if that was why? Thoughts? Any way to help minimize, he is actually a little embarrassed at how bad his legs look with big scars.

[Pax]

I get hypertrophic scars, doc says it's from an excess collagen response to trauma (I wish I could get some of that excess back into my face :rolleyes: ).

Here is a little more info (http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/876214-overview#aw2aab6b3) on that type of scarring. My plastic surgeon says there's little that can be done right now, but maybe try Mederma?

[OakLeaf]

I don't use Mederma because of the paraben preservatives, but the active ingredient is onion extract. Believe it or not, I'm having good results taping garlic to the scar on my lip when I'm just hanging around the house.

If they're fresh scars, they need to be out of the sun for a year. I never bothered with scars on my body, and I'm not bothering with the one on my chin, which is pretty well hidden and mostly shaded by my jaw line anyway. It's an enormous PITA with the one on my lip, either putting a band-aid on it or a big white dollop of sunblock, EVERY time I go outside, even for a few minutes to hang the laundry etc.

Also you probably know that wounds need to be kept moist until they're completely closed. Never let a scab form if you can help it. There are a lot of options - Second Skin and petroleum based ointments are popular, but it seemed to me with my facial wounds that there was a point when the petroleum was really inhibiting healing. I dressed my recent incision with raw honey under a non-stick/Tegaderm pad and it healed really fast, better than with anything I've tried before, but because it's directly under my bra and HRM straps, I think I'm going to have a pretty good scar just because of the unavoidable rubbing.

[Pax]

... I think I'm going to have a pretty good scar just because of the unavoidable rubbing.

I've got a pretty big one on my back from the bra band, it was a pre-cancerous lesion removal and I could NOT keep the bra strap off it 100% of the time.

[OakLeaf]

I've got a pretty big one on my back from the bra band, it was a pre-cancerous lesion removal and I could NOT keep the bra strap off it 100% of the time.

Same with mine, a 12 mm dysplastic nevus meant a target 36 mm incision and in reality a little bit longer ... two layers of internal sutures (which are taking their sweet time to dissolve and are REALLY irritating) plus the external ones. :eek:

The good news about it being there is that no one but my husband and my massage therapist will ever see it. :cool: I don't think I have any swimsuits that expose that part of my back ... but I'm not sure about that.

[Pax]

Same with mine, a 12 mm dysplastic nevus meant a target 36 mm incision and in reality a little bit longer ... two layers of internal sutures (which are taking their sweet time to dissolve and are REALLY irritating) plus the external ones. :eek:

The good news about it being there is that no one but my husband and my massage therapist will ever see it. :cool: I don't think I have any swimsuits that expose that part of my back ... but I'm not sure about that.
Since I hit 50 last summer I've decided I don't care a bit about what people think of how I look, I put on a swimsuit and hit the pool, if they don't want to look at my pasty, plump, scarred up, middle aged body; that's just too bad. It's been very freeing. :p

[Aggie_Ama]

I learned of Tegaderm after his wrecks, that is actually how I dressed my serious abrasions from my wreck in a recent race (I posted a picture in the race stories). It healed amazingly, my mom was so impressed she bought me two boxes. There is no way he can keep them out of the sun, he has no air conditioning at the nursery he runs and would overheat if he didn't wear shorts.

Oakleaf - Does onion extract come in an oil? I am finding I am a huge fan of natural products now. I never knew you can speed along a bruise healing with arnica. And my cousin recently told me about traumeel, thieves and magnesium oil. I am going to be stocking up on those because I bruise so easily.

[badger]

I scar easily as well, being darker in skin tone.

I've had success with the New Skin, though I found it rather on the expensive side. The last time I crashed and had a fairly deep abrasion from my t-shirt rubbing my skin off from my chest. I really didn't want a scar there as it's visible when I wear open neck shirts. So, I babied it like nothing else.

I first daubbed the area with tea tree oil to prevent infection, then I q-tipped some unrefined shea butter (and I was pretty generous with the amount). Then on top of that I put a couple of drops of neem oil. I covered the area up with a gauze and changed it twice a day. Did this for about 3 weeks total until the skin wasn't open anywhere and now you can barely tell anything was there.

[marni]

I would also suggest that you try "everything balm" from goodiesunlimited.com. The lady who makes it specializes in all natural ingredients and pure lonolin from her own sheep. As far as I know it contains absolutely no PABA but does contian things like tea tree oil, bees wax, lavendar, calendula. As its name indicates , Everything balm does everything. I have used it to lessen scars, keep skin moist over road rash, elminate scarring, yeat itchiness, saddle sores, sunburn, cold sores, soothing smell to go to sleep by, nasal decongestant like vapo rub etc.

I buy it by the multiple 8 oz. bottles 3 or 4 at a time and share it out with family, 3 or 4 times a year.

[Kiwi Stoker]

I have had great success with silicon gel sheets made for scars. They use them to line burn victims pressure garments etc. You wear the gel sheet over the scar as much as you can every day, wash in soap and water and then re-use. Each sheet lasts a month.

Product names include Scar away, Smith and Nephew Cica care gel sheet.

For his leg I would put a sock or wrap a crepe bandage over it and wear it at night. It's really working well on my surgical scar- even better than Mederma.

