New Website About Scar Treatment

I just started a new website about scar treatment. The reason I did this is to inform people about the subject. You might ask, "yet another website? Aren't there enough already?". Well, there are many sites on the subject, yes that's true. But there aren't so much that inform you about what really works and what not.

It's just a sad truth that most products don't work. Another thing that invokes confusion among people who want to reduce the appearance of their scars is that many medical experts do not agree on which treatment should be followed.

In fact there is even misinformation among too many doctors, nurses, and even dermatologists. When visitors of my other website tell me their doctor advised them to use vitamin E on their scars I cringe a bit.

Not only do scientific studies show this is not effective, it has also been demonstrated to possibly worsen scars because of skin irritation. This is the same for a plethora of other treatments. Both botanical, herbal, natural, as well as other, commercial, types.

Cricital note: I'm not a medical professional. I am only an informed consumer who tried several products and therapies and eventually started writing about this subject.

For more info check out my new website: Treatment of Scars.

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Scar Tissue Removal Creams

I have scars on my face, neck, back, chest, and arms. Most of them are surgical scars. These scars can be improved but they will never fade completely. This I knew up front when I started searching for a therapy that works.

When I typed in 'cream for scar' in my search engine so much different advice turned up that I didn't know what to believe. Hey, that's nothing new on the internet right? Well, it's about time the truth about home scar remedies is ventilated more. That's why I started to write about it myself.

Since the nurses, doctors, and surgeons in the hospital couldn't tell me which product would be the most effective I had to walk other pathways. I searched on Google Scholar for clinical trials and other studies.

Some of their conclusions are contradictionary. But eventually it seemed clear to me that there are potent over the counter scar therapies. Apart from massaging, keeping them protected against solar radiation, moisturizing there seems to be an effective modality: silicone gel patches.

They have been used by various medical institutions for decades with success. Only since a few years silicones became available for the general public. Popular brands are ScarAway (formerly known as Neosporin), Kelo-cote, Curad, and Cica Care.

Popular ointments such as those based on vitamin E and onion extract do not seem to help. At least not according to available studies and papers published on this particular matter.

Type in'silicone scar' in the search box below to find a wide selection of well-reviewed scar removal lotions.

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The Use of Pressure Garments in Scar Treatment

Pressure garments are pieces of elastic clothing such as socks, sleeves, pantyhose, socks, and masks that provide support.

They are, for example, used after(cosmetic) surgery to prevent the development of excessive scar tissue. But there are other benefits:

Benefits of the pressure applied on fresh wounds and scars are;

* improved blood circulation,
* minimized swelling after the procedure,
* drainage of potentially harmful fluids,
* acceleration of the healing process,
* and prevention of problematic scar development.

Read more about post surgery compression garments.

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Milk Heals Skin and Possibly Scars?

Are there any scientific backgrounds to Cleopatra bathing in milk? According to doctor Timothy Rayner there are.

It turns out milk really does have a lot to do with healing skin, particularly in burns patients. And milk seems to benefit not just wound healing but also (potentially) scar healing.

Dr Timothy Rayner and his team discovered that it stimulated skin cells to produce collagen. They went looking for the responsible agent and found a protein molecule that not only promotes collagen production, but also has the potential to increase the speed with which new tissue is formed.

Read the whole interview on the National Health and Medical Research website of the Australian government.

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How To Prevent Scars after Mole Removal

Mole removal is commonly done by excision, cauterization (burning), and in some cases laser although this has shown to be less effective. The depth of a mole determines which treatment is most suitable. (Laser doesn't penetrate deep enough to treat most moles efficiently.)

As a result of a rather deep incision or burn mark scars will develop. As with any type of wound, how you take care of it is of major influence to the creation of scar tissue. The use of (normal) moisturizing agents, silicone gels, and if necessary natural products that fight of and prevent infections (e.g. Medihoney) can significantly influence the final appearance of a scar.

Visit this post to read more about mole removal scar treatment

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Mederma for Kids Review

Mederma for Kids is according to manufacturer Merz Pharmaceuticals 'the first and only' scar treatment product dedicated to children. The cream is advertised as it should help soften and smooth old and new scars. During application it's purple which fades quickly and should be of attraction to children. I can imagine it does but more importantly, does Mederma for Kids do what it says? Does it really work?

We can't determine with complete certainty. The main, active ingredient of this particular scar cream is the botanical extract Allium cepa which is onion extract. As far as I know there have been done two clinical studies on this component. One concluded that there was no benefit. The other showed some effect on collagen creation (scar tissue consists mainly of collagen). But the latter was a study conducted on rabbit ears.

I also found an article referring to a study but no PubMed or other source. This study concluded that scars treated with Mederma were significantly softer in appearance. So in conclusion, there's no evidence it works, but no real evidence it does not.

Anecdotal reports on the other hand are promising. Many who have used Mederma, or Mederma for Kids are positive. But this is the case for vitamin E as well. Which is disencouraged to use on scars because it does not work and may cause skin irritation and even worsen scars.

These reviews on SkinStore.com show how mixed the opinions are:

Great stuff - 3/25/2008 My son was 10 months old when he had a severe facial laceration...he looks almost like it didn't happen now, the dr. gave us this to use and I attruibute this to a good surgeon and Mederma

Disappointing - 11/23/2007 I bought this for my daughter who was bitten by a dog. She used it religiously as stated on the pack, but there was no change. Her scars are still very red and she is has become very self conscious. A waste of time and money.

In conclusion: Mederma for Kids may be helpful for some scars on some kids. Whether the effects are due to massaging the gel into the tissue or actual effective products remains to be seen. Personally I would rather use Vaseline which has shown to be just as effective (or even slightly more) in one study. Experts think this may have to do with its hydrating qualities. For a proven effective product use silicone sheets or gels. These are still the only backed by science products available.


The ingredients of Mederma for Kids are:

Water (Purified), PEG-4, Allium Cepa (Onion) Bulb Extract, Xanthan Gum, Allantoin, Fragrance, Methylparaben, Sorbic Acid, D&C Violet No. 2, FD&C Red No. 4.

Mederma for Kids vs. Mederma
I think it's good to point out that these are the exact same ingredients as in Mederma. The additional ingredients are the colors added. Consequently the scent of both products is the same.

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Prevent Scars after Surgery with Juvista

Juvista is a medicine that has to be launched yet. This drug, manufactured by biopharmaceutical product company Renovo is currently in its testing phase.

The first results from clinical studies are promising. The drug, which is administered by injection just before a surgery has shown to improve the healing process and diminish scarring.

Renovo is currently developing a variant 'specially designed for children'.

Here's a report on the Juvista trial. (pdf)

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