Keloids are the excess growth of scar tissue where the skin has healed. Keloids can form where the skin is damaged due to a surgery cut, burn, chickenpox, or acne. For some people, even a scratch can lead to keloids. Keloids are most commonly found on the upper chest and back. They are most likely to form in dark-skinned people, but anyone can get them.
Keloids can rub against your clothes and become irritated, itchy, or painful. Keloids exposed to the sun may turn darker than the rest of your skin. The dark color may stay.
Keloids do not become cancer. They do not need treatment unless they bother you. Your doctor may treat small keloids by freezing them or injecting them with medicine. Large keloids may need other treatments, such as surgery. Treatment for keloids can also cause keloids to form.
A keloid is a growth of fibrous tissue at the site of a healing scar caused by overproduction of collagen. Keloids are most common on the breastbone, upper back, and shoulder but can occur anywhere on the body.
Some people, especially those with dark skin, are more prone to developing keloids.
Signs and symptoms include:
Keloids do not need treatment. But for cosmetic reasons or to relieve keloid pain or itch, they can be surgically removed, frozen with liquid nitrogen, or treated with medicine. If removed surgically, a keloid may recur in the surgical scar.
Keloids look like firm, raised, hard scars. They grow larger over time. Their colors vary from slightly pink to very dark.
Keloids can rub against your clothes and become irritated, itchy, or painful. When exposed to the sun, they may turn darker than the rest of your skin. The dark color may stay.
There is no sure cure for keloids, but treatment sometimes improves how they look and feel. It is common for keloids to grow back after treatment.
When trying to treat a keloid, your doctor may need to use more than one type of treatment. Based on a keloid's size and location, and how soon it is treated, your doctor may:
Radiation tends to be reserved as a last option for treating keloids. There is a chance that it can cause cancer.
Your health insurance may cover some keloid treatments, but not others. Your treatment also may not be covered if the insurance company thinks it's being done only to improve how the scar looks (cosmetic reasons).
If you tend to get keloids, it's best to avoid body piercings, tattoos, or any surgery you do not need. Keloids can grow after these procedures.
To prevent keloids after a minor skin injury, start treating it right away. This may help it heal faster and with less scarring. Using the following tips to treat the area may help prevent keloid growth.
Keloids can form where the skin is damaged, such as by a surgery cut, a piercing, a burn, chickenpox, or acne. Thick tissue grows up and out from the healing area, making the scar bigger than the original injury. For some people, even a scratch can lead to keloids.
Keloids do run in families, and they rarely grow in light-colored skin. Experts think that keloids may be linked to a gene that is linked to dark skin pigment.
A keloid (say "KEE-loyd") is a scar that grows bigger and wider than the original injury. Keloids most commonly grow on the breastbone, shoulder, upper chest and back, earlobes, and face.
Keloids do not become cancer. But they can be bothersome or painful enough that you seek treatment. Keloids often grow back after treatment.
It's possible to prevent a keloid from forming if you take steps to protect the skin after it is damaged.
Call your doctor now or seek immediate medical care if:
Watch closely for changes in your health, and be sure to contact your doctor if:
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