Keloid patients may need to deal with some minor or
more drastic effects associated with the occurrence
of keloid scars. Those lucky ones with a small
scar can hope that it will go unnoticed.
Without questions, keloids have become a
therapeutic challenge that must be dealt with, as
these lesions can be a source of significant pain,
pruritus (itching), and physical disfigurement.
They may not get worse/better in appearance over
time but can definitely inflict pain and sometimes
even limit mobility.
In severe cases, it can reduce the flexibility and
hence the movement of skin on the neck, shoulders.
and joints – jaws, elbows, and knee caps. They have
the capability to hurt with a needle-like pain or
to cause severe itching without warning.
However, these physical discomforts/impairments
cannot be compared with the psychological effects
these often disfiguring lesions have on affected
individuals.During the course of face-to-face and
telephone interviews, patients were asked how
keloids and keloid therapy may have affected their
personal and social lives. This preliminary inquiry
suggests that careful counseling may prove
worthwhile for such patients.
Keloid scars can have profound social and
psychological effects.
Most recently, reports from patients and medical
professionals have revealed the impact keloids have
on a patient's psyche. The following are some of
the problems that victims of keloids may face.
Self esteem and body image
- Some embarrassed keloid patients avoid looking
people in the eye.
- Some keloid sufferers grow their hair long to
cover that part of their face where it is affected
– earlobes and neck.
- Keloid scars on shoulders, chest, and limbs can
reduce participation in sport such as swimming or
rugby because of the necessity to disrobe in public
changing rooms.
- Social withdrawal/relationship building
- A keloid scar, especially when it affects the
face and neck, can provoke cruel comments from the
general public.
- Sensitive to their disfigurement, some find it
hard to form new relationships, especially with the
opposite sex. They become shy and even reclusive.
The main concern is a fear of negative appraisal by
others. in extreme cases a social phobia can
develop.
Education/work
- Students refuse to go to school leading to poor
academic performance and possibly future
unemployment.
- Some adults in the workplace take sick days from
work, risking their jobs or livelihood.
- Keloids may limit career choices, ruling out
occupations such as modelling that depend upon
personal appearance.
- Keloid patients are less successful in job
applications; their lack of confidence being as
important as the potential employers' reaction to
their physical appearances.
- More people who have keloids are unemployed than
those who don't have such blemishes.
- Many keloid victims seek medical help as they
hope to remain in school or the workforce, where
they perceive that a keloid scar is unacceptable by
society.
Depression
In some patients the distress of having a keloid
may result in depression. This must be recognised
and managed. Signs of depression include:
- behavioral problems
- no craving for food
- mood swings
- lack of enthusiasm to do anything
- bursting into tears with no provocation
- no self worth
- insomnia
Friday, April 3, 2009
Where are keloid scars located and who are likely to develop them?
People have been looking for keloid scar removal procedure for a long time. History has revealed that the word keloid had been recorded in medical books since around 1700 BC. Anyone in possession of a poor skin texture is prone to becoming a victim of keloids which can develop on any part of a person's body – face, neck, chest, back, shoulders and limbs, etc.
People from different age groups can develop a keloid. However, children under 11 are less likely to develop keloids, even when they get their ears pierced. Keloids also affect both sexes equally, although there are cases in which the number of affected young female patients has been reported to be higher than affected young males, probably reflecting the greater frequency of earlobe piercing among women.
Where there has been an occurrence of abrasion, a keloid scar can develop on that site. It can be the outcome of a pimple as in acne, an insect bite by a female mosquito, a pin-prick cause by a needle, scratching, burns, 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 or other skin trauma. The keloid may not form immediately after the original injury to the skin. It may take years later for it to form. Keloid scars can also develop after surgery. They are more common in certain areas such as central chest, the back and shoulders and the ear lobes.
People from different age groups can develop a keloid. However, children under 11 are less likely to develop keloids, even when they get their ears pierced. Keloids also affect both sexes equally, although there are cases in which the number of affected young female patients has been reported to be higher than affected young males, probably reflecting the greater frequency of earlobe piercing among women.
