Spotlight On Health

Will I have a scar?

Have you ever fallen down, cut your knee and heard the phrase, "You're probably going to have a huge scar." Most kids have. In fact, most kids already have a few scars with interesting stories. Centuries ago, warriors showed off their scars as symbols of their bravery and told stories about how each scar happened.

What is a scar anyway? A scar is the brown, pale pink or silvery patch of skin that grows in the place where you once had a cut, scrape, or sore. It’s your skins way of repairing itself from injury. When you hurt yourself, your skin gets to work repairing the open wound. The skin makes a bunch of collagen - tough, white protein fibers that act like bridges. The collagen reconnects the broken tissue. As your body does the healing work - a dry, temporary crust is formed over the wound. This crust is called a scab.

Read on and learn more about how scars heal in today's Spotlight on Health!

Click HERE to download this activity as a printable PDF.