Time it takes for abrasions to heal?

[jdurg]

Okay, I need to preface this post by stating that yes, what I did was stupid and I probably deserve the consequences. A bunch of buddies bet me $50 that I couldn't jump over a two-foot high recycling bin. (They were a bit intoxicated at the time). Seeing an easy opportunity to win $50, I took them up on the bet. As I was approaching the jump, a bottle fell out of the bin and landed right where I was going to plant for my jump. When my foot landed on the bottle, my body gave way and I fell forward. My face made an impact on the side of the bin and the concrete pavement.

 

As a result, I have some pretty nasty bruises and abrasions over my right eye, on the bridge of my nose, and all over my chin. This happened on Tuesday. Today, everything is scabbed over and the wounds all feel incredibly tight. The scabs are a nice brown color and the flesh around them is pretty sore. About how long does it take for all of this to heal? I'm asking because I start a new job on June 5th and need to have a photograph taken for my company ID/Badge. I'd rather not have it be one of me with these massive wounds all over my face. What are the chances that in that two weeks time everything will have healed and the scabs will be gone and the marks will be a bit less noticeable?

[zyncod]

Speaking as one with long experience with abrasions, no, they won't be gone by June 5. But when I abrade myself, it's usually so bad that they don't stop weeping for three days.

 

So I'd say it won't be disfiguring, at least, in two weeks.

[Phi for All]

As I was approaching the jump, a bottle fell out of the bin and landed right where I was going to plant for my jump. When my foot landed on the bottle, my body gave way and I fell forward. My face made an impact on the side of the bin and the concrete pavement.

Murphy's Law Corollary #817: Always make sure the bet is for enough money to pay for the plastic surgery. Murphy's Law Corollary #817a: Needing the plastic surgery means you lost the bet and can't pay for the plastic surgery.

 

You're going to look terrible for the picture. If someone makes fun of your badge tell them you got the cuts and bruises dismembering the last person who made fun of your badge.

[GutZ]

On the upside no one will **** with you if you tell them your a pit fighter.

 

Seriously though, if they weren't deep I'd say you could do it! I believe I could, but even by that time it might be little enough for make-up.

 

I know guys are not particular to the idea of make up but, hey you worried about your facial looks, I particularly wouldn't care, but then again I dont generally try and jump garage dumpsters.

[H2SO4]

to speed up healing id keep it under a bandage or something with neosporin or some other topical ointment. If yo ukeep it moist i think it will heal alot faster.

[sabbath]

I thought not bandaging it will make it dry up faster? Try ointments like aloe vera or plain aloe. It will speed up the drying but it stings a bit. But not as painful as your uhh...garbage crash. But most likely you'll have minor scars, the soreness will probably be gone in 2 weeks. But that depends on how huge the abrasion areas are. The more wide the area, the slower it heals. Airing it will make it dry up faster (at least I think so, that's what I do). I know somebody who kept her wound bandaged far too long, and it sort of gangrened....eew. and the flesh was eaten away. eeeew.

[YT2095]

agreed, a wound needs plenty of fresh air to heal properly, warm and moist is an ideal breeding ground for all manner of bacteria.

 

a wash with strong salt water and then left to dry in open air is best!

wounds tend to heal from the outside In (sort of starts at the edges and works towards the middle) so it really all depends on the area and severity to give a ballpark time figure on it.

 

Just don`t Pick at it!

[insane_alien]

but picking is the best part.

[jdurg]

Hehe. Well the wounds already scabbed over completely, and the skin under the outside edges of the scabs have already grown back in. (Yesterday, in spots where the scabs fell off, the skin exposed was a bright pink. Today, it looks just like the rest of my skin). All of the scabs are getting qutie flakey and every now and then a piece works loose, but nothing to write home about.

 

The worst part is that the wounds are closing and shrinking, but the scab remains the same size so my face feels incredibly "tight" as the open holes shrink. They itch like hell too. It's really difficult not to pick at them, but past experiences tell me that picking at it will only make it heal a LOT slower.

