The Path Toward Healing, Not Hiding Scars

Life is full of dangerous obstacles and accidents that can cause injury and leave behind a scar. A scar is a natural part of healing a skin wound but can cause unnecessary stress over a person’s appearance. A compound pharmacy can provide patients with custom medication to improve self-esteem and reduce the size of a scar.

A natural part of healing a wound

Scars can develop from burns, cuts, or other injuries to the skin. Immediately after suffering from an injury, the skin produces new collagen fibers to repair the damage. The repairing collagen produces a scar with a unique texture compared to the surrounding tissue. Blemishes can vary in size, color, and severity depending on many environmental and genetic factors.

Differences in scar types

Compound pharmacies can treat a range of scar damage based on the scar type. Below are a few of the major types of scars that can be treated with compounding medications for the skin.

Keloid scars

These are a type of aggressive scarring that produces scars that extend over the original injury. Large keloid scars can restrict movement. Keloid scar treatment can include steroid injections, cryotherapy, silicone sheets, or surgery.

Acne scars

These types of scars have the appearance of deep pits in the skin with color variations. Treatment depends on the type of acne scars.

Contracture scars

This is the type that forms after a burn. Contracture scars can heal, but tighten the surrounding skin and can go as deep as muscles and nerves.

Hypertrophic scars

Similar to keloid scars, hypertrophic scars are red and don’t form beyond the original injury site. Steroid injections and silicone sheets have been used to reduce scar appearance.

Scar prevention tips

Tips for scar prevention depend on the type and severity of a wound. Deep and severe injuries are best treated by a medical professional with stitches to reduce the scar size and prevent infection. Keeping the wound area clean with mild soap and water can go a long way to healing the skin properly. The following tips can improve scar healing:

• Keep the wound area moist with petroleum jelly to prevent the formation of a scab. Scab development can delay the healing process.
• Cover the area with an adhesive bandage after applying petroleum jelly.
• Change the bandage daily.
• Apply sunscreen after the scar heals.

Compound pharmacies over OTC treatment

Over-the-counter scar treatments can only go so far in reducing scar size. For a more personalized treatment, patients can consult with compound pharmacies for uniquely formulated wound care products. Compound medication can be infused with antibiotic, antiseptic, and tissue growth stimulator to make application easy and convenient.

Improving self-esteem one application at a time

Compound pharmacies can produce creams, gels, and ointments to maximize the healing benefits of the compounds. Lotions and creams can be used by compound pharmacies to retain moisture around the injury, speed up healing, and reduce the overall scar size. Compounding pharmacies give patients with old and new scars hope for improvement. Speak with a pharmacist to learn more about compounding dermatological medications.