Keloids?

[X4biddenxLustX]

I got my belly button pierced 4 years ago (I was 14 and STUPID!) and things were going well. Until I decided to switch rings before it completely healed. The ring I had in originally was a surgical steel one and I didn't have any problems with it as long as I cleaned the area everyday correctly. But the new ring I switched to was a sterling silver one. Now I had heard that its not a good idea to put a sterling silver ring in before it completely healed. Well my body basically started rejecting the ring. I thought it was an infection at first and started cleaning it better but nope. I ended up taking the ring out and trying to let it heal and it did and I put the sterling silver ring back and it started to reject again. I had no choice but to let it close up. I ended up getting an ugly scar, a keloid on that area. Its REALLY bad

, plus its really dark too where the scarred tissue is at. It's been four years and it just still really bothers me. Not only is it gross to look at but it itches and sometimes it can still hurt too in that area.

Now, I've called some tattoo shops and asked around on what I should do. Most of them said that if I ever planned on getting it repierced (not likely going to happen considering what happened the first time.) that I would have to come in and for them to look at it first and then go from there. Another person I spoke to told me to rub tea tree oil on it to help shrink it. Not sure if thats actually going to do anything as I heard tea tree oil is antimicrobial but doesn't help with inflammation. Another suggestion was to use hydrocoritsone cream. I ended up doing more research online, and I everything I ended up reading didn't leave me feeling very hopeful. I KNOW that its never going to completely go away but I just want something to be done about it. At least have some of it shrink a bit or fade.

It's just really been bothering me and not helping with my self-esteem issues, on top of that I've been getting more stretchmarks

. Like this is just something that really bothers me because whenever someone sees my belly button they just have to ask about it. I can't help but keep lifting up my shirt and looking at it and just thinking how gross I am and how I seriously regret ever getting it pierced.

I just wanted to know if anyone else has had any issues with keloids, severe scarring and if anyone has any good advice on what to do to help with it?

 

[shadowaddict]

Sorry to hear about your trouble. I'm 46 and have had this problem all my life. I was told it is mostly in African Americans but I'm white with a quarter Native American. Anyway, I have two scars on the back of my neck where I had two moles removed when I was 11. My doctor told me if I got my ears pierced it could happen. I beged my mom to let me and she finally agreed when I was 14 but only if I got it done at the doctor's office and let the nurse do it. I had no problems and at 16 got a second hole and then I have a third in my left ear. I have no problems with my ears but with cuts it's a hit or miss if I get one.

I have had surgery a few times and I have scars that are very slim lines and some that are bigger with the whole keloid thing. But what I did not realize is that it can happen inside your body as well. I found this out when my daughter was 6 months old and I had a cyst on my ovary burst and stated hemorrhaging and had to have my left ovary and tube removed. At first everything was fine but I started having more pain each month with my period. My doctor tried several things but ended up doing exploratory surgery to find the problem. It ended up that the surgery the year before had caused scar tissue so much that my uterus was stuck to my small intestines, it’s like stick glue. So he had to make a bigger incision and remove my uterus along with the scar tissue. I told him before if I needed a hysterectomy that was fine I had my two kids and didn’t want more. But still after that each month got worse and worse for a year and a half. He tried all kinds of stuff to figure it out and ease the pain. When he had me have a pelvic ultrasound it showed that there was ovarian tissue on the left side that appeared to be an ovary, which apparently isn’t unheard of to have more than one on each side. So one more exploratory and it was not ovarian tissue but a clump of scar tissue. He removed it and put in a square piece of something to block the growth of more scar tissue. He showed me on video and I have it, weird. But since then no problems and that was I believe in late 1991 or early 1992.

Now, I find myself wondering what is going to happen with my ankle. I had surgery 6 weeks ago and wondering what this will be. Somehow I tore a tendon all the way across in half and had to have it repaired. I’m in my second cast now and I get to move to a boot next week. But I explained everything to my orthopedic surgeon about my keloid problems.

My daughter is now 20 and she has a keloid right in the middle of her chest for the chicken pox and a couple on her scalp.

I wish you so much luck with this. It is a pain in the ass. I guess I can never cosmetic surgery because of this. Sorry this is so long I just thought you might be interested. It had never occurred to me that it could happen inside also.

 

[Skin*Deep]

aww sorry all this happened! =(
I had a small area of a scar turn into a keloid. I used two things: neosporin scar therapy (simple silicone pads) and Clarins Beauty Repair Concentrate (a botanical, bad-ass neosporin) within 4 or 5 months the keloid remaines slightly darker than the rest of the scar, but it was completely smooth and soft, you could not feel it at all anymore! I was and still am pretty impressed with how it turned out, considering what it looked like a year ago.....

 

[zipperfire]

The "square piece of something" is a surgical product developed by Genzyme to prevent "adhesions" or surgical internal scars. Glad to hear it works--they were one of my clients years ago when I worked in the biotech industry.

