Scarring—You Don’t Have To Live With It.

Although scars are a naturally occurring part of dermal (skin) healing, many people want to fade the appearance of their scars. In the old days you just had to live with scars or use a folk remedy.

SimonaGscu lists several folk remedies on her webpage. For scaring she suggests: Combine 1 teaspoon powdered nutmeg, 1 teaspoon honey and apply to the scarred area. After 20 minutes, wash it off with cool water. Do this twice a week and within a couple of months expect improvement.

For a more medical remedy, read on.

The Building Blocks of Scars.

Collagen is a natural protein that supports the skin. Injectable collagen formulas are made of the same stuff. So when your favorite Hollywood actors get their collagen injections, they are basically injecting “scar building blocks” into their lips or other soft tissues. The results of this type of cosmetic procedure may last 2 to 4 months.

The extracellular matrix, or connective tissue, is a complex structural system that surrounds and supports your cells. It is also partly made of collagen fibers. Collagen naturally occurs and there is plenty of it in you—even if you don’t get injections. So what does this have to do with scars?

What is a Scar?

When skin is damaged, your body will naturally re-grow skin to cover the wound. The new skin is made largely of collagen fibers to connect the cells together. Imagine the Beatles character Father McKenzie “darning his socks in the night when there’s nobody there.” That’s what your body is doing to heal a wound. Your body uses these collagen fibers to knit a wound back together and eventually close the wound.

Scars do not occur when you are injured but rather after you are healed. So if you have a scar the wound is healed.

Most skin scars are flat, pale and leave a trace of the original injury that caused them. The redness that often follows an injury to the skin is not a scar, and is generally not permanent. The time it takes for the redness to go away may range from days to months to several years. The scar is generally permanent.

A Detour on The Road Map of the Soul.

In this year’s movie The Air I Breathe Sarah Michelle Gellar says, “Scars are the road map to the soul.” But if your road map is too detailed, some scar reduction therapy may be where your road map leads.

Over time some small scars may fade by themselves. However, two scar types may need a little extra help. They form when body overproduces collagen during healing and in some people they just form out of the blue.

Hypertrophic Scars take the form of a red raised lump on the skin. Typically, they don’t grow beyond the boundaries of the original wound. Left alone, they often improve in appearance after a few years.

Keloid Scars are a more serious form of scarring, because they can carry on growing indefinitely into a large, benign, tumorous growth.

Both hypertrophic and keloid scars can occur on anyone, but some people are more inclined to these types of scarring. Keloid scars can also develop from body piercings and in some people, keloid scars form spontaneously. When people call us at Vitality Medical looking for scar solutions, to eliminate some of the roads in their map, we introduce them to Smith and Nephew’s CICA-CARE.

Smith and Nephew’s CICA-CARE

According to the data sheet at dressings.org CICA-CARE is a soft, self-adhesive, semi-occlusive sheet made from medical grade silicone reinforced with a silicone membrane backing. It helps improve the appearance of most red, dark or raised scars. It is widely used by dermatologists and others in the medical profession with over a million units sold. It’s durable, comfortable and re-usable, ideal for day and night use. It can be used on both kids and adults so it works for the whole family. CICA-CARE has been shown to be successful in improving older scars, however results are expected to be most effective in more recent scars.

Within 2-4 months, scars you thought were permanent can be reduced and their appearance improved.

How to use CICA-CARE

First remove the CICA-CARE from it’s tray and cut a piece to fit the size of the scar.

Although it is a self-adhesive dressing some of our customers at Vitality Medical, have found success using a Dressing Retention tape. Smith & Nephew’s Hypafix Dressing Retention Tape is always recommended to customers who select CICA-CARE.

The Proof is in the Gel

In four separate studies, involving 232 people, CICA-CARE was clinically shown 93% effective in improving the appearance of scars. CICA-CARE is also shown to be longer lasting than other topical silicone gel sheets—up to two weeks or longer. It’s effective on old scars—up to 20 years old, and CICA-CARE is effective on new scars resulting from plastic surgery. More details of the studies can be found in an article by Georgia Milner.

The Bottom Line

Many people who have tried CICA-CARE to improve the appearance of their Hypertrophic and Keloid Scars have been very happy with the results. So happy in fact that Smith and Nephew’s CICA-CARE is one of the best selling and most popular scar improvement therapies available.

For 8 years, at Vitality Medical, we have delivered on our promise to sell top quality medical supplies at some of the best prices on the Web.