Scar Management

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When skin is damaged from a burn, trauma, or surgery, scars can form. This is normal. It’s part of how the skin heals. It can take up to 1 year for scars to fully heal. It will take at least 6 to 8 weeks after surgery or an injury for a scar to change from a thick, red, raised surface to a thin, flat, white surface.

It’s important to use scar management techniques on your child’s scar. They help make scars more flat, smooth, and flexible. This makes scars less painful and noticeable.

Scar management techniques include:  scar massage, applying silicone, and using sunblock.

Techniques

  •  After your child’s stitches (sutures) have been taken out or have dissolved, their doctor or health care provider will tell you when to start scar massages. This is usually 2 to 3 weeks after surgery, and after the scab on the cut (incision) has fallen off.
  • For the first 2 to 4 weeks, gently rub the incision for 5 to 10 minutes, two times each day. Rub in the same direction as the incision. Use enough pressure to change the color of the incision from pink to pale.
  • After about 4 weeks, you can start massaging the scar using different motions.
    • Massage in all directions (Picture 1): up, down, side to side, circular, pulling apart, pulling outward, folding together, and crisscross.

    different massage directions

  • Scars are easier to massage if they’re soft. You can soften a scar by using:
    • Oils like vitamin E.
    • Gels like aloe vera.
    • Lotions like Eucerin®, Aquaphor®, or Mederma®. Do not use scented lotions.
  • Your child may be given special tape with silicone on it. Their doctor or health care provider will tell you how to use it.
  • Always use sunblock with a sun protection factor (SPF) over 30 on your child’s scar. Make sure the sunblock you use protects from UVA and UVB rays.

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