How do prevent the formation of scars?

Any skin injury in daily life, such as trauma, infection, surgical suture, burns, injections, scratching, and even mosquito bites, may form scars. More critical than scar removal is how to prevent spots.

How do scars form?

The skin is divided into the epidermis and the dermis. If the wound is in the epidermis, it can repair itself entirely after peeling off and generally does not leave scars. But the damage to the dermis and below will leave scars. Fibrotic scars often cause the skin to deform and even lose function. During wound healing, fibroblasts are abnormally active due to factors such as infection and excessive skin tension and excessively divide and proliferate to synthesize collagen fibers. Clinically, scars are divided into superficial, hypertrophic, atrophic, and keloids.

From wound to scar formation, it can be divided into the following three stages:

Wound healing, that is the process of scar formation, involves three distinct stages: the inflammatory stage (48-72h after trauma), the blood and tissue fluid in the wound flow out, the fibrin thickens quickly, and a blood scab is formed on the surface; the proliferative stage ( 0-3 months after surgery) To fill up the wound, granulation tissue will grow from the damage, and it will continue to bulge, accompanied by symptoms such as redness, itching, and hardening. It is also the most critical period to prevent scars; the repair period (4-6 months after the operation), the fault stops growing and becomes red, swollen, and itchy again, and the scar fades and the repairs stage. Therefore, treating spots in the hyperplasia period of faults is the golden repair period. Intervention treatment at this time can quickly mobilize the body's ability to repair and effectively repair the scars. On the contrary, if no measures are taken, the body will over-repair, and a raised hypertrophic scar will be formed, which will get bigger and even worse.

How to prevent scarring:

1. The first and most critical step is to use a tension reducer and seam-free tape after the first thorough debridement after an accidental injury, which can reduce the excessive division of fibroblasts caused by factors such as extreme skin tension and is also very effective. 

2. Different functional wound dressings can be used for different periods. Hydrocolloid dressings can be used in the early stage of wounds, which can speed up wound healing and make epithelial cells smooth, orderly, and increase. Silicone gel scar dressings can be used for the proliferative period of the scar and two weeks after the operation (after the wound has healed, the skin is not damaged, there is no bleeding, no redness, reduce capillary activity, inhibit the production of collagen by fibroblasts, promote the flattening of the wound site, thereby preventing the proliferation of scars. The scar dressing also releases the silicone oil slowly on the skin surface through the three-dimensional network structure of the unique silicone polymer, which produces a biological effect and gradually softens and decomposes the scar. Silicone is the main component of silicone dressing, which has the advantages of being non-toxic, non-irritating, non-antigenic, non-carcinogenic, and has good biocompatibility. It is applied to hypertrophic scars to block surface water. Evaporation increase water-soluble protein in fault, improves the permeability of low molecular weight water-soluble inflammatory mixture, controls water permeability, reduces fluid pressure, reduces water-soluble matter in the interstitium, limits scar's demand for related capillaries, and helps alleviate. Collagen precipitation promotes the spread of the scar surface, inhibits the proliferation of veins, and creates favorable conditions for skin regeneration. In addition, the dressing softens the scar, promotes the spread of the scar surface, blocks UV rays, reduces pigmentation, and creates favorable conditions for skin regeneration.

For more information on Innomed® dressings please refer to the previous articles. If you have customized needs, you are welcome to contact us; we will serve you wholeheartedly.

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Editor：kiki Jia
Date：June17,2022