Stretch Mark - Symptoms and Treatment

Stretch marks are purple-red streaky scars that appear in overstretched skin. Stretch marks are quite common in pregnancy. Stretch marks are perfectly normal, and most women - and even some men - have them. Stretch marks occur in the dermis, the elastic middle layer of skin that allows it to retain its shape. stretch marks are called striae. Mature stretch marks are devoid of color, and newer stretch marks are often red or purplish in color. Stretch marks develop when the skin is excessively stretched, damaging the collagen fibers and proteins in the underlying skin layer called the dermis.about 50-90% of women will get stretch marks on their abdomen, breasts, thighs or buttocks during pregnancy.

Symptoms of Stretch Mark

Stretch marks happen when the tissue under the skin is pulled by rapid growth or stretching. stretch marks are the most common types of skin lesions. Mature stretch marks are devoid of color, and newer stretch marks are often red or purplish in color.The other symptoms of Stretch Mark are include :

• The skin is stretched beyond its capacity
• The underlying tissue tears
• The body responds by forming scar tissue
• The fresh stretch mark looks pink, red, brown or purple
• Over time, the colour fades
• The stretch mark becomes a shimmering, silvery line
• The silvery line may look slightly indented
• The scar is permanent.

Causes of Stretch Mark

Stretch marks generally affected in the normal when the skin is stretched suddenly in women. Weight gain and weight loss can also change the magnitude of your marks. Your chances of getting pregnancy stretch marks depend on a number of factors. The following term are affected of Stretch Mark. The stretch marks related hormone activity mostly happens during:

• Pregnancy
• Natural growth for adolescent boys and girls
• Rapid weight gain/loss
• Depression or extreme unhappiness (unhappy, stressed and depressed people are more likely to get stretch marks)
• Long term lacking of certain nutrients
• sudden change in physical or environmental conditions.
• Hyper-pigmentation - patches of dark colouring on the skin, particularly the face (chloasma).
• Hirsutism - an increase in hair on the face and body.
• Varicose veins and broken capillaries - caused by the overburdening of the circulatory system and the side effects of certain pregnancy hormones.
• Pimples and acne - caused by hormonal fluctuations.

Treatment of Stretch Mark

The most common treatment is laser surgery for stretch marks. The group of medicines known as retinoids are derived from Vitamin A.The treatment methods are below the list :

• Laser surgery procedure used in the removal of stretch marks that has little to no recovery period involved.
• Stretch marks occurring in adolescents become less visible over time and generally require no treatment.
• An operation called an abdominoplasty is carried out to remove excess fat and skin around the abdomen (stomach), and remove stretch marks below the belly button at the same time.
• Stretch marks can be reduced with laser treatment and the regular application of creams containing retinoic acid or Retin-A.
• The exfoliation in conjunction with the stretching of the fibres can be helpful in reducing the appearance of stretch marks.

Prevention Tips

• Eat sensibly to avoid gaining excess body fat.
• Eat a highly nutritious diet to maintain the health of your skin.
• Wear a supportive maternity bra throughout pregnancy.
• Consider using creams that include centella asiatica extract, alpha tocopherol (vitamin E) and collagen-elastin hydrolysates