Keloids are raised scars that can appear after belly button piercings or injuries. They may increase in size and cause itching and discomfort. Treatment options include cortisone injections, laser treatment, surgery, and interferon injections. Keloids may be more common in women, obese patients, and dark-skinned people. Curved barbell-shaped jewelry may reduce the chance of developing a keloid.
A belly button keloid might appear as a thick, raised scar after a belly button piercing or injury. These unsightly bumps usually look shiny, range in color from pink to purple, and tend to migrate from the piercing site to nearby healthy skin. Keloids may increase in size over time, with common symptoms of itching and discomfort. Several treatment options might reduce the size and color of a keloid, but they typically fail to completely remove the scar tissue.
Doctors aren’t sure why keloids form in some people but not in others. Patients who have developed this type of scarring in the past face increased risks of forming another keloid. The condition might run in families, and more women tend to acquire a belly button keloid, but the scarring could be linked to more belly button piercings by women. Dark-skinned people might also develop these scars more often. There’s no way to predict in advance whether a belly button keloid might develop after belly button surgery or piercing.
Scars form on the skin after injuries or surgical procedures. Normal scars tend to lighten and become less noticeable as the wound heals. Keloids differ in that they often spread to adjacent skin and commonly become larger. The risk of keloids after navel piercing increases when wearing heavy jewelry, in obese patients and for women in the last stage of pregnancy, when the skin stretches.
Curved barbell-shaped belly button jewelry might reduce the chance of developing a keloid as the site heals, which could take up to a year. These types of scars could also appear on the earlobes, face, or any area of the body that is punctured. A keloid could also form from severe acne, burns, or other injuries to the skin’s surface.
Several treatment options could reduce the appearance of a keloid, usually by flattening the surface and reducing discoloration. Cortisone injections might help, but in some cases the scars get darker. Laser treatment might address increased redness, but typically some dark areas remain. It may take several laser sessions to treat the condition.
Some doctors consider surgery to remove a belly button keloid risky because additional scarring may develop after one is removed, and new scarring may appear larger than the original keloid. Some patients opt for a combination of surgery, steroid injections, and radiation to treat these defects. Others choose interferon injections or chemotherapy as treatment options. Interferon, which is a substance produced by the body’s immune system, may reduce the size of a scar.
Freezing a belly button keloid with liquid nitrogen might also work. A scar treated with this method usually becomes flatter but darker in color. Silicone gel sheets that compress your belly button may take months to reduce the appearance of scars, with variable results.
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