Taking a break from injection | how I use silicone sheet

I been taking a break for awhile because I don't see any immedient spread on my keloid. In the mean time, I still keep the silicone sheet on my keloid otherwise it would spread like crazy and itch like crazy. I thought I should share step by step of how I apply Cica-care on my keloid. I would be uploading a better photo on my Keloid Timeline later. These taken on my camera phone. I apologize for poor quality.

 

You can see it is summer and I have tan line around the keloid. I been avoiding sun exposure. And been using Cica-Care religiously. It's better not getting keloid tanned. Not only it would tan darker than your skin, but also it's really hard to undo the tanned. You would have to wait years or use laser to lighten the color.

Here is the silicone sheet I bought awhile ago. When you buy this, it comes in a big sheet. It runs about $50 a sheet. You can get this easily on Amazon. The price isn't really that bad. One sheet can last me for a year. I prefer Cica-Care brand because it's thicker and more effective than other pharmacy brands. It has a nice thickness to it which can hold up the skin around the scar really well. And once you tape it up it gives some pressure on the scar. You don't wanna use the ones that are too thin and stretchy.

You can cut this up to size. I cut this up with clean scissors. You wanna make sure that it's bigger than your keloid and it covers the skin around it. It's better that you go generous on this than to be too small. My problem area is mostly on top, so I just make sure I have some extra coverage on that area. You want it to be like a second skin. This would not work on a keloid that are too raised.  

Then you wanna press it down starting from one side. Make sure there's no air bubbles between the skin and the silicone sheet. 

I tape this up with waterproof bandages I bought from CVS. The reason why I use these because they are the thinnest out of all the bandages. And they sticks to my skin really well. I have tried medical tapes, they are not very sticky enough for me. The tape tend to come off when I move my shoulder. They also gives me rash. You have to find different things and see what works best for you.   

I make sure that the bandages cover the edges of the silicon. This is imporatant for 2 reasons. 

1) This way you can get a good pressure from all sides. 2) Is to protect the silicone from getting dirty. When it has dust or lint from clothing on, it loses the ability to stick. You can re use this silicone for a month if you take care of it well.

Then I added 2 more on top and the bottom. 

And it's done! 

To clean it up

I peel it off when I take a shower and soak it in alcohol. Rub the sticky sides against each other so dust and dirt comes off. Try not to use hand because oil from our hands can make it lose stickiness. Wait until it completely dry (dry your skin as well.) If it's not dry it would not stick. Don't put any lotion or cream on the keloid when you use silicone sheet. You will need to stock up a lot of alcohol since you will be washing it daily or even twice a day. You wanna keep it clean to prevent and rash.

How long until you see the result?

I can only say from my experience. The itch stops almost imediently. It's like when your keloid really itch, you press your warm palm on it and it gives you that comfort. That how it feels. There's really no magic when it comes to keloid. Don't expect to see your keloid flatten over night. Gives it at least 5 months. You will start to see the color changes. It would be less red, less inflamed.

What's the fuzz about BETNOVATE cream?

The doctor I went to see in Thailand has given me this cream, he kept asking me every time when I saw him if I been using the cream. At first I didn't really care for this cream because from my experience cream don't really work on keloid. But one day I decided to try this. It actually soothing to the scar. It reduce the itchiness a lot and it also makes the scar feels softer. It's not really a cream for scar but it helps with the itchiness. I would only use this only on the days that I don't put Cica-care on. Because Cica-care won't stick anymore if you put it on oily skin.

Betnovate Cream (Betamethasone valerate BP 0.1% w/w) Betnovate is used to treat eczema, dermatitis, psoriasis and other skin conditions. 

Cica Care | My life saver

A lot of people think this does not work for them. But for me this is my life saver. I use Cica-Care on my keloid between each injection. It doesn't get rid of the scar but it makes my day to day activity more bearable. The gel sheet also has light steroid on it so it helps with the itchiness around the area. It also protect my scar if I ever accidental bump it on to something. You know how painful that is. I put this on my shoulder and secure it with a bunch of band-aids. Since my keloid is on the shoulder, this minimize the movement of the skin around the scar. So it slow down the spreading process.