Acne Scars And The Available Treatments

Hi,

I am Dr. Deepam Shah, Dermatologist. We will discuss today acne scars. This is a very common problem because of the acne scar which is preventable in early life you treat it at the right age. So, I want to discuss how should we go in treating acne. Why do we get acne scars? Scars are not only on the surface of the skin, but it is also beneath the surface of the skin. They eat away the collagen of the skin and leads to acne scars formation. Why do we get acne scars? There are many reasons. first, most common is acne. Because of acne, we get acne scars. People who have nodular acne, pus acne, reddish acne, they all lead to acne scar formation. Some people have the problem of getting scars from minor acne also. There are certain kind of medicines if you use for prolonged cases like steroid creams which make the skin thinner and lead to acne formation. Another important cause of acne is bursting and pricking acne. So, you should never do that. These are the causes of getting acne scars. What types of acne scars? There are many types of it. The most common thin one acne or prick scars. Other is rolling scars, box scars, hypertrophic scars, and keloidal scars. Multiple types of acne scars which a person can get. Now we come on the treatment of the acne scars.

What are the treatment options we have? We will start from the earlier modality which is most common now. So, the earliest one which was there is submission, punch grafting then derma roller, Co2 fractional laser, and the last treatment are MNRF. This is the latest one. So, in patients who are having scars which are multiple then we need to combine multiple treatments. If the patient has box scars with rolling scars then we combine the treatment. The patients who have ice pricks scars or box scars or rolling scars, we use MNRF in such cases. Now, we come to the side-effects of the treatment. First and the foremost thing that they do not go away with any cream. So, you have to do procedures for acne scars. What are the side-effects? There are chances of getting mild redness, swelling. These will remain for almost 24-48 hours. After this, your skin comes back to normal. The earlier treatment was a fractional laser, the downtime of the patient was close to around 5 days. So, that treatment has been replaced by MNRF and its downtime is only 36-48 hours. What is the post-operative instruction when you do some treatments for acne scars? Sun protection is very important because you have done some treatment on your face if you have exposure in the sun, then there are chances of getting pigmentation.

Post-procedure, you need to hydrate your skin. Drink a lot of water. Apply proper moisture. Anti-biotic creams will be recommended to you. Wash your face with a mild gentle cleanser. Do not rub, prick or scrub your face. These are the post-operative instruction we give to the patient. I would like to give some golden advice on acne scars. The first thing to treat acne scars is by getting treatment from a dermatologist at an early stage of acne. If you will take a longer time, then there are chances you might get multiple acne scars. So, always treat your acne first. For more information about this, you can contact me through Lybrate.

Thank You.