When I am wearing a tank top, many would point to my shoulder and ask, "What happened?" There is a scar on my shoulder which is as long as the first section of my thumb. It's red and swollen, and hence, draws a lot of attention. A more proper name for this scar is Keloid.
In short, keloid is hypertrophic scarring. I had a scratch on my shoulder and it didn't heal like other wounds, and it kept growing after a while, becoming a red scar which looked like acne. It is itchy and painful during all these years of scar proliferation.
I consulted two doctors about the cure. Both of them advised not to do any surgery. The reason was that over 90% patients' keloid grew back after the operation, and it got even bigger than before. Nonetheless, it was necessary to wear pressure garments after operation, but my keloid is on the shoulder, so pressure garment's effectiveness is highly in doubt.
The first doctor recommended scar bandage, but it was totally useless, and the application was quite troublesome (to me).
The second doctor used steroid injection on my keloid as he believed that my keloid was very active. The steroid was injected directly into the keloid, and it hurt like hell! The doctor had to press the keloid flat during the process and it drove me to tears every time he did it. BUT, after the injection, the keloid would really become flat! According to the doctor, most of his patients needed to inject two to three times (once every three weeks) to make the keloid flat. How long the effect can last is different for every one, some can lasts for a couple of years. For me, I only needed two injections to make my keloid flat, but the effect would only last for 1/2 year.
I don't want to inject the steroid too often (once every six months is a bit too much) because my keloid hurts a lot when the effect subsides and it even grows bigger (not sure if it's psychological effect) - so I don't do the injection anymore.
My keloid being itchy and painful is still a problem though. So I made a decision which most of you would think ridiculous -- it's time for Contractubex.
The unexpected happens - it actually helps!
I applied Contractubex every day (2-3 times a day, sometimes only once when I was too busy), it doesn't itch/hurt anymore, and i think it flattened a little. Of course, it is not as flat as post-steroid-injection, but on a scale of one to ten, if it was ten before any treatment, after contractubex, it's around seven, while injection would be two to three.
Also, not all the scar removal cream works, I tried H●r●scar with no success.
You may think the flatness wasn't enough, but for me, since the injection only makes it flat, it doesn't remove the whole thing, being flat or not is not my major concern. I care more about if it can stop growing and stop feeling itchy and painful. Steroid injection costs a fortune, and my keloid grows even bigger when the effect subsides, so I actually prefer contractubex more.
Needless to say, treatments have different effectiveness on different individuals. Contractubex may not work for you. I am just blogging to share my very own experience, you should consult your doctor's advice before trying anything!