[Miranda]

http://www.3m.com/product/information/Micropore-Surgical-Tape.html

This tape is very cheap, and performs very well, ime/o.

I learned about it from a plastic surgeon. I've tried Mederma, some sil topical gel, and the sil sheets. This about $3 a roll tape beats it all hands down for raised scars. I have both scars that I used the tape on... and ones without... the "without" ones are raised... "with" ones are perfectly flat and smooth. Besides keeping the scar smooth (because the skin can't raise up to scar w the pressure of the tape), it also keeps the scar lines supported together to reduce width.

I didn't even realize the tape came in skin color. I used the white color. My scars we covered by clothing mostly, so it didn't matter. I did have to wear the tape for many weeks/months I'm remembering here.

At first the tape won't seem like it will stick. As it heats to your body, it will stick nicely. Also just wear it straight into the shower. If any ends are curling up, simply blow dry lightly with hair dryer. It lasts about 3wks before it really starts falling off. Simply remove, and retape w new. Can be found at any drug store.

As posted, the sun is said to permenantly darken scars exposed within the first year. Sunblock should be used even under clothing to protect it from the sun's rays. However, that's tough w tape. For me, as a fair natural redhead, my scars color simply needs time. Takes about 3yrs to fade to pale white lines.

For awful road rash on half the side of my face from crashing, I kept it most with bactracian topical antibiotic ointment. Same thing already posted about not letting the wound scab. The ER doc told me it's the scabbing and pulling of the skin that aids in making the scar. It took a while wearing it, but my face is smooth.

Just parting thought... scars tell a story of where your life has been... those mtb scars are happy times... well, up to the point of crashing anyways lol. Good Luck.:)

p.s. edit: Also, for scars that seems to have a lot crunchy internal lumpy stuff, massage can help once healed well. PT told me this for my face when my sunglasses split and cut next to my eye socket. It took of while of squeezing pressure massage everyday, but it's also smooth. Some people pay for laser tx from the derm doc for scars, but no personal exp w that.

[OakLeaf]

@Pax - do you have any tips for protecting the healing wound from the bra band? They took out as many of the internal sutures as they could get, but there are still a couple of them sticking through the skin and it's REALLY irritating. They couldn't give me an estimate on when they might dissolve. Covering the whole scar just isn't an option any longer ... it's been a week and a half and I still have red marks from the (latex-free) adhesive. /hijack

[Pax]

@Pax - do you have any tips for protecting the healing wound from the bra band? They took out as many of the internal sutures as they could get, but there are still a couple of them sticking through the skin and it's REALLY irritating. They couldn't give me an estimate on when they might dissolve. Covering the whole scar just isn't an option any longer ... it's been a week and a half and I still have red marks from the (latex-free) adhesive. /hijack

I'm allergic to adhesive too, it scars me almost as bad as a wound does. Fun.

I switched to a soft pullover bra from "Barely There" and that helped a bunch... but they only seem to work well with smaller breasts.

[OakLeaf]

Thanks!

Smaller, I got. There was a picture in the paper taken just before the mass start of a local ride, and I was wondering who that guy was in our club jersey, before I realized it was me. :rolleyes:

[boomermtbiker]

this will be a lengthy post~ i'm new here & am healing from facial abrasions. A dog darted in front of me & i went over the handlebars. thought i'd post what i've learned in the last 30 days & pass it along. i just got home from the dermatologist & he told me my progress was great! - 30 days after the accident - despite minor setbacks. The entire left side of my face was abraded.

i'm using the keyboard 1-handed due to a cast , so all lowercase. i'm 56 y.o., very fair skinned & scar easily & understandably, very concerned on caring for the abrasions to minimize scarring.

the E.R. doc told me :

1. keep it moist
2. wash w/ anti-bacterial soap & let air dry, 3x per day
3. apply very thin, thin layer of triple-antibiotic oinyment
4. keep covered, don't let scabs form
5. don't use hydro. peroxide or alcohol, this damages cells

i then started research on the web & found this, which was extremely helpful. bandaids are very hard to keep re-applying - this worked for me:
http://www.obra.org/wound_care.html

precautions: don't apply thick layer of neosporine or vaseline - that will cause problems.

i applied vaseline which was recommended but for some reason immediately after that application, things got infected. A consult w/ doc. & i got an oral antibiotic which worked a miracle. i went back to neosporine, thin layer massaged onto abrasion & that was key to my healing.

i was very strict on diet, no fooling around:
1. lots of blueberries, fruits, veggies, tomatoes, salads, juices & sports drinks & tons of water
2. no alcohol or desserts
3. lots of protein.
4. take good vitamins

best thing to avoid:
1. no sun!! use hats. i took walks at sundown

for healed, pink skin (takes 1-3 weeks)
1. massage vit. E lotion
2. use mederma - i have but things got a little red so i switched to lotion
3. scars continue to heal and form new collagen - massage helps align that collagen, fill in underneath and heal for 12 mos. after!

there was a lot of info. out there, most of it on bike forums. Formerly, before this accident, i didn't cover minor or med. wounds, just let them scab over - wrong! wash, use neosporine or equal, then keep hands off, cover. i really hope i don't have noticeable scars but my dermatlogist was happy & i'm optimistic.