[tri-med] Re: Partial Trisomy 5q

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michelle Waite"
> > > Scar from ear to ear hardly noticable, thanks to Mederma I think : )
>
> Is mederma to reduce scars? Right after the cuts are done or applied after
> scars have formed?

Sorry for butting in - but I am also a mederma fan!! So seeing as I am up at
4am I'll add my 2 cents (sorry Pamela)

Yes you put it on when the cuts are first done and its brilliant stuff,
expensive - one dressing here costs around $100 but literally brilliant and
you only need one or two dressings per surgery.

Alex forms keloids (the raised scar tissue some people are prone too) so
when he had his pacemaker implanted the surgeon suggested mederma. Brilliant
result. He was cut from his back right around to the sternum but the scar is
barely visible. And the other plus is that it heals sooooo much faster.

If you cant get mederma you can use duoderm or its similar rivals. (here
Mederma isn't covered by PADP but duoderm is) Johnson and Johnson have a
version now (here at least) just as a dressing for everyday use. They are
the "advanced healing" band aids that are like a white spongy plastic band
aid and which you leave on for a week without changing. Expensive - so not
the kind of band aids you let the kids play with :-))

I discovered it by accident after Alex had his g-tube placed. When they did
it they placed a long foleys catheter (grrrrr but thats another story). The
catheter was held in place by tape. To protect his skin they had us use
duoderm under the tape. Some of the duoderm went over the scar (it was
unavoidable). It didn't take long to realise that where the duoderm was
there was no raised scar. The rest of the surgical scar is really raised and
about half an inch wide.

When I quizzed the surgeon he said "oh yes it does help stop the scarring" -
gee why didn't you tell me before. So from that point on duoderm got put
along the whole incision length. It helped reduce the keloid but its not
near as good as the spot where it was on all the time.

I now keep a sheet of duoderm on hand for all wounds. Duoderm was originally
developed for treating debicutus ulcers - its brilliant and things really do
heal so much faster and it reduces the pain almost immediately. Its still
expensive, a sheet costs around $20, but you cut it up to the size needed -
one sheet lasts a year or so around this house and I use it on everything
:-)

For example the other week I spilt a freshly made cup of tea in my lap and
ended up with a lovely scald on the inside of my thighs. It wasn't too
severe (by that I mean no doctor was really needed) but it sure was painful.
I put duoderm over the worst of the scald and within 10 minutes there was no
pain. Weeks later I still have a scald mark on the spots I didn't cover with
duoderm, the larger more severe patches that I did cover are completely
gone.............. Even if you put it on a paper cut or blister it stops the
pain within minutes.

We can not change the wind. But we can change the sails.
~Ghandi~

Keep Looking For Rainbows!!
Karen, Mum to Alex (8 years, T-18 Mosaic)
http://members.optushome.com.au/karens

                  Building ___ooOOoo__ Rainbows
                       www.trisomyonline.org
                  Families Helping Families On-line

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