Scleroderma Information » Scleroderma » Scarring
Question:
>P.S. Glad it wasn’t worse, Ronni. 1998 was a bad year for ski accidents!
I was expelled from ski school several years ago. No worry about my having a skiing accident, unless a display of skis falls down on me in a sporting goods store. Ronni
Response:
>Is it possible that the area tanned? I recall when my son had stitches on >his forehead (this was many years ago) I was told to keep sunscreen on the >area for the rest of the summer. I know with SD there is at times >hyperpigmentation Ask a dermatologist about a skin bleaching agent or even >vitamin E.
I doubt it’s tanning because the whole area would have tanned. I’m not really concerned about how it looks (although I will try the Vitamin E), but I thought it was interesting to mention in case people with scleroderma do wish to consider certain kinds of elective surgery for cosmetic reasons. The scarring from the procedure could be worse than whatever the cosmetic "problem" was. Ronni
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> I’m not really concerned about how it looks (although I will try the Vitamin E), Ronni, Scleroderma seems to have given me a unique ability for developing hyper/hypo-pigmentation from the slightest abrasion. My skin is even scarred from such seemingly innocuous things like carrying car keys in my pocket. I guess the kennel club would describe me as "brindle" at this point. I have not had any indication from my doctors that this is any cause for concern nor that it is unusual in scleroderma. My skin may just be more proficient at mottling than others — just one more indication of how differently we are all affected by this disease. Fortunately I am comfortable year round in a long sleeved turtleneck and slacks which hide most of the discoloration. Although I have to admit it has crossed my mind that if scleroderma showed more, it might be an easier disease to put up with. I guess most of us have faced feeling really rotten while looking quite normal. One time a friend of mine had scratched her eyeball and had a patch taped over that eye until it could heal. She and her patch went out to dinner one night with someone who was recovering from open heart surgery. When drinks were served, she picked up her beer to pour it into her glass and missed the glass by a mile. The waiter was there immediately, apologizing for not helping her, cleaning up the mess, and getting her a new beer already in a glass. Meanwhile, the heart surgery patient was left to fend for himself. : – ) We have had a good laugh at that incident and at the same time thought about how similar it is to what I face some days. There she was, perfectly fine except for an obvious eye patch. Without meaning to she garnered all the attention and consideration while the real patient sat there looking quite normal. Of course I am just taking a good humored look at the situation and really don’t want the attention that would come if it showed more. I will try the vitamin E and let you know if it works. Peggy
Response:
I just wanted to take this opportunity to shout out just how weird and individual scleroderma is. My stuff is all internal. No problems with external scarring at all. Isn’t it all so strange!!!!! A.. P.S. Glad it wasn’t worse, Ronni. 1998 was a bad year for ski accidents! – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -RSM USF wrote in message <19981016143801.16986.00001…@ng95.aol.com>… >I had an accident on an alpine slide in July (don’t ask!!), and I got a deep >scrape and cut on my elbow. It healed, although I now have a patch of darker, >shiny skin on my elbow. I wonder if surgical procedures for SD would result in >a similar outcome — with problems of healing properly or abnormal scarring. >Have others experienced this? >Ronni >P.S. Take a hint from me — wear padding on alpine slides and slow down on the >curves (but don’t give up the thrill)!
Response:
> Did it reduce your ROM at all? >Be Well Tamara
When I first had my famous (infamous) alpine slide accident, I could hardly bend my arm. It’s fine now; same range of motion as always. Ronni
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->Although I have to admit it has >crossed my mind that if scleroderma showed more, it might be an easier >disease >to put up with. I guess most of us have faced feeling really rotten while >looking quite normal. >One time a friend of mine had scratched her eyeball and had a patch taped >over >that eye until it could heal. She and her patch went out to dinner one night >with someone who was recovering from open heart surgery. When drinks were >served, she picked up her beer to pour it into her glass and missed the glass >by a mile. The waiter was there immediately, apologizing for not helping her, >cleaning up the mess, and getting her a new beer already in a glass. >Meanwhile, >the heart surgery patient was left to fend for himself. : – ) >We have had a good laugh at that incident and at the same time thought about >how similar it is to what I face some days. There she was, perfectly fine >except for an obvious eye patch. Without meaning to she garnered all the >attention and consideration while the real patient sat there looking quite >normal. >Of course I am just taking a good humored look at the situation and really >don’t want the attention that would come if it showed more. I will try the >vitamin E and let you know if it works. >Peggy
How right you are, Peggy! I remember when I was pregnant with my son, over 15 years ago. At the beginning of my pregnancy, I had morning, noon and night sickness! I traveled to NYC on the train every weekday, but often had to stand. Nobody offered me a seat, and I certainly could have done without the movement of the train. Later in the pregnancy, when I was obviously pregnant, I felt much better. Of course, THEN lots of people offered me their seat. "Not looking sick" is certainly a double-edged sword. Ronni
Response:
> I was expelled from ski school several years ago. No worry about my having > a > skiing accident, unless a display of skis falls down on me in a sporting > goods > store.
