Without proper care, a wound can easily leave a permanent scar. Cleaning the wound right away can help you to avoid this. If you do end up with a scar, there are ways to reduce its appearance with noninvasive dermatological treatments.
How to care for a wound
It’s important to properly care for your wound as soon as you get it. Specifically, you should:
• Immediately clean a wound (if it isn’t caused by surgery or acne)
First, rinse it with cold water. Then remove sand, splinters, or any other debris with tweezers that have been sanitized. After that, you want to wash around the wound using lukewarm water and soap. Avoid hydrogen peroxide, iodine, and alcohol, which aren’t effective in cleaning out small, minor wounds and can even delay healing.
• Keep the wound covered with a band aid
This promotes quicker healing because it prevents bacteria, dirt, and other irritants from getting inside it. What’s more,
• Whatever you do, don’t pick any scabs
If you pick off a scab, you might reopen the wound and introduce bacteria to it. This increases the likelihood of scarring.
Different types of scars
The most common types of scars are:
• Keloid scars
Most common among people with dark skin, these scars result from an overly aggressive healing process, and they usually extend beyond the original injury. Depending on the location, a keloid scar sometimes hinders movement. Pressure treatment or gel pads with silicone can help to prevent a keloid scar from forming.
• Hypertrophic scars
Similar to keloid scars, these scars are usually raised and red but don’t extend beyond the edge of the injury.
• Acne scars
Severe acne, especially cystic acne, can cause noticeable scarring, ranging from deep pits to angles and waves. Your treatment options depend on the types of acne scars you have.
• Contracture scars
This type of scar results from a severe burn. It tightens skin, which can impair your ability to move. Depending on the severity of the burn, contracture scars can also affect muscles and nerves.
How to minimizing scarring
To minimize scarring, you should do as much as you can to aid a wound’s healing by boosting your immune system and making certain lifestyle changes. Specifically, you should:
• Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables and cut back on junk food
The more nutrients, particularly antioxidants that you eat, the faster and better your body can heal.
• Drink plenty of water and herbal teas, and avoid coffee, alcohol, and soda
Green tea and herbal teas contain lots of antioxidants, which aid in the healing process.
• Exercise lightly
This increases blood flow, which helps to remove toxins and replenish the wound site with new, fresh blood, bringing a steady supply of nutrients and oxygen and enabling tissue to rebuild itself more effectively.
• Quit if you happen to smoke
Smoking affects your body’s ability to carry oxygen to the wound site. Many smokers suffer wounds that are unable to heal and sometimes reopen. If you’re undergoing surgery, stop smoking several weeks prior to your procedure date.
• Use a silicone sheet
A silicone sheet helps to prevent a scar from rising above the level of your skin. What’s more, it protects the wound site and prevents it from drying out.
• Wear sunscreen
Wearing sunscreen is vital for minimizing a scar as well as preventing hyperpigmentation. Use a sunscreen that contains zinc or titanium dioxide and has an SPF of 30 or higher.
4 noninvasive treatments for minimizing the appearance of scars
If a wound has left a noticeable scar even though you’ve properly cared for it, don’t fear. Plenty of noninvasive treatments help to minimize the appearance of a variety of scars. These include:
1. Clear + Brilliant
A noninvasive laser technology that gently resurfaces the top layer of the dermis by creating millions of microscopic treatment zones in your skin, Clear + Brilliant not only stimulates collagen production; it also encourages skin to create healthier, smoother tissue. The result is fading of facial scars and discoloration related to injury and surgery by up to 80 percent.
Almost all clients who underwent a Clear + Brilliant procedure claimed their scars felt and looked smoother, and that their skin had a noticeable glow after a series of three to five treatments. In addition to fading scars, Clear + Brilliant significantly reduces the size of pores and refreshes skin tone and texture. After just one treatment, you’ll notice a significant improvement in the appearance of your facial scars. Within a week, you’ll notice smoother skin texture and more even skin tone.
2. Juvéderm
A smooth gel filler that temporarily fills pitted or depressed facial scars to minimize their appearance, Juvéderm is so powerful that a single treatment’s results last up to a year. Because Juvéderm’s dermal gel is smooth rather than granular, a single injection of it makes skin looks smooth, natural, youthful, and scar-free! And Juvéderm’s unique gel formulation promotes hydrates and restores volume to your skin and its underlying structures.
The immediate results of Juvéderm become their most impressive three to five days after treatment, as swelling and bruising disappear. These results last up to a year.
3. Photo facials
Incredibly effective on shallow acne scars, photo facials work by using broad-spectrum intense pulsed light (IPL), which penetrates multiple layers of skin. It targets the lower layers of skin (dermis), leaving the top layers of skin (epidermis) unaffected. The heat generated from the light promotes healing of the skin within, treating facial scarring and a number of other dermatological issues.
You can expect outstanding results with IPL photo facials. But you must be diligent about scheduling treatment sessions. IPL photo facial treatments call for five treatment sessions spaced three weeks apart to obtain desired results. In some cases, those results can be seen after only the first treatment! And skin continues to improve with each successive treatment.
4. Botox
According to a recent research, Botox helps facial wounds heal with minimal scarring. This is because wide scars are the result of the local muscles pulling the wound apart during the healing phase. Botox temporarily weakens the surrounding muscles, which reduces the pull on the wound during the acute healing phase.
A neurotoxin that works by attaching itself to nerve endings, Botox blocks the release of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter responsible for triggering muscle contractions. This temporarily relaxes the facial muscles that underlie and cause wrinkles.
The full results of Botox are usually seen in five to seven days. Your facial scarring will be significantly reduced, especially if Botox is used directly after your wound closes. Your results will continue to improve for about two weeks after your treatment. The effects of Botox will gradually wear off over the next four to six months, and the scar may need to
Scarred for life? Not!
Visible scars can impact your self-esteem, your social life, even your career prospects. Fortunately, certain
References
- “8 Secrets on How to Get Rid of Scars,” Dr. Axe, June 16, 2017.
- “9 Ways to Naturally Remove Scars, Bruises & Stretch Marks,” BlackDoctor.org, October 28, 2016.
- “Cosmetic Procedures: Scars,” WebMD, January 18, 2016.
- “How to Get Rid of Scars for Good,” Fitness, March 30, 2017.
