skin burns skin blemishes skin infections skin scar removal keratosis pilaris relief skin health
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August 1999 |
November 1999 |
Skin Lesions Healing Process
WOUNDS, CUTS, BRUISES, SCRAPES, LACERATIONS start healing the moment you tear or cut a blood vessel through a complex process.
Here's an outline of how healing works:
- First comes vasoconstriction blood vessels leading to the wound tighten to reduce the flow of blood to the injured area.
- Platelets (triggered by enzymes leaked from the torn blood vessel) rush to the scene. These sticky blood cells clump to each other and then adhere to the sides of the torn blood vessel, making a plug.
- Clotting proteins in the blood join forces to form a fibrin net that holds the platelet plug in place over the tear, and in just a few seconds or minutes (depending on how bad the scrape is), BLEEDING STOPS, thanks to coagulation! The fibrin plug becomes a scab that will eventually fall off or be reabsorbed into the body once healing is complete.
Once bleeding has been controlled, the next step is stopping infection:
- The blood vessels that were constricted now dilate to bring white blood cells rushing to the scene. White blood cells engulf and destroy any germs that may have gotten into the body through the open wound.
- The first type of immune cell to arrive in the damaged area within a few hours is called a neutrophil. These cells release oxygen radicals into the damaged area to kill bacteria and generally sterilize the area. Neutrophil action is usually very brief and stops within a day. However, occasionally the damage is of a type that continues these neutrophil actions and the skin becomes chronically inflamed.
When the enemies of blood loss and infection have been vanquished, the body turns its attention to healing and rebuilding:
- A second type of immune cell called a macrophage arrives after the neutrophils have sterilized the tissue. The macrophage begins to ingest the skin debris produced by the damage and also starts to secrete about 20 different growth factors needed for proper skin repair.
- Fibroblasts and the keratinocyte (cells that are capable of forming skin and other tissue) gather at the site of injury and begin to produce collagen and elastin, which will eventually fill in the wound under the scab. and give the skin strength and elasticity
- New blood vessels grow into the area to bring oxygen-rich blood to the recovering wound.
- Other proteins and molecules such as proteoglycans and glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are secreted and these molecules bind large amounts of water to moisturize the skin. The only true skin moisturizing is achieved through the production of these water-holding molecules.
- Skin along the edges of the wound becomes thicker and then gradually migrates (or stretches) under the scab to the center of the wound, where it meets skin from the other side and forms a scar (about three weeks after the initial injury).
- Scar tissue will become stronger and fade gradually over the next several years as more collagen and elastin is added to give skin strenght, but will only have about 80 percent of the strength of the original skin. Incomplete healing causes the most scarring but complete healing produces minimal scarring.
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The macrophage action also activates the metalloproteinases, a family of at least 14 proteins that remove damaged proteins such as damaged collagen and elastin. This removes scar tissue and restores skin elasticity and reduces wrinkles. It also helps remove chronically-damaged, abnormal skin such as spots and lesions from sun damage.
BIOSKINCARE as the snail's slime contains natural triggers of the activity of both the inmume cells that fight infection and of the macrophages and the metalloproteinases, and thus the potent skin regeneration and scar reduction properties of the cream.
Skin renewal and hair growth are closely linked. New skin arises from the hair follicles. The first effect you will notice with the use of BIOSKINCARE is a softness of your skin, the ultimate healing of damaged tissues is when new "invisible hair" called lanugo start coming out of the restored hair follicles where the skin was once damaged.
Not all wounds heal equally. Generally speaking, more serious wounds take longer to heal. Individual factors also influence how quickly your body is able to recover from a wound, including:
- Age youngsters usually heal faster than older folks
- Nutrition the body needs a good supply of vitamin C to make collagen
- Smoking non-smokers, on average, heal more quickly than smokers
- Stress large amounts of stress can delay the healing process
- Moisture keeping wounds covered helps them heal more quickly because moisture allows skin to migrate across the wound surface with greater ease
- Other infections or illnesses diabetes, thyroid disease, high blood pressure, and poor circulation, for example, can decrease the body's ability to heal
If you have wounds that are slow to heal, check with your health care provider. It could be a sign of an underlying illness.
It's shown that good nutrition before surgery improves the outcome of the trauma the body undergoes. After surgery, eating properly helps in the recovery process. Obtaining adequate calories and protein is vital. Protein is extremely important for recuperation because it is:
- required to form antibodies to fight infections
- vital for synthesizing collagen, which is necessary for scar formation
- utilized to rebuild damaged tissue
- the backbone for repair and maintenance of many crucial tissues in the body
In addition, plasma proteins, formed from dietary proteins, maintain fluid and electrolyte balance.
Other important nutrients specific to wound healing include:
| Nutrient | Good Sources |
| vitamin C | citrus fruits, cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, dark green vegetables, cantaloupe, strawberries, peppers, lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes, papayas, mangoes |
| zinc | fish, poultry, meat, beans |
Anyone with post-surgery complications or depleted nutrition stores needs more calories and protein than she/he did before the procedure, regardless of his or her weight. A higher caloric intake also increases the need for B-vitamins. Supplements usually are not necessary since these nutrients are found in a wide array of foods.
As there are no supplements that can be recommended to enhance recovery, at this time, get your nutrients from a well-balanced eating plan, rich in a variety of fruits, veggies, legumes, whole grains, and lean proteins, such as raw fish or sashimi (sushi the Japanese way without the rice), slean meats and low-fat dairy products.
