White Scars/spots All over Arms

Updated on November 14, 2010
K.B. asks from Dulles, VA
4 answers

About 12 years ago, I pulled some weeds and quickly realized I was having an allergic reaction. I used spray, calamine lotion, Benedryl, and after the 3rd day poison ivy lotion. I was swollen on my arms and scratched. Now, I still have white spots where the blisters formed. They never tan. I would not really notice it except people ask me about them several times per year then seem not to believe me. I admit they do look like maybe hot grease or something splashed.
A couple of women actually asked me if someone burned me with a cigarette. There are maybge 40 spots total. And no, noone did it to me.
Is there a way to get them to fade or the color back on, besides tatoo concealer makeup?

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M.P.

answers from Portland on

I sympathize with you. I'd hate to have people asking me all the time. What ever happened to manners?

Have you asked a dermatologist? Unless someone has experienced this, I doubt that they would know and this is not a common experience. My granddaughter has white lines on her arms from when she's scratched. She has eczema. But they tan the next summer. They're visible for probably a year at the most.

My daughter has a white spot on her leg and the doctor diagnosed it but I don't remember the term. It will always be white because the pigmentation is not in that part of her skin.

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J.C.

answers from Anchorage on

I am not sure, but maybe you could talk to a dermatologist and see if there are any treatments.

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A.C.

answers from Colorado Springs on

I think I would have a snappy comeback ready for nosy folks (the cigarette burn people, for instance). People can be so rude!
I use Mederma for acne scars, but mine don't scar white, they scar red. It's supposed to work for old scars & stretch marks (which are white), you just have to use it for a longer period of time. If it's bothering you, try a tube of Mederma & see if you get any improvement (put it on w/a cotton pad or q-tip, it leaves a funky film on my hands that I don't like)
And think of a snappy comeback in the meantime :)

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E.M.

answers from Johnstown on

Are you sure you don't have melasma--which is where the pigment is gone from the skin? Is it possible that you had the blisters exposed to the sun and thus damaged the skin underneath? Scars don't tan or if they do, not well. I end up with significantly lighter blotches every year all over my own arms thanks to chicken pox. I would check with a dermatologist to find out exactly what could have happened. I do know that Mary Kay has an Even Complexion Essence that works wonders on the face, but I'm not sure how it would work on the arms.

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