With a teenager in the house, it often happens that you are faced with surprises. Or not because you also get used to their behavior 😉 . But last week I was shocked when I saw the bare back of my almost 16-year-old. His whole lower back is covered with purple stripes; growth streak n they call it.
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I'm not talking about a single stripe, but quite a few purple stripes on my teenager's back. At first I joked… 'Did you have rough sex or something'. At which a mom-do-normal look was thrown my way. But when I sat down for a while, he was intrigued himself. Purple growth stripes on his back in horizontal direction is of course not what I expected to see in a growing adolescent boy who does not have an ounce of fat on his body.
I thought it looks like straie , but quickly brushed it off. You get stretch if you get too fat too fast, right? For example with overweight or when pregnant † Although I did not suffer from it myself while I really had a huge belly with both pregnancies, I do know what this looks like of course. So in the first instance I also yelled, dude, it must be from exercising or something. Next week it will be gone again. But nothing is less true. The growth stripes are still there.
It now appears that this does not only occur in overweight children, it just really has a 'too fast' growth to make.
Growth stripes are narrow lines that run horizontally down the back † They can be several millimeters thick to be. First they are purple in color but over time they become lighter and may become whitish in color become. Just like the straie we know. They are therefore simply the same kind of subcutaneous scars †
Growth stripes on the back are simply due to the rapid growth of your adolescent † If your adolescent has a growth spurt, it is very likely that he or she will also suffer from this. In any case, Luc's conclusion was quickly drawn. He has grown about 20 centimeters in the past year I think. In no time he is a head above me, and he is no more in height with his father. All his pants are short and the t-shirts are dangling halfway up his belly button!
Due to the rapid growth, the subcutaneous connective tissue is pulled apart, causing the purple growth stripes.
Often growth stripes start with itching. We didn't really notice that here in the house, but Luc probably just didn't have much trouble with it, or didn't pay attention to it.
Can you get rid of or reduce growth stripes? You can't get them away in any case † Whether you can reduce growth stripes (or stretch marks), opinions are divided on that. What is nice in any case is to keep the skin a bit supple in those places. Times I have Bio Oil on my face lubricated and on the scar Lotte has on her face. That is also a product that I can also recommend for the growth stripes. Growth stripes are scars after all † It will not be possible to get rid of it completely, but it does keep the skin supple and I also believe that Lotte's scar has been reduced as a result.
You can find Bio Oil at the local drugstore, or online with a discount.
Even though growth stripes cannot be completely reduced, you can ensure that your skin is as healthy as possible to avoid these growth stripes as much as possible.
My teenager's conclusion? "I'm not going to smear mom, I don't see anything." Accepting the growth stripes on your back is therefore also a good option!
