Monday, July 9, 2012

What Are Stretch Marks And What Causes Them

Every person has his/her own version when it comes to the question as to what are stretch marks. According to some people, the skin is elastic but, it can only stretch to some extend.Forinstance, during pregnancy, the abdomen enlarges hence the skin over stretches to accommodate the pregnancy. As a result, the fibres that stretches in the dermis tears which lead to reddish lines forming on the surface of the skin known as stretch marks. In particular, almost ninety percent of women develop stretch marks during pregnancy hence studies show that this is one of the most common cause of stretch marks.



 Did you know that obesity also causes stretch marks? Well, this is mainly as a result of rapid weight gain hence the skin cannot stretch that much because for skin, stretching is a gradual process. Apart from this, drastic muscle growth especially for body builders also causes stretch marks.

 During adolescence particular in girls, they tend to experience growth spurts which cause intense stretch of the skin causing stretch marks. They will have stretch marks on their hips, thighs and breasts while boys due to muscle growth, they have them on their buttocks, shoulders as well as thighs.

 Collagen levels in the dermal layer seemed to be disturbed hence causing changes in hormones. In order to correct this, many people always go for medication especially using steroid. Prolonged use of these medication is also one of the most common cause of stretch marks.



 Poor dieting will also cause stretch marks due to rapid weight loss and gain which causes the skin to overstretch as well as shrink leaving one with stretch marks. A deficiency in amino acid arginine that is in large quantities in the structuring of collagen as well as vitamins may also contribute to stretch marks.

No comments:

Post a Comment