Damage to the skin, whether from an incision or wound, results in a risk for scarring. Scar tissue forms as the natural part of the skin’s healing process, and when the scar tissue remains rather than being replaced by normal skin cells you are left with a scar. There are several risk factors for scarring, some of which you can moderate and others you cannot.
Age
The very young heal better, which results in a better outcome for their scars. When you are young and prone to growth spurts, your body creates new collagen and skin everywhere in your body, including the areas where you have scars. Your body is always synthesizing new collagen and destroying old collagen that is less functional and old. That’s why some scars may have ‘disappeared’ over the years. Your body may have broken down some of the collagen in the scar and replaced it with new collagen. Additionally, the elderly also heal better, so if your age is anywhere in between, you have a greater risk of having issues with your scars.
Genetic Factors
Everyone heals differently from wounds based upon his or her genes. Therefore, if your family tends to scar easily, then you have a greater risk of forming scars as well. Certain genetic influences due to your race can also alter your risk factor for scarring. For example, those with dark skin have a higher risk of forming hypertrophic or keloid scars, which are raised scars. Additionally, those with fair skin typically have more prominent scarring than those with darker skin.
Size and Depth of the Wound
Deep, uneven wounds that are not treated properly will have larger, more prominent scars than small, insignificant wounds to the skin, such as a paper cut. The greater the trauma to the skin, the longer it takes to heal, which also increases the chance of scarring. When you undergo surgery, you want to have as small an incision as possible, and you want to ensure that the two pieces of skin are glued, stapled, or sutured back together with the correct lineup to reduce the amount of scarring.
Read: What Affects Wound Healing?
Your General Health and Wellbeing
If you are generally healthy, then your healing system will work better, reducing the amount of scarring. Alternatively, if you have a chronic illness, including an immune deficiency or diabetes, it can negatively affect the healing process, increasing your risk of scars. Certain lifestyle factors such as smoking and drinking slow down the healing process. You also want to eat a healthy and nutritious diet full of vitamins and minerals to promote healing. Drinking lots of water is also important for your overall health. You also need adequate sleep and rest.
Read: How Does Smoking Affect Scar Healing?
Taking Care of the Wound
Once the skin has been damaged, you need to take care not to re-injure it before it has a chance to heal. If the incision or wound area reopens, then it will have to work extra hard to completely heal, increasing the chance of scar tissue forming. You also want to treat the wound carefully, including preventing any infection.
Although you cannot change your genes or your age, you can eat well, sleep, hydrate, and take care of your wound to help reduce any scarring. Any action you take to promote proper wound healing reduces the risk of excessive scar tissue forming and resulting in a prominent scar.
Do you have a question about your scar? Leave us a comment and we’ll be happy to answer.
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The information on this site is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. Please speak to your doctor to treat any medical condition. Information on this site is not intended to be patient education, does not create any patient-physician relationship, and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment.
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