What is a keloid?
Keloids can be considered to be "scars that don't know when to stop." A keloid, sometimes referred to as a keloid scar, is a tough heaped-up scar that rises quite abruptly above the rest of the skin. It is irregularly shaped and tends to enlarge progressively. Unlike scars, keloids do not subside over time.
What is the difference between a keloid and a hypertrophic scar?
After the skin is injured, the healing process usually leaves a flat scar. Sometimes the scar is hypertrophic, or thickened, but confined to the margin of the wound. Hypertrophic scars often subside by themselves (a process which can take one year or more). Treatment such as injections of cortisone (steroids) can speed this process.
Keloids, by contrast, may start some time after the injury and extend beyond the wound site. This tendency to migrate into surrounding areas that weren't injured to begin with distinguishes keloids from hypertrophic scars. Keloids typically appear following surgery or injury, but they can also appear spontaneously or as a result of some slight inflammation, such as an acne pimple on the chest (even one that wasn't scratched). Other minor injuries that can trigger keloids are burns and piercings.
What are the signs and symptoms of keloids?
Keloids are raised and look shiny and dome-shaped, ranging in color from pink to red. Some keloids become quite large and unsightly. Aside from causing potential cosmetic problems, these exuberant scars tend to be itchy, tender, or even painful to the touch.
What is the cause of keloids?
Doctors do not understand exactly why keloids form in certain people or situations and not in others. Changes in the cellular signals that control growth and proliferation may be related to the process of keloid formation, but these changes have not yet been characterized scientifically.
Which people are most susceptible to keloids?
Keloids are less common in children and the elderly. Although people with darker skin are more likely to develop them, keloids can occur in men and women of all skin types. In some cases, the tendency to form keloids seems to run in families.
In which area of the body are keloids most likely to appear?
Keloids develop most often on the chest, back, shoulders, and earlobes. They rarely develop on the face (with the exception of the jawline).
Keloids and piercing
Keloids can develop following the minor injuries that occur with body piercing. Since doctors do not understand the precise reasons why some people are more prone to develop keloids, it is impossible to predict whether piercing will lead to keloid formation. Although there are some families which seem prone to form keloids, for the most part, it's impossible to tell who will develop a keloid. One person might, for instance, develop a keloid in one earlobe after piercing and not in the other. It makes sense, however, for someone who has formed one keloid to avoid any elective surgery or piercing, especially in body areas prone to scarring.
What are the signs and symptoms of keloids?
Keloids are raised and look shiny and dome-shaped, ranging in color from pink to red. Some keloids become quite large and unsightly. Aside from causing potential cosmetic problems, these exuberant scars tend to be itchy, tender, or even painful to the touch.
What is the cause of keloids?
Doctors do not understand exactly why keloids form in certain people or situations and not in others. Changes in the cellular signals that control growth and proliferation may be related to the process of keloid formation, but these changes have not yet been characterized scientifically.
Which people are most susceptible to keloids?
Keloids are less common in children and the elderly. Although people with darker skin are more likely to develop them, keloids can occur in men and women of all skin types. In some cases, the tendency to form keloids seems to run in families.
In which area of the body are keloids most likely to appear?
Keloids develop most often on the chest, back, shoulders, and earlobes. They rarely develop on the face (with the exception of the jawline).
Keloids and piercing
Keloids can develop following the minor injuries that occur with body piercing. Since doctors do not understand the precise reasons why some people are more prone to develop keloids, it is impossible to predict whether piercing will lead to keloid formation. Although there are some families which seem prone to form keloids, for the most part, it's impossible to tell who will develop a keloid. One person might, for instance, develop a keloid in one earlobe after piercing and not in the other. It makes sense, however, for someone who has formed one keloid to avoid any elective surgery or piercing, especially in body areas prone to scarring.
source: medicinenet.com
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