Q: I am 23 years old male. I have stretch marks around my shoulder since the past 4 years. These have turned from red to white over these years and have also expanded in size. On consulting a doctor, I was told to use Aloederm skin cream. Is this cream okay?

A:From what you say I understand that you are having striae distensae. These stretch lines appear due to the skins inability to cope up with the speed of growth of the underlying muscle/fat. As a result of this tensile stretch the collagen fibres in the skin tend to break and cause stretch marks. Aloe vera may not help as much as topical tretinoin. I suggest you try local application of 0.05 percent tretinoin cream.