Scar Prevention

There are steps you can take — and mistakes to avoid — to help heal skin with as little residual scarring as possible. “The key to lessening scarring is to decrease the amount of work the body has to do to heal the scar,” Krant says. Here’s how:

• Get stitches if needed. Cuts that are spread apart or are deep often heal better when they are stitched by a medical professional. Keep in mind that stitches must be sewn as soon as possible, while the injury is fresh. If too much time elapses, the wound may become contaminated with germs or bacteria, and a doctor may not want to stitch it closed because of the threat of infection. Also, the wound may start to partially heal, which can hinder successful suturing. If in doubt about whether stitches are in order, see a doctor in a timely manner and let him decide the best treatment for the wound.
• Keep the wound moist. Apply petroleum jelly to the wound and cover it with a non-stick bandage. This can speed healing and minimize scarring, says Krant.
• Don’t fall for the false advertising of scar creams. You might have heard that vitamin E can help reduce scarring, but this has not been proven in a high-quality study (a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial). In fact, no over-the-counter product claiming to prevent scars has been scientifically shown to significantly improve scarring.
• Massage the wound. On the other hand, “massaging the scar daily with vitamin E may help promote a less visible scar,” says Krant.
• Avoid the sun. Keeping the scar away from sunlight can help minimize discoloration.
• Let it heal naturally. Don’t use hydrogen peroxide too frequently as it can cause continual irritation and slow the healing process. And don’t pick at scabs. “Scabs are nature’s biologic dressing,” Krant says. “Picking off a scab repeatedly when a wound is trying to heal will slow healing and increase scarring. ”
• Be patient. Healing takes time — possibly a long time. The first phase of healing takes three months, followed by a second phase that lasts another three months. At one year after the injury, the scar has basically formed, but even then it will still change and appear different a year after that. “The truth is, scars never stop changing and improving unless they are keloid scars, which continually worsen unless treated by a physician,” Krant says.
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