 

[X4biddenxLustX]

shadowaddict: I hope your ankle will be fine =] I had no idea scarred tissue inside the body could cause so many problems. I just thought it always more of a cosmetic thing. I had a pelvic ultrasound a few months back too and boy was it unpleasant. My gyna ordered it after I complained about some weird cramps after inserting my nuvaring in. Tests came back normal so I think it was just the way I was putting the nuvaring.

skin*deep: I've actually read about silicone sheets helping with it when I looked up information online. Are the neosporin ones or the clarin's beauty repair concentrate very expensive? How long did you have the keloid for being trying these 2 products on them? The thing is that I've have had this keloid for close to 4 years now and I'm scared it might be too late.


I've been considering going to my GP and asking about what I could possibly do. He had noticed it during my last physical and had asked about it. I didn't ask him anything about it though. It's just really bugging me so badly. Like just thinking about it makes me want to cry, yeah I know it sounds pathetic and something stupid to cry over. But it really is affecting me not just mentally but it itches and hurts alot still.

I've heard of some people going to cosmetic surgery doctors or dermatologists and getting all these procedures done for it. Surgery or anything that involves needles really scare me plus I don't have the money to pay for any of it. I just don't want it to keep growing or getting worse. =[

 

[Blushbaby]

I have 3 on the back of one shoulder, 1 on the other and my BCG injection that I had on my upper arm when I was 14 turned into one. I also have a tiny one on my stomach from the chicken pox - count yourself lucky you only one the one.

I didn't cut or pierce my skin on my back so don't know what the hell caused those to appear!!

I've tried everything to flatten/reduce them andnothing's worked. Removal will just run the risk of them reappearing even worse, which is what happened to an old school friend who tried to get one caused by the BCG injection removed. She ended up with an 8 inch scar down her arm when it 'grew back'!

Believe me I undertand how conscious you are about it. I never wear strappy/strapless clothes on their own as a result of mine but am trying to just think "Fuck it" and wear what the hell I want and just build my confidence back up. It's hard though ...

 

[shadowaddict]

It's so weird that after 35 years the two on my neck are so sensitive. They don’t hurt or itch on their own just if something rubs against them. When I have facials done and they rub my neck and shoulders I have to tell them not to rub there. I can’t stand for them to be touched. The others on my body aren’t like that.

I wish I had some advice for you.

 

[X4biddenxLustX]

Blushbaby: I've read that there are just people who are more prone to getting keloids than others. I guess I'm just more prone to scarring and hyperpigmentation. I've also noticed that if I have a rash or pimple on my skin sometimes it can become dark after it goes away. And my keloid is like really really dark compared to my actual skintone.

Yikes! I've heard that after getting anything done to try to remove them, they can come back but not worse than how they originally were. I was seriously considering getting some cortisone injections done, but thats not an option now. I just don't want it to get worse. I dont wear clothes that show my belly (I'm not blessed in that department, I need to start working out!) so hopefully this will make me feel just a bit better about it since not too many people will be able to see it.

shadowaddict: Mines still very sensitive and it honestly scares me sometimes. Like I have a wild imagination and sometimes I can imagine something bad is going to happen to my belly button because I have a keloid. I'm also scared that it'll get caught on something and will scar worse? Idk, Im so weird lol.


What I've been doing for these past few days is apply a mixture of emu oil (it's suppose to help with scars and is a anti-inflammatory) and my Palmer's Cocoa Butter Stretch Mark Massage Cream (stretch marks are also another form of scarring) on it. But I dont want to touch it too much cause I heard that can cause it to get worse and develop even MORE scar tissue, like I need anymore of that! This just sucks on top of having stretch marks.

 

[franimal]

I used to get them around my nose piercing and my ear cartilage piercing. I would make an aspirin paste (with non-coated aspirin) and leave on until dried. It worked great for me. Good luck with your keyloid, I know it sucks

 

[X4biddenxLustX]

Sort of like doing the aspirin mask on your face? I actually came across one of those question and answering sites, I think yahoo answers? where someone suggested to do that.

 

[Blushbaby]

I had steroid injections in them and OMG it was the most painful thing I've ever experienced in my life! No joke but I was in bed all day when I got home in so much pain!! It was horrendous. I didn't go back for a follow up session 6 mths later (there was no way I was going through that again) and the Dermatix silicone gel they gave me did fuck all!

I'm stuck with them! I think the longer you've had them, the less that can be done.

