how to heal open wounds
Posted March 7th, 2009 by wendyg
Hi, first I want to say thankyou to everyone for sharing, my heart goes out to you and I send you love. I started picking 15 years ago and the last five years stripping skin off my face with tweezers thinking I could fix the scab or get the hair I see.I have severe to me scarring, 13 open nickle size wounds on my face and have searched and tried erverything to heal them which I only seem to blister or scab.It has stopped my life,not wanting to go anywhere or even see my family.I have stopped using tweezers and feel very strong that I can stop the picking.Does anyone have advice on what products to use prescriptin or ovc,keep things moist or not,bandades?,or share that your skin actually healed and how long.I feel like I look like a monster , I'm scared,I'm so ashamed.I thankyou so much for being so kind to help.
On July 27th, 2010 elipicker said:
Hi! It has been a while since i picked my face as badly as i have this time. my face is so sore and red. I have alot of pick marksright now but three large oozing ones that concealer wont adhere to. Anyway im actually writing not to complain but to help my fellow pickers. I picked my face due to lack of sleep and too many cafeine pills. Anxiety and stimulants lead to disaster when left alone with a mirror! The good news is this is a very rare occurance these days! i have been through hell and back due to this issue and i wanted to share some information as to how to prevent picking and how to heal when prevention didnt work and lastly i want to let everyone know there is a permenant solution to scaring from facial picking!!
Prevention- Medication is a wonderful thing. Seeking psychiatric tretment can really help! the right medication can do wonders in relieving the obsessions and stopping the compulsion. SSRI's seem to work for many people who battle this disorder. Prozac in particular saved my life. In conjunction with medication are tricks to stay away from picking. !. Do not have tweezers, pins, sewing needles ect. available!! Get them out of your house! Get your eyebrows done out of the home. limit mirrors! One mirror is all a home needs. Limit checking. If you wake up with a killer pimple that you want to literally rip off your face. Go to the bathroom only when mandatory and leave the door open. Privacy only allows us to get lost in the mirror and begin dig and sqeeze fest. Close your eyes and walk past the mirror. Avoid any opportunity to have prolonged mirror visit. Put make up on in front of someone holding a small nonmagnifying mirror far from your face. Apply it only 1 time. Move on. Make a concios effrot to keep your day moving forward. Dystractors are great. Avoid anxiety provoking situations. Don't have this be the day you are going to apply for jobs! If you have an under the skin pimple that yu know will not go away on its ownschedule an emergancy dermatologist visit for a cortizone injection. Make sure the injection is diluted so that it doesnt leave an indentation. Also remeber too much of anything is never a good thing. Therefore when washing your face be quick and gentle There is no need for washclothes astringant, acne pads ect. less is more!
What to do if you did pick. Don't panic whats done is done and nothing is permanent! Breathe. Wash the area with either dove soap or cetaphil gentle cleanser. then gently pat dry. Apply topical that drys out oozing or weing wounds let area dry out a bit then apply concealer with mirror far away and do it quickly! Move on! The less you fuss with the wound the faster it will heal!!
Lastly if you did "permanent" damage and have created poc marks ect. Make an appointment with a plastic surgeon (Dr. andrew miller) and get a syringe of silicone.filler. Depending on the size and depth of area he will fill the holes with this permanent filler in seconds. your skin will plump back up and you will look as if you never picked a day in your life.. The results are permanent/ Sometimes another round or two of injections is needed depends on damage u created. This filler is not crazy expensive and is forever. It is done using the microdropl techniqu. and the area will not overfill. It saved my face and it aved my life!! Good Luck!
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On November 28th, 2009 Noscubs said:
Your skin needs the scabs for healing. If there are no scabs forming even if you don't touch your skin you should see a doctor. If you feel ashamed about the scabs, allow yourself to stay at home while the wounds are healing. Please don't remove the scabs, because they are essential. No product can replace your own body's mechanisms for healing. Your face is a sensitive area. Well, it's easy to say this, isn't it? I too go digging into open wounds with tweezers, so please don't think I follow these rules eighter! But, it is very important that we understand the risk of it! One day it might be too late, and the results can be worse than only cosmetical.
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On November 27th, 2009 mizzbabylove01 said:
Hey,
I have the same problems like you too
I thought if I pick it, then everything would be ok, but i was wrong.
Now i have scars all over my face, i hate it.
I would cry in front of the mirror, looking at myself.
I dnt know what i should do.
I just hope one day i can look at myself and smile.
I hope you will too.
Beauty is within, but the outside does matter too!
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On March 7th, 2009 rosie said:
Hi Wendy --- thank you for your love and your openness. I'm sending some right back at you! So I've been a picker for a good dozen years now and have scarred lots too... just 2 weeks ago I found a pimple on my cheek (that of course wasn't ready yet, but I thought I could still get it out!) and I picked it soooo badly that I had a huge dark brown scab by the morning, absolutely mortified to leave the house, and even to see my family at a family dinner the next day... I knew everyone would wonder what the heck I did to my face! Anyhow, I understand your shame and frustration with this, as I've picked absolutely everything on my body for every reason under the sun. But I've really got things under control now, and that's soooo awesome that you're feeling so strong about stopping picking! So anyways, back to my ugly scab! I've tried everything for picking wounds, and I've finally figured out what I have to do when I pick! Of course, wash your face in the morning and at night to keep everything clean, and moisturize, and then I apply a bit of Polysporin to the area and gently rub it in, both at morning and before bed. The biggest thing though is that after you picked the spot once and realize the damage you've probably just caused, do not touch it again!!! Because think that everytime you touch it your're spreading infection and hurting the skin cells by picking. Also, I don't use bandaids or anything because you want it to breath still. It's good if the scab is nice and hard b/c it protects the new skin that's growing underneath. Do not pull the scab off! It'll start falling off when it's ready to. And I managed to keep my hands off my face and scab and the GIANT scab came off in 3-4 days and there was pretty skin -- a little pink though -- underneath. So everytime you touch a scab or pimple after you've already picked it, you're causing so much more trouble! So if you picked it once, just let it be! My new philosophy is that if I have a big scar or scab, I'm going to rock it out! That way people around me will see me, not the poor little sad girl with marks. And it's true, it works! And Wendy, your body's natural course is towards well being, and your scars will fade and all your skin will heal. It really doesn't take too long. You just can't touch it. And when you wake up each day you'll feel more and more beautiful!
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On July 29th, 2010 deig123 said:
Thank You for those words, although not meant for me, Lol, they really helped when I needed it, which is now. I am an opiate addict in recovery. I stopped using drugs & now I tweezed my eyebrows until they all disappeared. Ive been doing this for a few years. I look like a cancer patient (that coming from my sister, nice, Huh?). As soon as I see one start to grow or even see a spot underneath my skin, I'll dig it out, no matter how deep or how bloody it gets. I now have like 8 scabs on my skin where my eyebrows used to be. So I needed to hear what to do. I did give up my tweezers, the $30 pair, only to go back out & buy another. This has happened twice already. I'm so tired of looking this way & feeling ashamed of myself. I'm going to take your advice! Also, I've found that MAKE UP 4 EVER, has a waterproof liquid eyebrow tube, you put it on with an angled brow brush. That helps when you need to make realistic eyebrows where there are none. And I use primer, foundation, concealer, & then finishing or setting power to complete the process. BENEFIT has a great concealer called ERASE PASTE, it's a miracle worker to cover scabs/damage. okay, I'm babbling, Take Care & Good Luck to Everyone. I'm going to try & apply the 12 steps of NA, to my picking/tweezin as well. It's worked for the pills, so...............Let's HOPE!!!!
Deig123
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