After the burn

After the Burn...

The wounds have healed for the most part, with new pink skin revealing itself underneath. I've stopped using the antibiotic silver nitrate cream that was prescribed, but I have another days or two with the bandages during the day . My plastic surgeon (hee!) tells me that in all likelihood, I won't need any procedures done, but I must protect the new skin from the sun (hence, the bandages). The scar over my temple and eyelid is probably the worst, but it the most easily protected with a hat and sunglasses when I go outdoors. Otherwise, no bandage for that one (I'm still wearing bandages over the one next to my nose and the long one on my other cheek.

Last night, I started using Neosporin's adhesive Silicon Scar sheets which is supposed to help prevent the formation of scars. These things are not cheap - I wound up ordering them from drugstore.com. They don't charge tax, and for now, there's free shipping, so I wound up saving something like 10 bucks total per box (compared with Walgreens). The online reviews were not great, but they're what the doctor ordered so that's what I got.

The sheets are about 1.5 by 2.5 inches. They can be trimmed to fit and they are to be reused 3-4 times. Half a sheet takes care of the scars on my face. (I haven't been as fastidious about the scars on my arms and wrists). The silicon adhesive is clear and a little gummy, and are backed by a nylon tricot-like beige fabric. I'm supposed to wear them for at least 12 hours a day for the next six months. Logistics only allowed me to wear them for 6 hours last night while I slept. I'll probably start putting them on earlier, and wearing them during the day when I'm at home on the weekends or days off. They don't exactly stay in place - the long thin one did, but I wound up resticking the one over my temple. I woke up with the one that was on my lid on my finger, and the one next to my nose on my chest (!). The directions suggest using medical tape, but I don't know if I can handle any more adhesives. We shall see.