Stretch Marks


Symptoms of Stretch Marks

  • When skin is excessively pulled it hampers the product of collagen and elastin in the skin, causing them to thin out and weaken. This causes the skin to stretch and discolor. When stretch marks first appear, they take on an angry red color. The skin is extended so much that it appears transparent and the blood vessels show through; this is what gives the marks the red color. Over time the blood vessels take and leave the skin looking pale. This whitish color that replaces the red comes from the body fat that is visible through the stretched skin .

Causes of Stretch Marks

  • The stretching of the skin can come about from rapid weight gain over a short space of time, such as during pregnancy. stretch marks can also be found on children who have become promptly obese or on adolescents who have had a growth spurt during pubescence. Athletes and body constructors can also develop stretch marks due to endless repetitive exercises. The most common areas affected by extended marks are the hips, breasts, behind, thighs and abdomen. However, some trust that the term stretch mark is a misnomer and they are not caused by the stretching of the skin at all. It has been proposed that extended marks are caused due to an accumulated level of a hormone called glucocorticoids, circulating through the bloodstream. This hormone is secreted by the adrenal glands and it is increased during pregnancy, adolescence, with obesity, Cushing’s disease and weight lifting. The glucocorticoids affect the dermis by preventing the fibroblasts from forming collagen and elastin fibers that are involved to keep growing skin taut. Dermal tearing then follows as there is a lack of supportive material when the skin is being stretched. So the stretching may determine where the extended marks will occur but the actual extending is not seen as cause of stretch marks. It has also been suggested that some people are more genetically prone to stretch marks than others. Skin type may be a factor; dryer skin has less elasticity than oily skin, and more prone to extended marks. extended marks can also develop more easily in skin with a high proportion of rigid cross-lined collagen that occurs in teenagers.


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