Stretch marks are formed when your body grows at a faster rate than your skin or stretches farther than your skin can stretch. Some of the technical names of stretch marks include striae alba, striae atrophicans, striae distensae, and striae rubra.

What Causes Stretch Marks?

Your risks of getting stretch marks go up based on your activities and life events such as growth spurts, pregnancy, bodybuilding and fast weight gain. Heavy use of topical corticosteroid creams has also been reported to give rise to stretch marks. Patients who are diagnosed with Cushing’s Syndrome may get stretch marks due to overproduction of hormones in the adrenal glands.

The Appearance Of Stretch Marks

Stretch marks appear on the skin as long, narrow irregularities. Stretch marks are red when they first show up, but over time, they gradually take on a light silvery color. In some cases they may be as wide as ten millimeters, but they are usually more narrow and not longer than a few centimeters each. If your stretch marks are mostly wide, or if you have them on your face, they may be symptoms of Cushing’s Syndrome of heavy use of topical corticosteroids.  Teen stretch marks usually fade away after a long time.

Treating Stretch Marks

If you want to fade stretch marks, you can use such treatments for stretch marks like chemical peel, cream, dermabrasion, laser surgery, lotions, oils, pulse dye laser therapy, and topical retinoid therapy.

Contrary to popular belief about stretch marks, children and men, as well as women, can develop stretch marks. Any individual who gains weight or increases in size quickly is likely to get stretch marks.

If you want to forestall stretch marks, practice proper health care. Drinking a lot of water and getting daily exercise are important to your health. Good nutrition is especially an essential component of healthy, elastic skin. Stay away from drugs (unless they are doctor-prescribed), especially the common ones: caffeine, alcohol and nicotine. (Yes, these three are drugs.)

Vitamin E, which is generally thought to be good for any skin health issue, is also believed to be beneficial when applied to stretch marks. You may wish to apply Vitamin E every day for several months to eliminate stretch marks.   Many of the better stretch mark products, like Revitol Stretch Mark Cream, are formulated with this skin-strengthening vitamin.

Are Stretch Mark Treatments Covered By Insurance?

Health insurance policies don’t ordinarily cover medical treatments for stretch marks unfortunately. Stretch marks are generally classified under a cosmetic condition subject only to nonessential elective treatments. Thus, your best recourse may be one of the over-the-counter stretch marks cream products. In general, these treatments get rid of the dead skin cells, thereby regenerating the skin cells and promoting new skin growth.

Hopefully now you have a better understanding of stretch marks. This should help you to have a better grasp of any changes you observe in your body.

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