 

[Skin*Deep]

I had it for about a year before I began using them, both products are not really cheap....but both lasted for quite a few applications, I'd say the beauty repair concentrate lasted about 8 months, and the silicone pads...a box lasted about six months, you can wear them for several days in a row (take off when showering, reapply) I cut them in half because mine was small. also, my plastic surgeon told me he definitely could remove it and "revise" that portion of my scar - but obviously no guarantee it wouldnt happen again - AND that part of my scar, though smooth and soft, is STILL much more sensitive than the rest.......my scar is about 3 years old now and it has remained the same - I was afraid if I stopped using the silicone pads it would come back but it did not-

 

[X4biddenxLustX]

Blushbaby: All the articles I could find on the injections all said that they were just "uncomfortable". I think they used the wrong term, more like agonizing from the way you've put it! It is also a super sensitive part of the body now cause of the scar tissue. Did they do anything to try to numb it before doing the injection?

I do agree that the longer you've had it the harder it'll be to do anything about it. In everything I've read they've always talked about early treatment and prevention. It's just like pretty damn hopeless. I'm just afraid that since I've been trying to lose weight especially around the belly area that this will be even more prominent.

The injections can't be cheap either (or the specialist doctors visits), I doubt my insurance would even consider covering it cause it's not medically necessary in their eyes. I haven't heard about silicone gel being used just the silicone sheets that skin*deep had mentioned. Maybe the sheets and gel have a different delivery method which can affect how effective it is on the keloid?

skin*deep: I had heard that with the silicone sheets, you need to have them on practically all times? If thats the case, I don't mind too much since its just the belly button area and I wont be prancing around in belly shirts anytime soon lol. But I looked up neosporin scar on walgreens.com and the only thing it would come up with are the silicone scar sheets from Retouch. They range from $8.99 to $59.99 I guess depending on the size and quantity of the sheets. It says it can be used to "Reduce the appearance of raised scars, old or new" I guess keloids count? Maybe even stretch marks too? Heres the link : Walgreens | Shop | Mastectomy Care | Scar Management

The scariest part of any procedure even if your seeing a good doctor is that there is no guarantee that things will turn out the way you want them or even well. I use to want to get some plastic surgery done when I was younger and even more self concious but realized that no matter how careful the doctor is or whatever something bad CAN happen. Not saying that it will but theres still that chance. Plus I'm super afraid to go under the knife for anything also.

 

[Skin*Deep]

my sacr in question is actually from plastic surgery. I had wonderful results, a-m-a-z-i-n-g. the area that developed a keloid was only about 1/4 inch, and I believe it was from my pants constantly rubbing it. the neosporin brand are about 59.99 I believe, I got them at Target I kept them on for "most" of the day. sometimes only a few hours, mainly I slept with them on, because they were easier to keep on when I wasn't wearing jeans.....more often that not I did not use them during the day....I hope you can find something that works for you

 

[xxManBeaterxx]

I have the exact same problem as you.. I had my belly pierced when i was 17 so its been a while.. And all was well and fine, 3 months had passed and i thought nothing could go wrong as far as scars were concerned.. (keloid is a very rare condition where the scar never stops growing, so most scars are known as hypertrophic scars, sorry for the technical terms D:] Well i woke up one morning and there was dark ring around the entrance hole.. i was sooo scared i went back to the piercer and he told me to put tea tree oil and salt soaks. I dont mean to scare you but mines never went away and i still have it till this day.. Its not so bad because the ball pretty much covers the scar. But the good thing is that over the years it becomes skin-colored and it does flatten out a lot. I think most doctors would reccomend you remove the ring, but if the scar doesnt irritate you or cause physical disruptions i think its fine to leave it, the scar will eventually get better.

So i'd say get some tea tree oil, do some salt soaks in a shot glass (the amount of salt you put it should not make the water any saltier than a bag of potato chips), and the most important ingredient is to make sure you get some silicone gel ointments. Do the salt soak once a day, put tree tea oil once every morning, and the gel ointment at night

Scars normally dont just dissapear but you can make it softer in appearance and a little less visible

 

[hhunt2]

X4biddenxLustX i feel your pain. Here's my story...

I was young and stupid too when I got my piercings. I was about 16 y/o... I got an industrial, tragus, naval and my ears stretched. My parents were sooo against tats and piercings (even till now), but I got them done and I was very good at hiding them. lol

My naval healed well, but I recently retired that.
When I was in high school, I played soccer but kept my industrial in. STUPID! After the trauma from head-butting the ball and ruff play, I noticed 2 huge bumps developing. I didn’t know what they were and I started to look like an elf (the keloid was at the top of my ear) lol. After a year, I removed the industrial bar.

