It Doesn't Always Involve Surgery, Here's How To Cure Keloids

Hermina's friends have certainly heard the word keloid. Keloids usually arise due to injuries (burns, claw wounds, post-operative wounds, scratches, etc.). Often, we feel uncomfortable about the presence of keloids.

Keloids are the growth of scar tissue that occurs on the skin caused by scars that exceed the limit of the wound that caused them. Keloids have a clinical form like a tumor, where when we touch the keloid part, it will feel springy and can even feel hard. The color of the keloid is generally purplish pink. However, over time, the color of keloids often changes to blackish brown (hyperpigmentation) with a shiny surface.

Keloids sometimes cause itching and pain, but quite a few keloids are not accompanied by any complaints. Keloids often occur on the earlobes, shoulders, chest, and other parts of the skin that have few hair follicles or glands. Therefore, facial skin rarely experiences keloids. Keloids also appear more often in people aged between 10 and 30 years.

Causes of keloids

There are several causes of keloids, such as burns, surgical scars, scratches, and claw wounds. Normally, when injured, scar tissue or fibrosis will form over the injured skin to protect and repair it. However, in keloids, the tissue continues to grow until it becomes thicker and larger than the wound itself.

Experts believe that keloids run genetically in families. This means that someone is more likely to have keloids when injured if their parents also have keloids. In some people, keloids even appear on small wounds, such as broken acne and vaccination injection wounds. If Hermina's friends have hereditary risk factors, it is recommended not to have piercings, tattoos, or surgical procedures if the condition is not too urgent.

Keloid Treatment

Keloid treatment varies depending on the location, extent, and degree of hardness of the keloid lesion. There are two types of therapy that can be done, namely:

1. Non-surgical

• Injection of certain drugs (corticosteroids, 5 FU, or bleomycin) into keloid lesions Done routinely at intervals of 1-2 weeks. The length of treatment varies depending on the response.
• Applying silicone bandages or press dressings Usually part of combination therapy with surgery or prevention of keloids in new wounds.

2. Surgery

• Surgical excision with special techniques in combination with other non-surgical therapies will reduce the possibility of recurrence and have a high therapeutic success rate.
• Frozen surgery by spraying liquid nitrogen also requires a combination with other therapies.
• Nuclear medicine radiation has also begun to be developed

The therapy most often carried out in hospitals is non-surgical therapy or a combination of surgery. Each type of keloid therapy has its own characteristics for each patient. Friends of Hermina can consult about keloid problems with a skin and genital specialist at the nearest Hermina Hospital, or you can also do an online consultation via the Halo Hermina application and consult with a doctor to determine the right therapy with the lowest risk of recurrence.