cosmicmaker30 said:okay... no need to overanalyze it anymore... the wound isn't open... now we just gotta deal with the redness, and there are basically two ways to go about it... the quick way or the long way... the fast route is applying some kind of ointment or lotion, while the long way is just regular showering and eventually it'll fade on its own... both options are safe... and the redness will definitely disappear regardless...
Look, I don't really mind waiting a bit... I mean, there's plenty of time before summer hits again. 😁
But since we're talking ointments, which one actually works? You mentioned Floyd earlier. From what I'm seeing online, that stuff seems more for skin irritation. But honestly, it doesn't feel like this is just irritation... because that initial bright red look (right after I did it) went away pretty fast. To me, it feels more like dried blood under the surface... since it isn't bright red anymore, it’s more like this lighter reddish-purple color...
Thanks for all the advice, everyone. Some of you say wait, some say go ahead and use some ointment... I think I’ll just try to be patient and hold off on the topical stuff for at least a few more weeks before making a call.
Growing up, I was basically a magnet for injuries—way worse than these little scratches—and they always seemed to heal in like, a blink of an eye. That’s why I’m low-key freaking out a little here. I mean, this part already closed up in a couple of days, but this redness just refuses to budge! It's being stubborn.
Anyway, I'm gonna play the waiting game and I'll definitely check back in with you guys in a few weeks. (Assuming I don't spiral into another panic attack before then, lol)
Oh please, what scars are we even talking about here? 😲 They aren't even real scars (I guess). We're talking tiny little scratch marks where a scab fell off... you can barely see them!
And how much longer am I supposed to just sit here and put my faith in "time"... Seriously, is there anything to speed this whole process up? I need to see some actual progress before I totally lose my mind... 😢
stormyheron4 said:just tack on an -a at the end and nobody will ever catch on... they'll all just assume you're head over heels for some girl 👍
Honestly, I can't even decide which is more moronic... having a guy's name or a girl's. 🙂 When I actually sit down and think about it, a girl's name feels even stupider because I'd just look like a total pushover. 😁
Anyway, I don't want either one, so if anyone has any tips on how to get rid of this redness!!! Please!
Look, like I mentioned before, the wound healed up ages ago. The scabs are gone, but this redness... man, it’s just sitting there. It won't budge, not even a little bit. 😢
I'm guessing it's just leftover blood trapped under the surface from when they were cleaning everything out... Maybe I'm being dramatic, but is there actually anything I can do to make this red patch fade faster? A friend suggested using Heparin, but now I'm sitting here wondering if that's even a thing? Or maybe some kind of cream?
I'm low-key panicking that I'm stuck with this forever. There's gotta be something—some way to break down that old blood so the color goes away, right? If this was just some random scratch on my arm, I wouldn't give a damn, but it's right on my chest where it clearly says John, lol. I seriously can't look at it anymore.
Usually, when I scratch at it, it clears up within a few days, but this... this feels like it might actually stick around. 😢
The initial scabs have finally peeled off, though it still feels a bit tender if I touch it—kind of like they're still lingering there. But the letters themselves are still red. Well, slightly darker than before, almost like dried blood left a stain underneath. 😢
Anyway, I’ll try to hang in there for another couple of weeks. If this redness doesn't start fading by then, I think I’m going to start low-key panicking...
I'll post an update after my next checkup in two weeks. 🙂
The scab on the letter A already fell off (the other letters still have theirs, though), and I doubt I even picked at it much... 🙂 Anyway, I'm a little worried because the color hasn't really faded from the A yet, even if it is definitely lighter than it was during those first couple of days.
Is it actually normal for the redness to hang around after the scab is gone? Because at this rate, it feels like it’s going to take months to fully clear up!! 😢
Should I be applying anything to it, or just wait for the other scabs to drop off on their own?
Just try to keep the sweat from getting in the wound... seriously.
Yep. 😬
So, looking at it today, the redness seems a bit lighter... or maybe it's just starting to fade away slowly. And that scab is actually getting a little more solid.
Anyway, thanks again to everyone for the advice. 🙂
It’s not gonna happen... honestly, just let it be. It’s just part of the whole healing process, you know? You tell him his girlfriend tied him up and wrote that down and... well... 😛
Not happening. I mean, look, it's a guy's name, and I'm definitely not gay. 😁 It was just a bet, okay? Purely for the stakes. 🤣
I actually toyed with the idea of just adding a single letter to turn it into a girl's name... maybe that wouldn't be quite as humiliating... but nah, I bailed on that one. 😁
Thanks! If anything weird starts happening, I’ll let you know. 🙂
Right now it’s just the letters turning red, but honestly... I’m worried this is gonna drag on forever. I was kind of expecting the redness to fade out—or at least lighten up—as the days go by, but it’s been stuck like this for a few days now. (The only decent sign is that a scab is finally forming, I guess)
It doesn't sting or hurt much, just a tiny bit if I touch it too hard. Just hoping everything follows its own timeline, you know? I don't even know how someone would bring this up to a doctor... they'd probably just send me straight to a psychiatrist first, lol.
Got a few more things on my mind: 1) So now that a scab has actually started forming—it’s super thin, like you can barely see it unless you really look, but you can feel it if you touch it—should I still be disinfecting the area? I’m just worried I’ll accidentally peel it off, especially since it's so thin and practically invisible...
2) What are the odds that once the redness fades, the letters turn white or end up looking like tiny little scars? And is there anything I can even do at this stage to stop that from happening, or should I just leave it alone and not touch a thing?
Go ahead and roast me, but I’ve got a bit of a situation on my hands: So, I went and carved someone's name into my chest using a compass tool. It was pretty shallow—nothing deep enough to actually bleed—though yeah, obviously it stung... A lot. At first, the whole area was just bright red, but now, even after a few days, the name itself is just staring back at me in this distinct red outline. Is that... normal? Because in my naive head, I figured the redness would fade in a day or two, but here I am on day 4, maybe day 5, and it's still clearly visible.
I also noticed today that a thin little scab is starting to form. Or maybe it's a scab? It kind of itches if I touch it, but it's incredibly thin... probably because the scratch itself was so superficial in the first place.
My question is: what's the move here? How should I be treating this? I went ahead and cleaned it with some rubbing alcohol just to be safe, even though there aren't any obvious signs of an infection or anything. Will this redness eventually go away? And like, how long am I looking at? Should I be slathering some ointment on it to prevent scarring, or will my body just handle it on its own? (Again, like I said, it was just surface-level stuff... no bleeding involved.)