How to Manage Keloids

Keloids are scars that don't go away. Keloid scars are large, grow quickly and usually extend beyond the site of the initial injury. They tend to be raised, red or pink in color and itchy, tender and sensitive to touch. While keloids may appear immediately following an injury or surgery, they can also be the result of a slight skin inflammation, a burn or a piercing. Learn how to best treat and manage keloids in a few simple steps.

Instructions

1. Consider getting cortisone injections about once a month to help flatten or eradicate your keloids. The injections are safe and pain-free, and while the keloid may get redder, it will become smaller and less painful. It may eventually disappear.

2. Use special bandages or gels to help compress the keloids and prevent excessive growth. Physicians recommend applying compression bandages or silicone gel pads to the affect area for several hours a day for an extended period of time to help reduce inflammation as well as the size of the keloids.

3. Invest in laser treatments, which can be effective in flattening keloids and reducing redness. The treatments are safe and pain-free, but it may require several sessions to successfully treat your keloids.

4. Consider cryotherapy, which involves freezing keloids with liquid nitrogen. This treatment will flatten keloids, but it may also make them slightly redder and more pronounced.

5. Get interferon injections. Interferons are proteins that our immune systems produce to help ward off bacteria, viruses and other illnesses. These injections have proven effective in temporary reducing the size of keloids, though no long-term evidence is available yet.

6. Consider keloid surgery. However, while surgery can remove keloids temporarily, there is always a chance of re-occurance, which is why dermatologists recommend using injections and some of the aforementioned treatments following surgery to keep the keloids from returning.

Tips & Warnings

• Consult your physician or dermatologist to determine which keloid treatment options are best for you.