Hyper Keloid: What to Know

Keloid scars form when healing tissue produces more scar material than needed. They can follow acne, piercing, surgery, injections, burns, or a small scratch, and may arise after the original wound has closed. Unlike a typical scar that stays within the injury, a keloid can grow past its edges. It may be firm, smooth, shiny, darker than nearby skin, itchy, or uncomfortable. A skin lump is not automatically a keloid, so an examination is useful.

Avoid piercing or elective skin procedures through a known keloid-prone area without specialist advice. Reduce rubbing and protect the scar from sun while it is active. Treatment may include steroid injections into the scar, selected laser approaches, freezing, or surgery combined with measures intended to reduce regrowth. The choice depends on size, location, symptoms, skin type, and whether the scar is still enlarging.

Arrange an assessment for a new, enlarging, painful, persistently itchy, bleeding, or ulcerated raised mark. Seek prompt care for warmth, spreading redness, pus, fever, or rapidly worsening pain, which can indicate infection rather than ordinary scar activity. A changing lump should be examined before any cosmetic treatment is chosen.

Ask whether the mark is consistent with a keloid, whether it is active or stable, which treatment targets itch or thickness, how recurrence will be addressed, and how future wounds can be managed.