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Stretch marks are irregular stripes of skin that are usually caused by stretching of the skin. They are most often seen on the breasts, hips, thighs, buttocks, abdomen, and sides.
They usually show up as initially reddish, shiny, thin parallel lines, which later take on the appearance of a scar. Finally, they sometimes present a formation of furrows in the skin with a whitish colour.
With a straight, curved or twisted course, these atrophic-looking skin bands can measure several centimeters long and one centimeter wide, with a wrinkled surface to the touch and with a different texture, and are generally multiple, symmetrical asymptomatic.
When they first look, they tend to be red, purple, pink, reddish-brown, or dark brown, depending on skin colour.
They usually form in the armpits, thighs, abdomen, chest, and groin area to remove stretch marks. Dermatologists associate its appearance with the rapid expansion of the skin, such as that caused by weight gain during pregnancy or puberty, breaks in the connective tissue and lack of collagen.
Clinically, they evolve in three stages: An initial subclinical phase, marked by degeneration and decreased function of the fibroblasts, then the inflammatory phase that manifests as elevations in linear, curvilinear, undulating or zigzag shapes, erythematous in colour, and by lastly, the healing phase where the lesions present centrifugal atrophy, the epidermis thins, is flaccid and adopts a shiny, smooth appearance.
Although the origins of stretch marks are not completely clear, many dermatology experts associate them with different factors such as rapid stretching of the skin, endocrine imbalance and toxic causes.
There is a genetic predisposition to develop stretch marks, and several factors favour their appearance, such as:
The so-called usually disappear after the cause that generated them disappears, such as pregnancy or the rapid growth of puberty. However, while treatment may cause them to fade, they may never completely go away.
The most frequent dermatological recommendations to treat different forms of stretch marks are the following:
Among the measures to prevent , the following stand out:
Stretch marks are not a reason to be alarmed because beyond their aesthetic effect, and they do not represent a serious health problem. In fact, with the adoption of specific preventive measures, developing them can be minimize.
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