What symptoms can scars have

Scars can be very talkative. They can also appear to be silent.

We tend to think about scars as something we can see. But if you live with one, you'll know that what a scar looks like can be only one part of the story.

Scars can speak in lots of different ways.

Sometimes the language is physical. A scar may itch, hurt, ache, burn, tingle or feel tender. It may be numb, hypersensitive or uncomfortable when something touches it. It may feel tight or as though it is pulling or crushing. Different parts of the same scar can even feel completely different.

Sometimes a scar speaks through movement. It may feel tight when you stretch, restrict the movement of a joint or change the way you move without you really noticing. Depending on where it is, a scar can affect very specific things - turning your neck, opening your mouth, closing your eye, reaching, walking or using your hand.

There can be another layer to this. Scars often exist alongside other injuries or changes to the body. If you had a major injury, surgery or a burn, for example, pain, stiffness, weakness or difficulty moving may not all be coming from the scar. Sometimes the scar is the main problem, sometimes it contributes, and sometimes something else is responsible. An experienced scar clinician can help work out what is coming from the scar and what isn't. But the whole picture still matters — because whatever is causing each part of it, you are experiencing all of it together.

And, of course, there is how it looks.

A scar may be raised, indented, red, darker or lighter than the surrounding skin. It may affect the contour of part of your body or simply look different from the skin that was there before. And sometimes appearance is the thing about a scar that matters most to someone. There is nothing superficial about that. The way a scar looks can have a very real impact on how you feel about yourself and how comfortable you feel being seen by other people. It can be the thing that stops you doing what you want to do, even if you could do it physically.

But perhaps the language of a scar becomes clearest when we look at what it changes in your life.

An itch isn't just an itch if it wakes you every night.

Tightness isn't just tightness if it stops you reaching above your head.

Sensitivity isn't just sensitivity if you can't tolerate clothing against it.

And a change in colour isn't just pigmentation if it means you no longer want to go swimming.

Scars and their symptoms can affect sleep, work, exercise and everyday activities. They can influence what you wear, what you avoid, how comfortable you are being touched or seen, and whether you join in with things you previously enjoyed.

There can be an emotional impact too. A scar may affect your confidence or how you feel about your body. You might find yourself thinking about it far more than you want to. You might avoid looking at it or touching it. And for some people, a scar is also connected to the story of how it happened - an accident, an operation, an illness or another difficult period in your life.

Or none of that may be true for you.

You may be completely comfortable with your scar and simply wish it would stop itching. You may have a scar that other people barely notice but that bothers you enormously. Or you may have extensive, very visible scarring that isn't something you particularly want to change.

That's why I don't think the size or appearance of a scar tells us how big its impact is.

A scar can affect how you feel, how you move, how you look, what you do and sometimes how you live your life.

So whether your scar feels very talkative or seems completely silent, the scar itself is only part of the story. What it changes for you is part of its language too.