Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with scar

How do I prevent a cigarette burn from leaving a scar?

washburn — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 11:10:34 -0800

How do I prevent a cigarette burn from leaving a scar? As I maneuvered through a crowded beer garden last night, some gesticulating smoker put his cigarette out on my arm. I didn't worry too much about it yesterday evening, but this morning it does look like the spot might end up scarring.

Any day-after advice for preventing the burn from leaving too noticeable a scar?

1 big scar - 1 testicle = ?

potatopeople — Mon, 11 May 2009 19:02:59 -0800

What are some medical reasons that would warrant an operation removing one testicle from a 5 or 6 year old boy? My partner only has one testicle (which is absolutely a non-issue to me), but he wasn't born that way and he doesn't know why it was surgically removed when he was very young. He has a scar slightly below his left hip bone that is almost five inches long, running horizontally across his pelvic area. The only memories he has of this are vague, very early childhood memories of being examined by a doctor and then being anesthetized on an operating table. His parents never talked to him about it when he hit puberty, and he has never asked them about it and says he never would because it would be way too awkward.

I'm curious about what kind of medical reasons there would be for an operation to remove a testicle from a 5 or 6 year old. Has this happened to anyone out there or anyone who knows some reasons for this to have happened? Just wondering about what are some probable or possible causes for this type of operation.

Who thought Sam up?

M Edward — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 19:01:10 -0800

Songfilter: Heard it on the radio, schizophrenia, prostitution, weirdness. Somewhere between Redding and Sacramento on I-5 last Saturday I was channel surfing on the radio and caught the end of a song that was completely bizarre and now I want to know what it was.

The basics:
A guy, (Sam, I think) goes to a Mexican brothel, he doesn't speak Spanish and they don't speak English, he picks a younger prettier one, they go upstairs, she wants the money upfront, he wants her nude, she refuses, she relents, she has scars, burned in a car accident, during sex he becomes schizophrenic and imagines himself outside his body, he keeps asking himself it it's real, he leaves and goes back to his hotel, he shakes and shakes.

Anyone have an idea?

Hearing this song on the radio sort of blew my mind, it is pretty graphic sexually and completely random. The next song that came on was a Country-boy christmas song with bits about going to the quickee mart for Marlboro reds and fake snow. Hearing the 2nd song after the first was rather shocking.

Thanks in advance!

How to best heal a facial scar?

bahama mama — Thu, 01 May 2008 06:42:23 -0800

ScarFilter: Asking for my sister. My sister fell today while running to the car and smashed her face into the pavement. Nothing broken, but she now has a wide chunk of flesh missing from the area on her nose right between her eyes. It can’t be stitched because it is not a deep cut, it is really just a chunk of missing skin, and the “dent” is very noticeable – it looks like someone scooped out a portion of her skin with a small spoon. (I apologize if that was too descriptive!) What can she do to minimize scarring while it heals? Is there anything that can be done so that skin heals in a way to make the “dent” less obvious? Should she go to a dermatologist or plastic surgeon? Has anyone had any experience with wounds like this? Anecdotes, advice, reassurance would be greatly appreciated! I've read through this and found it helpful but was wondering if there was anything more you might add?

Tell me my face will heal fine?

Anonymous — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 20:09:16 -0800

HELP! I HAVE A HOLE IN MY FACE A nasty pimple had developed on my cheek. In squeezing it, I ended up messing up my skin so that it scarred over the pimple. Ignoring what I knew I shouldn't do, I kept picking at it. Now I have a HOLE and I'm scared that it will turn into a crater or something worse. I've never had a crater- all my past pimples have healed fine. Please tell me - is this one going to leave a permanent indent in my face?? What can I do??

Gross picture here.

Ouch.

Evangeline — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 14:27:17 -0800

What kind of scar would a whip leave? The whip in question is a cat-o-nine-tails and the scars in question would be about 3 months old. I'm doing stage make-up for one of my actors. He plays a character that was whipped brutally (over 200 lashes), and in the play he takes off his shirt and reveals the scars on his back (at the time of the reveal they are about three months old). The theatre is a very intimate space, so I have to be careful about going too heavy.

I did a little googling and only found one photograph of scars caused by a whip. They were raised scars, either hypertrophic or keloid. My question is, in what instance would an indented scar occur? Could it possibly result from a whipping in which muscle is likely destroyed along with flesh? Oh, and is there a particular name for that type of scar?

Thanks in advance!

Ritual or abuse?

Evangeline — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 08:23:39 -0800

Help me figure out what happened to this little girl. Last night on the train home (I'm in NYC), a girl of about thirteen was holding onto the post in front of me. She was very bubbly and cute and girly. She was with another girl of about the same age - kind of a tougher looking girl, but still just as bubbly.

I noticed the first girl had three horizontal scars on her right cheek. They were each about an inch in length, and it looked like they were made with a razor. Then she turned her head, and I saw that she had another set of scars in the same size and configuration on the other cheek.