At 18, I did my research on keloids and looked for a plastic surgeon. I found out that steroid injections would help (but I found out that their weren’t too many surgeons who did steroid injections in Northern California). . I was very taken back when I read/heard the word "steroid" but I was willing to do whatever. So I got steroid injections about 3 times per month (at $75 each injection) and then the doc would massage it in (not painful at all but it bruised up bad one time). Then he had told me that aspirin on the keloid will help too (mix water and a mashed up aspirin. Then put a thick coat of the mixture on the keloid for 30 mins every other day). After a few injections, I noticed the keloids going down. Then everyday, I would put pressure on it (as requested by the doc). He had recommended a clip earring. Leave the clip on the keloid for 10 mins (the pressure will slowly lower the size of the keloid).
BUT, if the keloid is "that" bad as you explain it. I remember my doc saying that they would inject steroids then cut off the keloid. Then continue to inject steroids to prevent growth of it. I was told that insurances may cover it but if not they would cover the meds for it.

As I type this posting, my keloid is barely noticeable. And all my other keloids are super small compared when I first came into the surgeons office. If you plan to visit a plastic surgeon, obviously look for a valid, registered doc. And if money is an issue… some docs offer free consultations or "discounted" initial exams. Look on Yelp.com for reviews & then look on their websites.

 

[X4biddenxLustX]

Thanks ladies!

skin*deep: I wish I had the balls and the cash for plastic surgery of any kind right now lol! Considering how long you said the neosporin silicone sheets lasted you, $59.99 is not bad at all. I just gotta wait til I get a job or at least that paycheck Macy's still owes me (grrr! thats another story lol). I do wonder though cause I might go for a follow up appointment tomorrow for my strep throat if my doctor could just maybe write me script for them and save me some cash? Thats if he's willing to and if the insurance is also willing to pay for it. At this moment, this and along with the silicone gels, aspirn mask, and tea tree oil seem like the most affordable and non-invasive treatments. It's worth a shot I guess. When you had them on did they make you itch or irritate your skin or anything? I'm just asking cause I have super sensitive skin and the keloid makes that area even more sensitive.

xxManBeaterxx: The term hypertrophic scar kept coming up on all the links that I read about keloids, to be honest the word scared me! I think I may of have forgotten to mention that I dont have the belly ring in anymore, during the second time back when I was still 14 to try to put it back in and it rejected, I had to take it out for good. So I dont know if that makes any difference here? At this point sadly, I don't have very high expectations of this thing really getting THAT much better. It just seems that its been getting worse and worse after time, like the scar has gotten much darker than it originally was. How exactly do you do the salt shot glass treatment?


hhunt2: Your so lucky the treatment worked out well for you! I'm just super scared that if I do do that something horrible will happen and it'll only get worse. The idea of having to get it cut off scares the living crap out of me lol! I'll def do my research on plastic surgeons if it ever gets to that point where I may have to see one for this, cause theres some quacks out there claiming to be doctors!


Another thing that was brought up in my research was that since keloids don't really pose any physical harm to the body that its not really medically necessary to do anything about it. That just pretty much seals the deal with my insurance company most likely. But its just been getting a lot more painful in that area recently. It use to itch quite often and have some occasional pain there but its getting worse now. Not sure if its psychological cause I'm freaking out over it or what. The next time I see my doctor I'll be sure to mention it to him and see what he says or if he's willing to write me a referral to see a specialist and what my insurance is willing to do for me.

 

[xxManBeaterxx]

^^^For the shot glass, just fill up the cup with warm water from the faucet until its halfway to the top and put maybe 1 semi-large pinch of pure sea salt and swoosh it around with a straw or something. Then place the cup over your belly button for 15 minutes, make sure its snug enough so the water doest come dripping out

haha dont be worried about that snazzy word (hypertropic scar) almost everyone has them its just the fancy term for a scar thats keloid-like in appearance. but people are still like so whats the difference then?? keloids dont stop growing and it grows way beyond the site of injury, ive seen keloid scars as large as footballs, i think only 3% of the population have the actual keloid disease

how does it look like anyway? is it just a big dot where the old piercing was? or has it grown into a line-type scar? I think most insurance doesnt cover the cost of fixing scars, but if you tell them that its really itchy your doctor can waver your insurance

 

[Blushbaby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by X4biddenxLustX Blushbaby: All the articles I could find on the injections all said that they were just "uncomfortable". I think they used the wrong term, more like agonizing from the way you've put it! It is also a super sensitive part of the body now cause of the scar tissue. Did they do anything to try to numb it before doing the injection?

I got my injections free on the NHS (gotta lovethe British health service) but I waited about 4 mths for an appt.

The doc sprayed something directly on them before he injected them. I can't remember what it was but it felt freezing cold to the point where it was a lil' painful ...Nitrate sumthin

I really can't remember.

I've heard about the silicone sheets - try them but don't get your hopes up. If they worked as well as they make out, then I wouldn't have the problem I have with mine!

Good luck

 

[MisaMayah]

Hey Hun,

I work for a clinic in Harley Street and we treat keloid scarring. It's usually treated with steroid injections like some people have already mentioned. But Keloid scarring can be hard to treat because its so complex. The injections dont work for everybody and there's a risk the keloids can come back or get even worse.