Keloids

[FiveMoreMinutesPlease]

Hi, has anyone any experience of these? I've just to to the dr with DD who has a lump on the back of her ear lobe. I thought it was an infection from her ear piercing but the DR says it's a keloid and prescribed Fucibet to help flatten it. I've just been googling them and have now completely freaked myself out by the images. I must never Google after going to tHe GP. Has anyone had this?

[Vixxfacee]

Hi,
I had a keloid on the top of my ear. The doctor refused to treat on the NHS as apparently it was cosmetic. It was about the size of a mushroom and caused from an attack so I don't think it was cosmetic. The dr gave me a plaster type thing that was supposed to reduce but it didn't work at all.

I found a private clinic in harley Street London and paid £900 for it to be removed. It came back less than a year later (the doctor said hormones made it grow back as I had got pregnant). I paid £500 to have it removed again (with a laser and was left like the first time with what looked like a burn). After that I had 4 6 weekly injections at £100 each and also used a keloid gel (costs about £25 for a tiny tube).

That was about 5 years ago and hasn't come back fortunately.

How big is the lump?

[FiveMoreMinutesPlease]

It's about the size of a pea.

[FiveMoreMinutesPlease]

I'm glad yours hasn't come back.

[Vixxfacee]

The gel I used is called dermatitix.
Has the keloid grown at all and does it itch?

[FiveMoreMinutesPlease]

We've only just noticed it. It appeared a couple of weeks ago and I thought it was just an infection from her ear piercing. It's been the same size since we noticed it. I'm not sure if it itches, she hasn't complained of it itching.

[Chimchar]

I'm watching this with interest. My dd had a second ear piercing and I think she has this on both ears....it's not awful, but not right.

Wondering if I should see the gp about it.

[FiveMoreMinutesPlease]

How old is your DD?

I've looked at that dermatix gel. It looks good. I've put it in my amazing basket.

[FiveMoreMinutesPlease]

Amazon basket I mean.

[Chimchar]

She's 13.
I'm feeling really bad now.

I thought it was to do with her ears being newly pierced.

[Chimchar]

She's 13.
I'm feeling really bad now.

I thought it was to do with her ears being newly pierced.

[justdontevenfuckingstart]

My daughter had keloid scarring on both ears after having them pierced (mixed race and more common apparently) she had them both cut out on the NHS.

[Chimchar]

Lol. I did wonder what an amazing basket was!!!

[FiveMoreMinutesPlease]

Mine is 12. It's at the back if her ear.
Maybe you should make an appointment with the gp just in case.

[FiveMoreMinutesPlease]

JUSTDONT, how old was she when she had them removed and did it grow back?

[Vixxfacee]

Justdon't even fuckingstart- I am mixed race too and they wouldn't do on nhs!

Chimchar don't feel guilty. I think lumps on ears from piercings can be quite common.

[BeautyGoesToBenidorm]

I'm a professional body piercer, and to be frank I think your GP could well be wrong here. Keloiding is an extreme, accelerated formation of scar tissue. What she probably has is a granuloma, or some mild hypertrophic scarring. Are you able to post pics, OP?

[BeautyGoesToBenidorm]

Keloiding IS much more common on darker skinned people, particularly very dark black skin.

[justdontevenfuckingstart]

I think she was about 12, they didn't come back. She's had six more body piercings and ever other one has been fine apart from a small lump on the one at the top of her ear.

[TwinkleTwinkleLittleBat]

Yes, I had one on one ear years ago (I'm 51 and this was when I was in my 20s).

It was a second ear piercing, not far up into cartilage, just next to the first hole. It was about the size of a small pea and was quite noticeable.

I paid privately to have a cosmetic surgeon remove it. He warned me that taking it it off could result in another one, but very luckily it didn't. I've never had any more piercings in case it happened again. I didn't even wear pierced earrings again for quite a long time. I do now, only because the holes were still there and hadn't closed over.

Very luckily, my Dds don't appear to have had this happen, although so far they've both only got one hole in each ear.

I have so much sympathy, I remember it was very upsetting and I felt very conscious of it. Can the GP refer your dd or could you have a private consultation with a cosmetic surgeon? I seem to remember it was done very quickly, not a lengthy procedure.

[FiveMoreMinutesPlease]

Here is a picture of it. I feel really bad letting her have her ears pierced.

[Chimchar]

Beautygoesto ive just had a little look...I think my dd might have the granuloma thingie going on.

Can that be treated? I'm sure years ago I was told that an aspirin paste could be used?

[Chimchar]

Awww. Poor thing.

My dds doesn't look like that. It's much more what Beauty suggested.

[BeautyGoesToBenidorm]

Chimchar, yes, they can definitely be treated. Massaging the tissue 2-3 times per day, with a mild lotion or vitamin E cream, can help the bump shrink down. Some people have success with warm saline soaks, done twice daily, or by using a soaked chamomile tea bag in place of saline. A weak over the counter hydrogen peroxide solution applied 2-3 times per day can help too.

You could also try Micropore tape. Cut a piece that's big enough to cover the bump and a small area of surrounding tissue, and wear it continuously, changing it whenever it needs it. This is a longer term thing - it can take a couple of months to make a difference.

Sometimes a granuloma or a hypertrophic scar can shrink or disappear completely of its own accord. It's really, really common for doctors to confuse both of them with keloiding.

[justdontevenfuckingstart]

My daughter's didn't look like that. They were lumps growing within the ear lobe rather than something growing separately if that makes sense.

[justdontevenfuckingstart]

Like if you have a bad reaction to a bite and it swells up.