LOL Ronni I went skiing a couple times and it was a PITYFUL site, Just pitiful LOL. I liked the ski lift though. LOL. — Love and Hugs From Sherry Messick Surviving Scleroderma http://www.SclerodermaSupport.com "Get Up, Stand Up and Fight to survive because Scleroderma Kicks you when you are down" "We are all Beacons Of Light for Each Other " Oprah Winfrey Tomorrow is promised to no one. Learn to say ‘I love you’…. Any way you can! / ____/_________ //////\ Have a Bewitching Halloween!! /// Q Q /// U // ___/
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>I don’t think I would be vain enough to consider a skin bleaching agent >because that could be too harsh on our skin if we have scleroderma
Sherry, I have learned something actually just today after I answered Ronni’s post and you just confirmed it. I always thought that if you had SD and did not suffer from tight skin that your skin was not involved. I was corrected about this today by a doctor. He said that SD has an effect on every patients skin even if it is not visual. You are right about the bleach it would probably burn newly healed skin. I asked a dermatologist about using retin-A on a stubborn wart I have on the palm of my hand and was told to leave it alone because of the SD and give it more time. That is one area that was never tight. Thank You Tamara
Response:
><HTML><PRE>Subject: Scarring >From: rsm…@aol.com (RSM USF) >Date: Fri, Oct 16, 1998 14:38 EDT >Message-id: <19981016143801.16986.00001…@ng95.aol.com> >I had an accident on an alpine slide in July (don’t ask!!), and I got a deep >scrape and cut on my elbow. It healed, although I now have a patch of >darker, >shiny skin on my elbow.
Ronni, Is it possible that the area tanned? I recall when my son had stitches on his forehead (this was many years ago) I was told to keep sunscreen on the area for the rest of the summer. I know with SD there is at times hyperpigmentation Ask a dermatologist about a skin bleaching agent or even vitamin E. Tamara
Response:
>when you are stretching around scar tissue, the skin around the scar >stretches >but the scar tissue itself does not stretch.
Nancy, This is the reason that I had the scar revision done on my finger at the biopsy site. I had lost ROM from the scar tissue and it was very close to the knuckle. I was lucky and the results were good. Regards Tamara BTW- The offer to meet openly in a chat room with this person who continues to state we are the same person is open anytime . I had to close the mail under this name due to the nonsense but did open it last week and got a repeat performance. So if it is causing you a problem let me know. It is two people. I did state that I wasn’t taking the time to report it. Well that was not true LOL !!! AOL is able to tell even if a name has been deleted. They had quite a laugh when I mentioned "Cabal agent!!!!!" I was jokingly asked if I could contact James Bond for help ha ha ha ha ha ha. Take care !!!!!!
Response:
I had an accident on an alpine slide in July (don’t ask!!), and I got a deep scrape and cut on my elbow. It healed, although I now have a patch of darker, shiny skin on my elbow. I wonder if surgical procedures for SD would result in a similar outcome — with problems of healing properly or abnormal scarring. Have others experienced this? Ronni P.S. Take a hint from me — wear padding on alpine slides and slow down on the curves (but don’t give up the thrill)!
Response:
> Ask a dermatologist about a skin bleaching agent or even > vitamin E.
I don’t think I would be vain enough to consider a skin bleaching agent because that could be too harsh on our skin if we have scleroderma. I care how I look but I have learned the hard way that if I care too much and do drastic things it usually makes matters worse in the long run. Just my thought on that one anyway. I have heard that Vitamin E is good for the skin though. You can purchase pure Vitamin E oil or Gel at your local department store. I got mine at Wal-Mart. — Love and Hugs From Sherry Messick Surviving Scleroderma http://www.SclerodermaSupport.com "Get Up, Stand Up and Fight to survive because Scleroderma Kicks you when you are down" "We are all Beacons Of Light for Each Other " Oprah Winfrey Tomorrow is promised to no one. Learn to say ‘I love you’…. Any way you can! / ____/_________ //////\ Have a Bewitching Halloween!! /// Q Q /// U // ___/
Response:
Yes I scar badly. My surgery scars have what the doctor refers to as a rope effect. They said this is due to over scarring because I have scleroderma. — Love and Hugs From Sherry Messick Surviving Scleroderma http://www.SclerodermaSupport.com "Get Up, Stand Up and Fight to survive because Scleroderma Kicks you when you are down" "We are all Beacons Of Light for Each Other " Oprah Winfrey Tomorrow is promised to no one. Learn to say ‘I love you’…. Any way you can! / ____/_________ //////\ Have a Bewitching Halloween!! /// Q Q /// U // ___/
Response:
Scar tissue will not tan or stretch. It lacks those properties of normal skin. when you are stretching around scar tissue, the skin around the scar stretches but the scar tissue itself does not stretch. The usual is that the skin around the scar tissue tans and the scar, whatever its ciolor stands out even more. Nancy
Response:
hi Ronni- Not an answer to your question- but I think I know that alpine slide, it’s about 20 minutes from me and Jim got himself scraped up pretty good this year too. Hope you’re feeling good- Doreen
Response:
>it was interesting to mention in case people with scleroderma do wish to >consider certain kinds of elective surgery for cosmetic reasons. The >scarring >from the procedure could be worse than whatever the cosmetic "problem" was.
Ronni, You make a very good point I had a mole removed at the suggestion of my dermatologist and the scar, (it was on the back of my shoulder was hidious and lost pigment) I did have it corrected and was very lucky with the results. I will list the plastic surgeon I used with his permission. He is well known and accepted whatever my insurance paid. So he is not out for just money, Dr. Norman Hugo 1-212-305-8030 161 Fort Washington Ave. New York, NY 10032 His office is located in the Columbia Presbyterian complex. he also did scar revision on my finger where I had a biopsy done to give back some of the elasticity that was lost when it healed. I am very happy with the results. He made no promises with my finger but it was so close to the joint that I was willing to try. Also I believe that any freshly healed skin will be more sun sensitive in general. in time it may improve on it’s own. Did it reduce your ROM at all? Be Well Tamara
no comment untill now