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Dark Pigmentation Scars On Arm,chest,skin Infection
Question: hi, i am an 26 year old indian from london. i have mid brown skin tone. i have had dark flat pigmentation scars ranging from small spots to an inch size allover on my arm and chest since i was a kid from an skin infection. i am currently using melederm to reduce the dark pigmentation. i am thinking about having tca peels. could you telll me what is the best way to remove those pgmentation plz. i dont mind the scars as they are flat but i do want the colour to be the same as my skin tone. i never worn a t-shirt in my life or went swimming because of this problem, so could u plz help me. thanks doc!
Hi!,
Thank you for the query,
The condition what you most probably have is POST INFLAMMATORY PIGMENTATION (to what you had in past).
If I am not wrong Meladerm is a combination cream containing arbutin, gegawhite ,kojic acid etc. & its an OTC product. I don't think its going to work good in your case. For PIH( POST INFLAMMATORY PIGMENTATION) you should use a triple combination cream. This should contain Tretinoin, Hydroquinone and steroid. This combination cream is a prescription based cream and should only be used at night. You should always use a good spf medicated sunscreen daily over the exposed parts of body where you have PIH.
As far as TCA peel is concerned, it is considered as a very strong peel for Indian origin and esp for the body parts. We as dermatologist usually recommend it for face and not for the body. In dark brown patients there is always a chance of post peel pigmentation. My personal opinion would be not to go for a TCA peel. As you said you are from London, I am sure you would find lot of doctors using this for pigmentation, but then it is good for Type 1 skin i.e fair complexion patients .
Rather you can go for LASER treatment which would be more safe in your case ,though costly.
Lasers like Q-switched Nd:Yag would help you good,as lasers can work over XXXXXXX dermal pigmentation as well.But it is not that it can give you 100% result, so you need to have a realistic expectation here. Results vary from patient to patient and is variable.
So, I would advise you to consult a good dermatologist who is doings lasers in his practice and can guide you for the same.
I hope this answers your query,if you have any further question you can write back to us.
Thank you for the query,
The condition what you most probably have is POST INFLAMMATORY PIGMENTATION (to what you had in past).
If I am not wrong Meladerm is a combination cream containing arbutin, gegawhite ,kojic acid etc. & its an OTC product. I don't think its going to work good in your case. For PIH( POST INFLAMMATORY PIGMENTATION) you should use a triple combination cream. This should contain Tretinoin, Hydroquinone and steroid. This combination cream is a prescription based cream and should only be used at night. You should always use a good spf medicated sunscreen daily over the exposed parts of body where you have PIH.
As far as TCA peel is concerned, it is considered as a very strong peel for Indian origin and esp for the body parts. We as dermatologist usually recommend it for face and not for the body. In dark brown patients there is always a chance of post peel pigmentation. My personal opinion would be not to go for a TCA peel. As you said you are from London, I am sure you would find lot of doctors using this for pigmentation, but then it is good for Type 1 skin i.e fair complexion patients .
Rather you can go for LASER treatment which would be more safe in your case ,though costly.
Lasers like Q-switched Nd:Yag would help you good,as lasers can work over XXXXXXX dermal pigmentation as well.But it is not that it can give you 100% result, so you need to have a realistic expectation here. Results vary from patient to patient and is variable.
So, I would advise you to consult a good dermatologist who is doings lasers in his practice and can guide you for the same.
I hope this answers your query,if you have any further question you can write back to us.
Note: Hope the answers resolves your concerns, however for further guidance of skin related queries consult our Dermatologist.Click here to book a consultation
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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