My question is, is this a particular kind of ritual scarification? I've done some googling, but I can't come up with anything this specific. I wouldn't describe either of these girls as "gang material". Of course, the other possibilities are that she cut herself or that someone cut her against her will. Any way you look at it, it's pretty horrifying.

Cover or reduce an old scar

zainsubani — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 04:31:10 -0800

I've been looking for a way to help my girlfriend cover, or at least reduce the visibility of, a scar on her stomach. She is quite self-conscious about it, especially when we make love. I've searched up and read many discussions of similar topics here on AskMeFi, but most of the suggestions seem to assume that the scar is recent. My girlfriend's scar dates from 2002. We know that surgery will eventually be necessary, but for various reasons it isn't practical at this time. What techniques have MeFites found successful when trying to cover or eradicate older scars?

How do I smooth my bumpy face?

oneous — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 02:19:03 -0800

My face has bumpiness all over it. I'm not sure how it got there, but I *assume* it's because I always picked apart my zits in jr high. How *exactly* did the bumpiness form? Is there a medical term for this condition? What are the options for removing this stuff (making my face smooth)? ...Explain science behind these options? Are there measures I can take every day to help? Does diet have anything to do with it?

What can I do to get rid of a deep but tiny scar on my cheek?

gttommy — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 11:12:50 -0800

What can I do to get rid of a deep but tiny scar on my cheek? Around 8 years ago I had what I believed to be a blackhead pimple on my left cheek. The general practitioner made a small incision to make an opening and squeezed the 'Stuff' out. For a long time now that specific area has no pimple problems. For most of my life, my face is usually almost pimple free. Problem is: I have a permanent scar and it looks like a deep pimple hole. Yeah I know, people are starving out there somewhere and I'm worrying about a tiny scar...

Anyways, that doctor has told me I can't cover it up as it will create a blockage, and something to do with 'cist' forming. Any skin experts please advise!

I have considered, 'melting' that area or removing the skin (along with the hole) creating a new bigger scar that is Flat (by medical practitioners of course).

Any advice or recommendations are welcome!

Rambo would've used a bullet

TungstenChef — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 23:44:39 -0800

Am I going to get a nasty scar? While opening a can of dulce de leche today, my finger slipped and I gashed a divot out of my index fingertip about 1cm long, 3mm wide, and 3mm deep. It started bleeding a surprising amount, and borrowing from my pet first aid knowledge I stopped the bleeding with a styptic pencil, cleaned it with Bactine, and put on a bandage and Neosporin. Should I have gone i and tried to get stiches instead of the styptic pencil? Am I going to end up with a slow healing, large scar?

Help! I don't want a hole in my thumb!

happyturtle — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 12:50:08 -0800

I cut myself badly today, ripping off a piece of skin about .5cm in diameter right on the knuckle of my thumb. (further gory details inside) - Is there anything I can do tonight to improve healing, or should I leave it alone? - Should I go to my GP or the walk in clinic in the morning The cut is very deep, with fat attached to the skin. I was home alone on my lunch break, so I tied a bandage around it as tight as I could, which stopped the bleeding, and went back to work. The first aid lady at work looked at it and rebandaged it and said she didn't think it would need stitches, but when she saw it, the flap of skin was sitting nicely in place.

After I got home from work, I dislodged the bandage accidentally, so decided to replace it. The flap of skin stuck to the gauze and came away from the wound. I put it back in place, gauze and all, trimmed the excess bandage away, put a dollop of antiseptic cream on top of the gauze, and put a bandaid over the whole thing.

If the skin doesn't reattach, I'm going to end up with a pit in my thumb from the scar tissue. But at 8 hours since the injury, I'm guessing it's probably too late for stitches, and it's almost bedtime.

Further details: The bleeding has stopped, and there's very little pain. I've lost no function or sensation in my thumb. And the cut was deep enough that there was fat attached to the flap of skin.

Please help me get rid of this stupid scar!

Melsky — Wed, 30 May 2007 05:41:51 -0800

I have a scar on my forehead. It's not raised but is just a darker color than my skin. I got it from using a massager on my head when I had a very painful sinus headache - somehow I managed to take off a layer of skin, though it didn't hurt at all. Now it's six weeks later, and I still have the scar. Is there anything I can do to minimize the appearance? I have pale skin. I think if I got a tan it might even out the color but I don't want to tan.

I am hoping there's a way to get rid of it all together, but I would also like to know if there's a good cover make up I can use. I have tried using a cover up stick I got at the drug store and it wears off very fast and doesn't look that great in the first place.

Again, it's not a raised scar at all, just a reddened area of the skin. It's not disfiguring or anything but it's in a very noticeable spot on my forehead and I'd really like it to be gone.

Thank God it's not a tattoo

rosemere — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 07:51:19 -0800

How long does it take to remove a wedding ring dent? My husband and I are splitting up. I took off my narrow gold band last Friday and noticed a very obvious, red imprint. I gained about 30 pounds since the ceremony, but the ring still slipped off easily enough, so I thought it would look better within a day.

So the fact that I still have a groove (no red left) about 50% the size of the original mark, and that it looks slightly shiny and striated, concerns me. I don't want the pathetic fallacy of a scar on my ring finger following me into a new life. So will this fade on its own? Is there something I can do to speed up the healing?

