In a keloid scar, the collagen that forms in the scar overgrows. Now the new scar is larger than the original area affected. It may look like a nodule, a big lump or could even be rubbery in texture.
The question that many people ask is where do keloids develop on the body? Is it in all types of skin or in certain locations on the body?
Here’s a list of different places where keloids can develop:
• On a pimple or over or on an acne scar
• At a location of where you have scratched yourself
• On a chickenpox scar
• At a place on your body that is repeatedly injured
• Where you get your body pierced, including the earlobes
• Where you get a tattoo
• Over a surgical scar
• Over an area where an insect bit you
• At a location on your skin where you were burned
• After having an ingrown toenail, on the nail with a repeated infection
• On an area where you had razor bumps and kept shaving and developed an infection
• At the site of a traumatic injury to the skin anywhere in the body
With this in mind, let’s take the concept a little farther. Some places in the body are more prone to develop keloids than others. The most common locations where these keloids may be found include the chest, back, ear lobes, shoulders, arms, and over the clavicle (this is the collarbone). Keloids are also more common in those who have Asian or African descent.
Of all those places where keloids can form, who would ever think that anyone could get keloids on an ear lobe? It’s such a strange place for a keloid scar, and one that isn’t easily covered, either.
In Nigeria, doctors at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital examined hospital records between Sept 2006 and April 2007, searching for how often keloids formed in the ear lobes. They wanted to know how many ear lobe keloid cases had been managed in their Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. They found that of the 26 patients with keloids, 42% of them had developed ear lobe keloids from piercing. That’s a high rate!
Do you have a keloid scar? Where did yours form?
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