Uncommon Facts to Prevent Scarring

Scars are the inevitable process of your skin cells trying to heal a scrape or cut.  Common solutions to helping reduce a wound’s scarring is by keeping it clean, moist with petroleum jelly and covered with a clean bandage at all times.

Here are some lesser-known facts about healing scars:

• Diet can play a factor in wound healing. Your body needs to be healthy to be able to heal itself. Protein and vitamins are important to keep in your diet. The mineral zinc plays a particularly important process in healing.
• Using a study group of 28 people given the same form of wound puncture, researchers at Ohio State University (OSU) found exercise can speed the healing process by 25 percent.
• Could temperament be related? OSU also found that volunteers who described themselves as having a “hot temper” took four times longer to heal a blister than participants who did not.
• Cover scars with SPF 15 or higher – it’s a myth that sun exposure can help blend a scar. In fact, the sun can cause an even greater contrast in color. UV rays can damage the healing process because they interfere with the production of new collagen.

See a dermatologist to discuss options to minimize the appearance of scars. Call Knoxville Dermatology Group at (865)690-9467.