As if the unsightly appearance of acne pimples is
not enough for all too many people once the pimples disappear they are
left with frequently equally unsightly scarring. So how do you go about
treating acne scars?
The first thing to realize is that some conditions which look very much
like scars are not in fact scars at all but are macules and other bumps
which can occur following acne treatment. The redness which often
accompanies macules and other bumps can last for up to a year but this
is not permanent and these are not true scars.
True scars are produced by the healing process itself (often resulting
from the creation of fibrous tissue) and represent a permanent change
to your skin tissue. Permanent scarring often results from the action
of your white blood cells as they attack the bacteria which causes acne
and this 'battle' can produce permanent changes to the underlying cells
of your skin.
Such damage is not however just limited to the cells below the skin
surface and you can be left with such things as so-called icepick scars
which are small pinholes formed in the surface of the skin. They are
called icepick scars because they look as if the skin has been attacked
with an icepick and they are often quite deep and thus unresponsive to
such things as dermabrasion and laser resurfacing treatment.
Another common form of acne scarring are boxcar scars, which are
similar to icepick scars but tend to be flatter on the bottom instead
of narrowing to a point as icepick scars do. Boxcar scars are shallower
than icepick scars and can be treatment using skin resurfacing
techniques.
Finally, keloid scars, which tend to extend beyond the site of the
original pimple injury, result from an excess production of collagen
and are usually seen as a firm shiny pink or red scar.
In all cases the best way to avoid acne scars is to prevent then from
developing in the first place but, where this has not proved to be
effective, then there are several standard treatments including:
Dermabrasion. Dermabrasion is a form of treatment used to treat a wide
range of different skin conditions, including mild (and sometimes
moderate} acne scarring. After the application of a local anesthetic, a
high speed brush is used to remove layers of skin. In many cases, once
the skin heals naturally, acne scar disappear altogether and, where
this is not the case, they are usually very much less evident.
A commonly alternative to dermabrasion today is microdermabrasion in
which, instead of using a high speed brush, aluminum oxide crystals are
moved rapidly across the surface of the skin using a form of vacuum
hose. This is a little bit like a form of medical 'sand blasting' and
is less invasive than dermabrasion and causes less trauma to the skin.
Microdermabrasion can be effective in cases of very mild acne scarring
but generally does not produce as good results as are seen with
dermabrasion.
Laser Treatments. For some people laser treatment (often using CO2
lasers) is particularly effective and mild scarring can sometimes be
removed with just a single treatment. When in the hands of a trained
professional a laser can be used to remove scar tissue, or to alter the
size of scars and change the contour of the skin to make scars very
much less visible. This is however a fairly harsh treatment which
effectively works by burning the surface of the skin and so it can
produce redness which will persist for several weeks.
Surgery. Surgery, using a technique known as 'punching' is often used
to remove some icepick scars. An icepick scar is cut out down to the
subcutaneous fat layer and the resulting hole is then repaired either
using sutures or a small skin graft. Scars can also be repaired using
subcisions which involve lifting the scar tissue away from unscarred
skin. This technique can be effective but at the moment results using
this technique have been somewhat mixed.
Drug Treatment. Keloid scars do not respond well to any of the
treatments described so far and indeed they will usually stimulate the
formation of more keloids and make matters worse. In this case
therefore it is common to either apply a topical retinoid cream or to
inject steroid-type drugs directly into the skin around the site of the
scar. Unfortunately, keloid scars are difficult to treat and results
vary widely from one individual to the next.
Perhaps the most important advice which anybody can be given when it
comes to treating acne scars is that you should start by getting a
proper diagnosis from a professional dermatologist. Your dermatologist
will not only be able to advise you about the treatments available for
your particular type of scarring, but will also be able to advise you
about both the benefits and risks of each type of treatment.
Article Source:
http://www.articlesbase.com/acne-articles/
how-to-treat-those-unsightly-acne-scars-434192.html
About the Author
ProactiveAcneCreamTreament.com provides
information on all aspects of acne from
proactive
acne cream treatment to using cold laser treatment to cure acne scars
|
