Extreme Weight Loss & Loose Skin
More and more people are heeding the advice of doctors and other health experts and losing weight. Carrying around too much body fat puts you at a much higher risk for diseases like high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and even certain types of cancer. However, many people who successfully lose large amounts of weight are facing another problem: excess skin.
Causes
Your skin is the largest organ in your body. It is incredibly resilient, protective and elastic. When people become overweight, their whole body grows in size. In order to keep all this extra fat and bulk in place, the skin stretches and grows with the body. If you lose ten pounds here or there, the skin shrinks back in place with the rest of your body. However, if you lose a significant amount of weight in a short period of time, whether from weight loss surgery or a good diet and exercise program, the skin may have trouble keeping up. This is why many people who have lost a lot of weight end up with loose skin that sags from the body.
Risk Factors
There are a few factors that might tell you whether you would experience problems with loose skin after losing a lot of weight. Just like a rubber band, the longer that your skin has been stretched to its fullest, the less elastic it will be. Also, age has a lot to do with it. Younger people naturally have more elastic skin, so if you're older, it might not bounce back as quickly. The other two big environmental risk factors are smoking and sun damage. These can both really decrease skin elasticity.
Surgical Treatment
The surgical procedure for removing the loose skin is called a body lift. The flaps of excess skin are actually removed from the body and then the skin is closed back up on these areas, usually resulting in tighter and firmer skin. The most common areas that this procedure is done include the arms, thighs, breasts and abdomen. Keep in mind that this procedure is considered to be cosmetic, so many health insurance companies do not cover the costs.
Nonsurgical Treatment
Unfortunately, there is not much you can do to make large amounts of excess skin shrink. The best advice is to give it time. Most doctors recommend waiting two years before making a decision about surgery. You may be surprised at how much your skin can shrink back in this amount of time. You can aid the process by eating a healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables containing antioxidants. There are lotions and creams on the market that claim to tighten and firm skin, but most of these will not make much of a noticeable difference.
Complications
Having this excess skin rarely causes any kind of serious health complications. Occasionally, however, yeast infections can form in the folds of the skin. Most people are concerned about the extra skin because it makes them feel self-conscious about their bodies. It is emotionally difficult to go through a major weight loss transformation and then feel like you need to hide your body because of unsightly excess skin. Stretch marks can also accompany sagging skin after extreme weight loss. These will usually fade some on their own or can be treated with cosmetic procedures.
