need scar prevention cream

[KFTS]

Hi, I just got six stitches right between my eyes yesterday (I fought the treadmill and the treadmill won) and would really like to try to prevent scarring. Does anyone have a scar prevention cream I could buy? I heard something with emu might work? I get the stitches out in five days. I also have vitamin E acetate and olive squalene here, would those help?

[Ry Creek Candles]

Try 2nd Skin Scar Gel made by Spenco Medical Corp. Try this site. http://www.spenco.com.

[Carriegsxr6]

You shouldn’t apply anything just yet, until the stitches come out, you want to keep it dry for now.

Once the stitches come out Pure Vitamin E is the best way to go. You can get some capsules and break them open. I like this way best for one use applications.

[gmp]

There is something on the market called Mederma which reduces scarring. It is over the counter. ALso, your local pharmacist may be able to make a suggestion.

[Rebecca_IA]

My oldest daughter got approx 30 stitches in her forehead when she was 18 months old, 10 on the outside and the rest on the inside of the incision.

The only thing I used on her was bacitracin antibiotic salve, the version without the pain relieving additive. I do believe I mispelled bacitracin, but the pharmacist should know what I'm talking about.

She got her stitches from a plastic surgeon because of the location and size of the wound and I followed his instructions to the "T".

She barely has any scarring at all, in fact you can't see the scar, but you can feel where she got the stitches. I'd use nothing but an antibiotic salve until after the stitches come out or possibly longer. He gave me a paper on the reasons why not to use anything until other than the antibiotic salve until the skin was completely healed together. Lotions/cremes have additives that are okay to put on the skin, but putting them into the body can cause a strong reaction, which could cause your wound to swell and scar worse. And when you have a break in the skin, you are essentially putting the lotion/creme into the body.

After that, a drop of emu and/or vit e a few times a day and keep it out of the sun for a few years (use high spf or a hat everyday). Look at oilsbynatures site and read up on oils to help scars and skin regeneration. Incorporate these into your emu if you want to get a wider variety.

It'll take a few years before it's completely healed.

Also, as much of a pain in the ass as this is going to be, it's important not to get your wound wet at all, not even the slightest. The water can get into the wound and swell up blood cells, which swells the wound and makes scarring worse. Before you bathe, put a thick coat of salve on the wound and cover it very well with a bandage. This is very important.

If it gets infected, don't self treat, call the doctor. If you are advised to use hydrogen peroxide, mix it half and half with distilled water, do not use full strength because it promotes scar tissue.

When I was 6, I got a horrible wound on my left eye, basically right on the brow bone. I have absolutely no scarring at all, excepting for the fact you can feel a bit of scar tissue. I guess I should say had because about a year ago, I could start to see a bit of a scar (with my age, I'm getting a very prominant wrinkle where the scar tissue is). My mother said she only used aloe leaves and vit e on all my wounds.

[KFTS]

thanks all, I got the neosporin, (doc said neosporin or bacitracin, either one)with the pain reliever though. I will wait before applying any other stuff. And thanks for the advice on not getting it wet, I didn't last night but today I did wash my whole face. I will not do that again. The doc did say for a blunt force trauma wound the edges were pretty straight and clean, so that is a plus, easier to stitch and hopefully less scarring.

[Sherie]

Tanna, once the wound is completely closed and sutures removed (it will still be pink), you can use the Mederma. It's a little pricey but I've heard it has good results on fresh scars.