4 month old scar still hurts..

sirion — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 16:48:47 -0800

4-month old leg injury filter: I scraped up my leg really bad 4 months ago. It healed, it scarred, it still hurts. Now what? I tripped over a desk drawer this summer and got a lovely pair of 6-inch long scrapes on my left leg. The skin has healed and now there's a couple of big scars, which sucks, but is bearable.

Unfortunately, it feels like I still have a pair of 6-inch long bruises on my leg. They hurt when I touch them or when I'm standing for a long period of time. Can I do anything about it so long after it's healed?

I ask that blanket suggestions for 'Go see a doctor' be filtered through the no-medical-insurance-and-not-much-money-filter, and backed up by personal experience (I saw a ___ doctor and he/she gave me ____ and it magically fixed everything)

Thanks

My past always haunts me.

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 10:43:11 -0800

Tattoos for the scarred. I am thinking about getting a tattoo on my left bicep. My concern is that I have a history of self-injury, due to manic-depression. As a result, said bicep is fairly heavily scarred.

My question is two-fold:

a) How will a tattoo take on a generally scarred area?
b) Will future cutting incidents cause severe damage to the tattoo?

Please keep any off-topic comments on self-injury elsewhere. It's a chronic illness, I'm being treated for it, and it's not currently a problem for me. But I also must rationally admit that it may be, again, in the future, and I would hate for the self-loathing such incidents cause to be enhanced by ruining a tattoo I like.

Should I just skip it and go for the other arm?

How did you get that scar?

Anonymous — Tue, 04 Jul 2006 19:49:35 -0800

Please help me identify possible causes of an abdominal scar. The other day I was in bed with this girl for the first time. I noticed that she has a scar in the middle of her abdomen, over the solar plexus, I think. It looks kind of like an insect, with an elongated "body" and little "legs" coming out of it. (I'm guessing it's the result of some sort of surgery, and the "legs" are from stitches.) The whole thing is maybe an inch long.

I asked her about it. She seemed uncomfortable, and didn't give me a direct answer. So I didn't press the matter further. But, now curiosity is killing me. Any guesses about where it came from?

I'm guessing the answers are going to be along the lines of "it could be anything." But, I figure it's worth a shot.

Scary Scar

hazyjane — Mon, 27 Feb 2006 23:53:29 -0800

Three months ago, I had a myomectomy. I've recovered fine in terms of the way I feel physically, but I still have some concerns about the appearance of my scar. Before surgery, I was told by the surgeon that he would make my scar below the hairline so that it would not be visible when said hair grew back. However, the scar is about an inch above the hairline. And worse, there is a poochy bit that sticks out on the right side - the same side where the fibroid was removed from.

My stomach is still pretty swollen in general, too. I'd say I look like I'm pregnant and just starting to show. Am I ever going to get my flat tummy back?

I asked my surgeon about this at the follow-up appointment a month ago, and he just said 'everything looks normal to me." When I showed him the poochy bit, he said I should massage the scar every day and it would go away. It hasn't.

I've been told the surgery I had is about halfway in severity between a C-section and a hysterectomy. So scar stories from anyone who's had either of these would be most welcome! Thanks.

What's up with my knobbly-feeling surgical wound?

teem — Mon, 11 Jul 2005 00:07:01 -0800

12 days ago I had pelvic surgery which involved a 9 cm (~3.5 inch) horizontal lower abdominal incision. The stitches were removed 6 days after the operation and the surgeon said at the time that the wound looked fine. Since some time after that appointment, when I touch the area within 1 cm of the wound I can feel fairly firm nodular areas under the skin. To anyone who has had a similar experience following surgery or knows about it, is this normal or a complication? Did it go away without treatment? Did it cause further problems? I am still a tiny bit sore from the operation, but nothing unreasonable. The wound looks normal, it only feels weird under my fingers -- I have a long-healed appendectomy (not laproscopic) scar that does not feel at all like this. The firm areas feel exactly like the toughest bits of a person's ear in terms of firmness, and are painless. If I encounter any problems (I have been briefed by my surgeon on what red flags to look out for) I will of course see a doctor, but from a purely aesthetic perspective I don't want a knobbly-feeling scar and would be interested to hear anecdotes from other people about what happened to them, their friend, their neighbour's mother-in-law, or whoever.

Wound that could have healed cleanly, but ended up as a very ugly scar

Jairus — Tue, 15 Mar 2005 05:06:57 -0800

Is there a word in any language that means "wound that could have healed cleanly, but ended up as a very ugly scar"?

What can I do to minimize this scar on my nose for the long-term?

handee — Sun, 13 Feb 2005 09:09:07 -0800

I'm going to have a reasonably large scar on my nose. What can I do now to minimise the long term visibility of the scar? I'm taking multivitamins. I had the stitches out 5 days ago. I've been using the antibiotic cream the surgeon gave me but it's about to finish. What can I do? Moisturisers any use? Any other dietary supplements?