Where there has been an occurrence of abrasion, a keloid scar can develop on that site. It can be the outcome of a pimple as in acne, an insect bite by a female mosquito, a pin-prick cause by a needle, scratching, burns, 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 or other skin trauma. The keloid may not form immediately after the original injury to the skin. It may take years later for it to form. Keloid scars can also develop after surgery. They are more common in certain areas such as central chest, the back and shoulders and the ear lobes.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Understanding Keloid Scar Removal
You cannot go through life without bumps and bruises on your person. Everyone gets a scar sometime or other on all parts of their body: face, torso, and limbs. What is really disturbing is when the scar appears where people can see them. Some people heal very nicely and the scar blends in with their skin tone. However some people are unfortunate to have scars which are overgrown. This happens during the healing process when the cells get overactive. Such a scar is known as a keloid scar. To find a treatment for keloid scar removal, you must first understand what it is.
Not everyone would fall victim to a keloid scar. Whether you will get one or not depends largely on the kind of skin you are born with. It's like a person wishing to acquire a suntan. Some people just get burnt while others are more tolerant of the harmful sun’s rays. Just because you want one does not mean you would have one simply by exposing yourself continuously to the sun. Your skin has a lot to do with it. It must have the right pigmentations for it to tan; otherwise it would only be sun-burnt even with the application of a heavy layer of sun-screen lotion, not to mention the possibility of getting skin cancer. In any case, if you happen to be one of those people who are unfortunate enough to possess the type of skin texture that encourages the development of keloid scars, it only takes the slightest irritation of the cells to start the process.
A keloid is formed inside scar tissues. It is a type of hypertrophic scar which results in an overgrowth of tissues at the site of a healed skin injury. In texture, a keloid scar has the feel of a firm, rubbery lesion or a shiny, fibrous nodule, and its colour can vary from pink to flesh-coloured or red to dark brown. Collagen, used in wound repair, has a tendency to overmultiply in the healing area, expanding in a claw-like growth over normal skin – beyond the boundaries of the original wound, sometimes even producing a lump many times the size of the original scar. Biologically, a keloid is a fibrotic tumour characterized by a collection of atypical fibroblasts with an excessive deposition of extracellular matrix components, especially collagen, fibronectin, elastin and proteoglycans. In general, keloids contain relatively acellular centers and thick, abundant collagen bundles that form nodules in the deep dermal portion of the lesion. After all that is said and done, a keloid scar is benign, non-cancerous, and usually accompanied by severe itchiness, sharp pains and changes in texture. Patients suffering from keloid scars have reported to being hurt with a needle-like pain or to itch without warning, although the degree of sensation varies from one to another.
Not everyone would fall victim to a keloid scar. Whether you will get one or not depends largely on the kind of skin you are born with. It's like a person wishing to acquire a suntan. Some people just get burnt while others are more tolerant of the harmful sun’s rays. Just because you want one does not mean you would have one simply by exposing yourself continuously to the sun. Your skin has a lot to do with it. It must have the right pigmentations for it to tan; otherwise it would only be sun-burnt even with the application of a heavy layer of sun-screen lotion, not to mention the possibility of getting skin cancer. In any case, if you happen to be one of those people who are unfortunate enough to possess the type of skin texture that encourages the development of keloid scars, it only takes the slightest irritation of the cells to start the process.
A keloid is formed inside scar tissues. It is a type of hypertrophic scar which results in an overgrowth of tissues at the site of a healed skin injury. In texture, a keloid scar has the feel of a firm, rubbery lesion or a shiny, fibrous nodule, and its colour can vary from pink to flesh-coloured or red to dark brown. Collagen, used in wound repair, has a tendency to overmultiply in the healing area, expanding in a claw-like growth over normal skin – beyond the boundaries of the original wound, sometimes even producing a lump many times the size of the original scar. Biologically, a keloid is a fibrotic tumour characterized by a collection of atypical fibroblasts with an excessive deposition of extracellular matrix components, especially collagen, fibronectin, elastin and proteoglycans. In general, keloids contain relatively acellular centers and thick, abundant collagen bundles that form nodules in the deep dermal portion of the lesion. After all that is said and done, a keloid scar is benign, non-cancerous, and usually accompanied by severe itchiness, sharp pains and changes in texture. Patients suffering from keloid scars have reported to being hurt with a needle-like pain or to itch without warning, although the degree of sensation varies from one to another.
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