What should you know about OTC keloid treatment?

A keloid is raised scar tissue that extends beyond the original injury. It can develop after acne, piercing, surgery, an injection, or a minor cut, and may feel firm, itchy, tender, or tight. A new raised mark is not automatically a keloid; other skin lumps can look similar.

Use a silicone gel or silicone sheet only on fully closed skin, following the product directions. Keep the area clean, avoid picking or rubbing it, and protect the scar from sun exposure with clothing or suitable sunscreen. Do not cut, burn, squeeze, or repeatedly pierce the growth. These steps may improve comfort and the scar’s texture, but they may not flatten a mature keloid.

A dermatologist can discuss steroid injection into the skin, laser options, freezing treatment, or surgery when the scar is enlarging, symptomatic, or affecting movement. Surgery alone can be followed by another keloid, so the aftercare plan matters.

Arrange a dermatology review if the growth keeps expanding, becomes painful or persistently itchy, bleeds, breaks down, limits movement, or follows a procedure you did not expect to scar this way. Seek prompt care for spreading redness, warmth, pus, fever, or sudden severe pain, because those features may indicate infection or another problem.

Ask whether the mark is a keloid or another type of skin lump, which home product is suitable for its location, and whether treatment should combine more than one approach. Ask how recurrence will be monitored and how to care for the skin after any procedure.