Stretch marks
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- "Striae" is also a general term referring to thin, narrow grooves or channels, or a thin line or band especially if several of them are parallel or close together.
| ICD-10 | L90.6 |
|---|---|
| ICD-9 | 701.3 |
Stretch marks or striae, as they are called in dermatology, are a form of scarring on the skin with a silvery white hue. Stretch marks are generally associated with pregnancy, obesity, bodybuilding, puberty, and intense physical activity. Stretch marks are often mistakenly blamed on the rapid stretching of the skin associated with such life events as pregnancy and growth spurts, but in actuality this is untrue.[citation needed] Stretch marks (also referred to as striae distensae) are the result of an increased level of circulating glucocorticoids throughout the bloodstream.[citation needed] This hormone, secreted by the adrenal glands (they lie on top of the kidneys), becomes elevated during pregnancy, adolescence, with obesity, weight lifting and Cushing’s disease. Medical terminology for these kinds of markings include striae atrophicae, vergetures, striae cutis distensae, striae gravidarum (in cases where it is caused by pregnancy), lineae atrophicae, striae distensae, linea albicante, or simply striae.
They first appear as reddish or purple lines, but tend to gradually fade to a lighter color. The affected areas appear empty and soft to the touch.
Human skin has three different layers: the epidermis (outer layer), the dermis (middle layer), and the subcutaneous stratum (innermost layer). Stretch marks occur in the dermis, the resilient middle layer that helps the skin retain its shape. All the stretching in the world will not result in stretch marks as long as there is support within the dermis. Stretching plays more of a role in where the marks occur and in what direction they run. Stretching alone is not the cause.
Stretch marks can appear anywhere on the body. They are most likely to appear in places where larger amounts of fat is stored. Most common places are the abdomen (especially near the belly-button), breasts, upper arms, underarms, thighs (both inner and outer), hips, and buttocks. They pose no health risk in and of themselves, and do not compromise the body's ability to function normally and repair itself.
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[edit] Causes
The glucocorticoids hormones responsible for the development of stretch marks affect the dermis by preventing the fibroblasts from forming collagen and elastin fibers, necessary to keep rapidly growing skin taut. This creates a lack of supportive material, as the skin is stretched and leads to dermal tearing.
[edit] Prevention and cure
Between 75 and 90% of women develop stretch marks to some degree during pregnancy. The sustained hormonal levels as a result of pregnancy usually means stretch marks may appear during the sixth or seventh month.
Many people believe that using oils or creams in high-risk areas (e.g. breasts, hips, abdomen, thighs) may help prevent stretching by giving the skin more flexibility, and over the counter moisturising products are available for this use.
Various treatments are available for the purpose of improving the appearance of existing stretch marks, including laser treatments, dermabrasion, and topical applications (e.g. cocoa butter),[1]. Among these products it is claimed the best results are achieved on recent stretch marks. However few studies exist to support these claims. Further, it is thought that if stretch marks do fade with the use of these products, it is likely they only fade to the degree they would fade naturally, although perhaps at a faster rate. A recent study in the journal "Dermatologic Surgery" has shown that radiofrequency combined with 585-nm pulsed dye laser treatment gave "good and very good" subjective improvement in stretch marks in 89.2% of 37 patients, although further studies will be required to follow up on these results. In addition, the use of a pulsed dye laser has shown to increase pigmentation in darker skinned individuals with repeated treatments.[2]
A certain procedure for removing lower abdominal stretch marks is the tummy tuck, which removes the skin under the belly button where stretch marks frequently occur.
[edit] References
- ^ www.associatedcontent.com/article/804/removing_stretch_marks.html. Retrieved on 2007-01-21.
- ^ Suh D, Chang K, Son H, Ryu J, Lee S, Song K (2007). "Radiofrequency and 585-nm pulsed dye laser treatment of striae distensae: a report of 37 Asian patients". Dermatol Surg 33 (1): 29-34. PMID 17214676.
