Thanks to the recent advancements in medicine, lasers are becoming a dermatologist’s go to treatment for various skin conditions. An optical device will look like a magic wand, that may create any scar disappear. Laser treatment can be used to treat wrinkles, age spots, uneven skin tone or texture, sun-damaged skin and scars. Medical lasers, however, are nothing to play with.
Before you have laser resurfacing, it is very important for your doctor to review your medical history, do a physical examination. It is very essential to inspect your skin and the area that will be treated. This will help you determine what changes can be made and how are your physical features like tone and thickness of your skin might affect your results.
Every individual is unique. Hence, it is very essential for the person performing your laser treatment to know about you. When the person performing a laser treatment lacks medical expertise and specialized knowledge of the skin, laser treatment may not give you the results you seek and in fact, it can turn into a huge disaster. Hence medical consultation is very important before laser therapy. Start by consulting plastic surgeon or dermatologist, if you are a suitable candidate for the therapy. Tell your doctor if your skin is prone to cold sore or fever blisters around your mouth. Laser skin resurfacing can trigger breakouts in the population who are at risk. There are various medications and supplements which has to be stopped while you go for a laser therapy because it affects the healing. Smoking should be stopped 10 days before and after the procedure since it prolongs the process of healing.
Laser therapy is not for everyone. It can have various side effects such as-
Redness, swelling and itching
Burning and redness why laser therapy is very common. It can happen to anyone who has particularly large dilated vessels in that area. It also depends on the depth of the laser procedure. After ablative laser resurfacing, skin naturally get itchy and swollen. This condition gets aggravated due to previously existing skin condition, such as rosacea, can contribute to redness. The redness good persist for months.
Laser Treatment for Acne
Terrible breakouts are one of the most potential side effect of laser therapy. If you already have acne prone skin, expect to see pimples develop after an intense laser treatment. Acne flare ups happens due to opening of various tiny channels in the skin by laser treatment. This usually lasts for 36 to 38 hours. Applying thick creams to your face after treatment can worsen acne and also lead to development of white bumps on treated skin.
Laser Treatment for Scars
Ability laser resurfacing poses a slight risk of scarring. Previously, scaring from continuous wave lasers used to cause white waxy changes to the skin, especially around the mouth. But now the technology has improved. It does not happen anymore.
Hyperpigmentation Laser Treatment
Laser stimulate collagen growth by producing a precisely targeted injury to the skin. This injury can temporarily agitate the melanocytes and can produce tanning pigment. If the patient gets in the sun too soon after laser therapy, the already agitated melanocytes are then overstimulated by sun exposure and the result is hyper pigmentation. So stay out of the sun after a laser treatment.
Infections
Ablative laser resurfacing can lead to bacterial, viral or fungal infections. The most common are cold sores. Cold sores are caused by herpes simplex virus. If the laser treatment is the one that breaks the surface of the skin, then we run the risk of the herpes virus spreading beyond a usual localized outbreak into a more widespread one. The broken skin surface provides the perfect field for the spread of the herpes virus. To prevent this, many doctors prescribe an antiviral drugs before starting the treatment.
Ectropion
It is an outward turning of the eyelid. It usually occurs when the laser resurfacing is done close to the lower eyelids. It is quite a rare condition and surgery is an only alternative to fix this condition.
