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The Doctors Book of Home Remedies II: Scarring

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Scarring

Unless you're a criminal named Mugsy, you probably have little use for scars. Although some wounds will leave you with an eternal etched-in-skin reminder of your misfortune or operation, often you can reduce the chance of scarring simply by treating your skin right during the healing process. Even when a scar can't be completely avoided, there are ways to help it fade faster or more completely.

"C" your way to faster healing. A wound that heals quickly and neatly is less likely to develop a scar than a wound that festers. Foods high in vitamin C, such as broccoli, potatoes and citrus fruits, are thought to promote faster healing by building collagen tissue around blood vessels in the skin, says Las Vegas orthopedic surgeon Michael Rask, M.D., chairman of the American Academy of Neurological and Orthopedic Surgeons and the American Board of Ringside Medicine and Surgery.

Down the zinc. Some experts recommend zinc-rich foods for faster healing. Good sources of zinc include roasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds, Brazil nuts, Swiss and Cheddar cheeses, peanuts, dark-meat turkey and lean beef.

Clean the wound daily. During the healing process, clean the wound daily with hydrogen peroxide or soap and water to help avoid secondary infection--which may increase permanent scarring. Then sparingly apply an over-the-counter antibiotic ointment, which keeps it moist and prevents infection, says Jeffrey H. Binstock, M.D., assistant clinical professor of dermatologic surgery at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine. And don't pick at scabs.

Massage with moisturizer. "One of the most effective things you can do to eliminate or reduce the size of a scar is to massage the incision or wound site with moisturizer after the skin surface has healed," advises Stephen M. Purcell, D.O., chairman of the Department of Dermatology at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and assistant clinical professor at Hahnemann University School of Medicine in Philadelphia. "The massaging improves, blood flow to that area and encourages more even distribution of collagen, which results in less of a thickened scar. And the moisturizer is just good for skin."

The ABCDs of Mole Detection

Once they were called beauty marks. Now they're often thought of as a mark of skin cancer. Sometimes moles do have to be removed, and that can produce some slight scarring. But don't hesitate when it needs to be done: One in three cases of malignant skin cancer starts in moles, says dermatologist Rodney Basler, M.D., assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.

Although moles aren't necessarily a sign that you'll get skin cancer after all, the average person has more than 40 moles--the more you have, the greater your skin cancer risk. A change in any mole should warrant an examination by your doctor, who is likely to remove it with a procedure that takes only a few minutes and leaves a tiny scar. But when you observe moles for signs of change, Dr. Basler suggests that you pay special attention to the ABCDs of mole watching.

Asymmetry: "Moles are symmetrical, so one half is the same shape as the other. But cancers are not," says Dr. Basler.
Borders: "Moles have smooth borders. Cancers have an irregular border--notched, ragged or poorly defined," he adds.
Color: Variation in either shade or color from one area of the mole to another is a likely sign that it's cancer. Shades may be tan to brown or varying intensities of black. The presence of red, white or blue in a changing mole is known as a flag sign, usually indicating that cancer is present.
Diameter: Be suspicious of moles larger than six millimeters--roughly the size of a pencil eraser.

Sock it with sunscreen. Scars have less pigment than the rest of your skin, so they're especially vulnerable to sunburn--and prolonged redness. You should make certain to cover all exposed scars with a sunscreen with an SPF (sun protection factor) of 25 or higher whenever you head outside on a sunny day, says Stephen Kurtin, M.D., assistant professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.

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