Written By: Debjani Arora | Published : October 15, 2018 4:49 PM IST
Stretch marks happen to both men and women equally. © Shutterstock
Stretch marks are the most common problem confronted by men and women alike. It either happens due to massive weight gain or loss or it can be caused by hormonal changes due to adolescence, pregnancy and weight lifting or hormone replacement therapy. Here Dr Sameer Karkhanis, Cosmetic Surgeon, Centre for Cosmetic & Reconstructive Surgery tells everything you need to know about stretch marks.
Some of the skin types are more liable to stretch marks than others and can be quite visible. Stretch marks usually appear as white or red lines near the arms, stomach, thighs or chest area. It can also occur all over the body, inclusive of the body part mentioned above. Stretch marks are mostly seen on the body part of pregnant women. There are 60 70% of women who experience stretch marks because of the continuous growth of their stomach and other body parts too due to the overstretched skin. It can also be seen on those patients who are on steroids as the elasticity of skin decreases while one goes under such treatments.
Skin is fairly elastic, but when it is overstretched the normal production of collagen is disrupted that means the major protein the makes up the connective tissue in your skin is disturbed. The affected skin becomes thin, flattened and pink and may also feel itchy. Stretch marks themselves appear as pink, red or purple in colour due to the broken blood vessels in the outer layer of skin as it will eventually heal, it may also occur in reddish-brown or dark brown, depending on your skin colour and may also form patches of parallel lines on your body and often appear "scar-like". And if it is left untreated it will turn into silvery-white indented scars that become significantly harder to treat. They'll usually become less noticeable over time, although this process can sometimes take years. The marks aren't aching or injurious, but some people are upset about the way they make their skin appear.
There are many treatments for stretch marks but each and every treatment can't be that effective to get rid of it. The scars may not completely disappear. So at the early stage using Tretinoin based creams, gels and lotions which will help to lighten the scars or wrinkles of stretch marks to an extent can help. There are some creams which are not effective for the treatment of stretch marks because they cannot enter deep enough to address the damaged skin. Dye laser treatment can be used at an early stage while the stretch mark appears in red or purple in colour. As the process forms energy from the laser which is absorbed by the blood vessels and it lowers the stretch marks whereas the blood vessel collapse and the red or purple colour line either disappears completely or turn white. And for post pregnancy stretch mark we can undergo a tummy tuck procedure which will help us to remove the skin below navel along with the fat.
There's no particular way to get rid of stretch marks completely, even if you regularly use ointments and oils. However, keeping your mass in a healthy choice by eating well and working out frequently can help to prevent stretch marks caused by sudden weight gain or loss due to any condition.
