Have you ever noticed that eerie looking rash that keeps growing like a tumour on someone’s skin or even at the back of some guys head/ chin as a result of shaving? You usually come across some local signs, that have drawings with some one’s head having a big growth and on these signs you find claims that they can treat these so called bumps, which actually indeed is a Keloid, because bumps don’t grow.

Some of us assume that this only happens to dirty people, maybe it is a disease or perhaps gotten from cheap salons, which is actually not true.

A Keloid is the formation of a type of scar at the site of an injury producing a lump many times larger than that of the original scar. It forms within scar tissue. They can also arise spontaneously.

They occur at the site of a piercing and even from something as simple as a pimple or scratch, severe acne or chickenpox scarring, infection at a wound site, repeated trauma to an area, excessive skin tension during wound closure or a foreign body in a wound, insect bites or after a surgery. They are more common in some sites such as the central chest, the back and shoulders and the ear lobes. Keloids scars can grow, if they appear at a younger age, because the body is still growing.

Keloids expand in claw-like growths over normal skin. They have the capability to hurt with a needle-like pain or to itch without warning, although the degree of sensation varies from patient to patient.

Keloids may also develop from Pseudofolliculitis barbae; continued shaving when one has razor bumps will cause irritation to the bumps, infection, and over time keloids will form. Persons with razor bumps are advised to stop shaving in order for the skin to repair itself before undertaking any form of hair removal.

If the keloid becomes infected, it may ULCERATE. Removing the scar is one treatment option; however, it may result in more severe consequences: the probability that the resulting surgery scar will also become a keloid is high, usually greater than 50%. Laser treatment has also been used with varying degrees of success.

TREATMENTS

The best treatment is prevention in patients with a known predisposition, which includes preventing unnecessary trauma or surgery (including ear piercing, elective mole removal), whenever possible.

Any skin problem in predisposed individuals (acne, infections) should be treated as early as possible to minimize areas of inflammation.

• Intralesional corticosteroids e.g Kenalog
• Excision by scalpel
• Gel sheeting
• Cryosurgery
• Radiation therapy
• Pulsed dye laser treatment

PREVENTION OF SCARS

THERE ARE BASICALLY SIX THINGS THAT THE BODY needs to heal a wound; Protein, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Selenium and Zinc

The protein is needed by the body to help make new tissue, while the vitamins support enzymes that do the tissue re-building.

The recommended dosages for these vitamins are;

10,000 I.u of Vitamin A; Crucial to helping the skin make new cells to replace damaged ones. A deficiency can result in dry, scaly skin

500mg of Vitamin C; needed by enzymes that make collagen and other proteins that make up the skin

400 I.U of Vitamin E; well known by many to help reduce scarring

100 Micrograms of Selenium; crucial for anti-oxidant functions that help minimize tissue damage

15mg of Zinc; absolutely crucial to wound healing.

All these vitamins and minerals could also be gotten in a combo pack

So the next time you notice someone with a growth like keloid, don’t be too quick to judge, don’t run away, it is not infectious and it could happen to anyone. Always make sure you maintain a healthy skin with the right vitamins.