Anything i can do to help prevent scarring?

[pesha]

My puppy jumped up at dd (playfully) on sunday but his tooth caught her just below eye/above cheek bone. We took her to a&e where she had it glued and has steri strips on it, these will prob come off tomorrow but cant see how its looking at mo as one strip runs all along it.

I was just wondering if anyone knows of any creams or homeopathic/herbal remedys you can use to help reduce the chance of it scarring as its on her face. Im not overly worried and they did say its not too deep but i really want to do all i can anyway just to be sure.

Am feeling a little guilty

you can get special plasters that are "supposed" to reduce scarring i think you can get them in boots (never tried them so no idea if they work)

You can buy special gauze-type stuff that you put over wounds so they heal without scarring. Can't remember what it's called though. Boots sell it.

Hope she's better, unscarred, soon.

Thats great, thank you both. Trip to boots tomorrow then

Message withdrawn

Thats brilliant thank. Im off to town soon so ill definately try and get some. Really hope they work.

Got the non scarring dressing thing from boots but it doesnt fit on her face! The cut is too close to her eye, ive tried trimming it down but it still doesnt work. Ive got the strips on and they mostly cover the cut so hold it together nicely but the idea of these dressings is that it heals in moist conditions so heals better and its not moist. Any suggestions??

Or anyone no any herbal things that mite help, i know arnica is good for bruising, is there anything thats good for cuts for a nearly 5 yr old?

Anyone?

Anyone?

my friend works in a burns unit in Sheffield and she swears by aloe vera gel for all skin repairs. When my dad had his elbow operation several years ago she sent him a tube of 100% pure aloe vera gel and he used it several times daily - even the surgeon was impressed with the result. We use it for all skin problems, minor burns, grazes, dry skin, scarring etc and reckon it is brilliant at keeping the skin supple, moisturised and helps natural healing. Also non allergenic and natural so no worries on that front. Available from Holland and Barratt, prob elsewhere too - quite cheap.
HTH

aloe vera is top tip!
also, pure vitamin E oil (from independent chemist made by Health Aid), or almond oil

Pure vitamin E oil squeezed from one of those capsules you're meant to take.

So which do you think is best or can i do both oil and aloe vera? How often? And she still has the strips on that you put on under the dressing, they're a bit like steri strips holding it together and then you supposed to put dressing on to keep it moist but i cant. Do you think i should leave these strips on (she's already had steri strips and glue for 4 days) or should i take them off and let it heal on its own just putting the cream/oil on?

Sorry for all the questions im not normally this useless but feeling guilty about it and want to make sure i do everything i can for her

TIA

If you keep it moist or put anything like oil etc on at the moment, the seri strips will not hold - they'll just peel off.

Make sure you keep it out of the sun/ put sun cream on it when it is healed. We were told sunshine darkens scars

Steri strips stayed on for 3 and a half days as they were holding it together nicely so thought best to leave it alone. Took them off first thing yesterday and she'd come up in really nasty rash! Rang drs to ask for advice thinking they'd just put me down for dr to phone back but they thought i should go in. Dr said as its not irritating her just to leave it alone completely, nothing on rash or cut. Is healing up really nicey though.

Shame she had to start school with big red rash all down her face mind But she's not bothered and its looking much better already.

Thanks for all your replies

Rosa Mosqueta oil is supposed to be excellent but you do need to massage it in daily.

Where can i get that yoyo, i looked in town for all the things suggested here but cant find any of it! I did only look fairly quickly though, was in a hurry

Echoing Aloe Vera and vitamin E oil (you can buy the oil in a bottle from healt shops - cost me £7 about 5 years ago and a bit sticky but well worth it.

Comfrey Cream also well worth a try and excellent to have in your first aid box too.

Hopefully you should not get any scarring from the array of stuff suggested on here, but for reference there is a plaster for raised and red scars (already occurred). Its called Cica Care and is made by Smith and Nephew tel 01482 222200

Hows it looking now?

Hi, I've had a lot of scars due to lots of skin cancer and I know it sounds barking but a tiny dab of honey really helps them to heal, then Vitamin E oil later on to reduce scarring. My facial scars have all healed really well compared to elsewhere on my body and her skin will be much more elastic than my tired old stuff! The glue and steri strips are great, after 10 days I bet you'll hardly see it. Hope she loves school.

Thanks everyone, will write a list of everything suggested in the morning and go into town and see what i can find!

Its looking pretty good, it did come apart a bit with the glue and strips from hospital so there was quite a bit of scab when i took them off but cleaned it up a bit to put on the strips that came with the dressing and although they gave her a rash they do seem to have brought it together quite nicely. The 2 ends have healed up really well so just the middle thats looking a bit red still but much better than i would have expected.

And she does love school! Only been one day so far though but she's definately loving it bless her. I think cos i didnt like school and i remember how nasty kids can be i worry about every little thing that might make her stand out but she's such a confident, friendly little girl so i think she'll be absolutely fine. Doesnt stop me worrying though!

Pesha - you can get Rosa Mosqueta oil from health shops or mail order from a place called Rio Trading (haven't Googled them - the Sunday Times alternative health lady always recommends them though).

I fell six months ago and cut my forehead and ended up with 5 stitches and a scar. The pure vit E oil is excellent - add a dro pof lavender oil as that is very healing and a drop of tea tree oil will also help the healing process.

I got a silicone gel called Dermatix which is excellent but expensive.

Hope it heals well. She'll prob be fine - they have such healing skin at that age.

Well had a look in town, couldnt find vit e oil anywhere but did find a big tube of aloe vera gel so ive got that now and been putting it on, how many times a day do you think i should do it, morning and night? Its looking really good but im still going to keep an eye out for some of the other things suggested, theres another health food shop i havent tried yet so will look there soon, its always good to have these things on hand isnt it!

And i see the aloe vera gel says its good for stretch marks too so might have to try it on mine!

Thanks everyone for all your help, so glad ive discovered mumsnet

I have what sounds like a very similar scar, I was attacked by a dog when I was 8 in the same sort of place, although I suspect my bite was deeper.

If people know what they are looking for they can see it but it is right on my cheek bone and my skin is appaling at healing. It does take up to five years for scars to calm right down so don't worry if it looks red for a bit I used to panic loads about my scar and like I say its only a small line now.

You can buy vit e oil from Holland and Barratt, lots of people swear by bio oil or e45 as well.

I hope your DD heals up soon

In the future if it does become a problem (I can't imagine it will) its quite an easy place to use concealer to cover it up.

A pricy, but effective solution would be to try Decleor prologene gel. It is very effective at relieving scarring, although is primarily used for acne scars and stretchmarks!