19 Aug 2018

People tend to be uneasy when they develop stretch marks, but if handled with care and expertise, they can easily disappear or lessen, according to medical experts.

Dr Orapeleng Phuswane-Katse of Princess Marina Hospital says stretch marks typically appear as bands of parallel streaky lines on the skin with different colour and texture than the normal skin and they range from purple to bright pink or light gray.

In an interview, Dr Phuswane-Katse said when one touches stretch marks with fingers, they might feel a slight ridge or indentation on the skin and sometimes they feel itchy or sore.

She said they happen when the body grows quickly for any reason and if one’s skin cannot stretch enough to keep up collagen which is a protein that makes the skin more elastic and if the skin does not have enough, the marks may show up as it stretches.

Dr Phuswane-Katse said stretch marks occur as a result of quick weight gain or childhood growth spurts, pregnancy, bodybuilding, high amounts of steroids in the body from medications of Marfan syndrome, a generic disease that weakens the skin fibers and causes unusual growth and they also run in families .

She said they mostly appear on arms, back, breasts, buttocks, hips, shoulder and stomach or torso more specially on expectant mothers as the tummy grows to make room for the baby and the skin stretches, and hormones that surge when one is pregnant may also weaken skin fibers and cause stretch marks, noting that even bodybuilders who have little fat can get them where their muscles bulge.

Regarding their diagnosis, she said the doctor has to thoroughly observe the skin and trace one’s medical history to check if the patient had taken either oral or topical steroids for a long time which might be the cause.

Dr Phuswane-Katse said a skin doctor or plastic surgeon could use lasers to help fade the marks. 

The skin can also be treated  to make more collagen or a pulsed dye laser therapy which is painless blast of light could be used on new red stretch marks.

She advised that collagen boosters were essential as they would increase collagen in the skin, adding that cocoa butter, shea butter, olive oil, vitamin E oil and other moisturizers could help make the skin softer, but it was not clear if they could help or prevent stretch marks.

The doctor said prevention of stretch marks involved weight control, keeping well hydrated as water was important every season, to eat a well-balanced diet, especially diet rich in vitamin C, D and E, zinc and protein.

Dr Phuswane-Katse said it was also important to treat fresh stretch marks as they appear with tissue oils and find the cause for them before they spread. ENDS