 

To speed things up, I've been taking an abundance of vitamins and trace elements to make sure my body has all the supplies it needs, then I've been putting an aloe-vera/collagen cream on the wounds every night before going to bed. It seems to be working quite well. I'm now pretty confident that they won't be nearly as noticeable in two weeks time.

[Phi for All]

Have your buddies stopped laughing yet? Or were they horrified that the two-foot hurdle they egged you in to turned out to be so disfiguring?

[jdurg]

Yeah, they stopped laughing as soon as I kneed my one buddy in the balls for daring me to do that. Then the laughter stopped.

[Phi for All]

Yeah, they stopped laughing as soon as I kneed my one buddy in the balls for daring me to do that. Then the laughter stopped.

So he'll be cross-eyed for *his* ID badge photo!

[ydoaPs]

Murphy's Law Corollary #817: Always make sure the bet is for enough money to pay for the plastic surgery. Murphy's Law Corollary #817a: Needing the plastic surgery means you lost the bet and can't pay for the plastic surgery.

 

You're going to look terrible for the picture. If someone makes fun of your badge tell them you got the cuts and bruises dismembering the last person who made fun of your badge.

you could always say you just started a fight club.

[jdurg]

I figure I'll be okay now. The scabs are all starting to dry up a bit and begin to crack. I figure that in one week's time the majority of the scabs will be gone and it will just be some off-colored flesh on my face that I can easily take care of. I just want to make sure that the scabs have completely fallen off by then and that the wounds have healed. Damn these things are itching like crazy. It also sucks because the wounds on my chin are preventing me from shaving which is making me look like a disheveled bum.

[jdurg]

Here's a little update. It's been about 3 days since the incident, and I've found a way to quickly speed up the healing process. Each day I am taking a multi-vitamin high in Vitamins B and C, as well as supplements of zinc gluconate, fish oil, omega-3 fatty acids, and Vitamin A. I drink a lot of milk and a lot of orange juice while eating high protein meals. Each morning and each night I use a zinc-based cream on my wounds which keeps the scabs moist and disinfected. Every morning when I wake up I see the outer edges of the scabs have broken free from my skin and crumbled away. Left behind is a bright pink skin which will darken up as it builds up from behind and is exposed to sun. I'm just shocked at how quickly these are healing. I'll easily be healed up by the time I start my new job.

[jdurg]

It has been six days since my little tumble and the massive influx of protein, vitamins, and various creams has resulted in all abrasions being fully healed at this point in time. The last of the scabs fell off overnight and I'm just left with some bright red spots where the new skin has grown in. I will be slowly, and carefully, exposing these spots to sunlight and by the time I have to get my photo ID made for my new job everything will be back to normal or close enough to where a tiny bit of make-up can cover it. I highly doubt that will be needed, however. I'm just simply amazed at how quickly this all healed. The human body is an amazing machine.

[alt_f13]

Wow. Something like that happenned to me when I was about 10 y/o, and it didn't fully heal for many weaks!

 

I'm bookmarking this thread, just in case I need to duplicate your Wolverine style healing abilities.

 

How do the scars look? What's the best way of preventing scars in this type of situation?

[jdurg]

The scars just look like pinkish colored spots of skin, but they are beginning to match my normal skin tone now at this point. I too am simply amazed at how quickly it has healed. Less than a week for all the scabs to have falling off naturally and for just a pinkish colored replacement skin to form in its place.

 

I think the biggest thing I did to enhance the healing process was take a large number of A, B, and C Vitamins, Zinc Gluconate cream, and an anti-bacterial cream applied twice a day to keep the wounds moist and sterile. Then I just ate a lot of protein, drank a lot of milk, and avoided picking at the scars. Every night when I went to bed, I'd wake up the next morning with a large portion of the scab(s) withered away and falling off. I almost now wish that I had photographs of how quickly this has all healed because even I am amazed at this.

[peach_jam]

i guess i'm in the same situation - made a perfect landing on my face 2 days ago. i had a swollen eye but i think i'm getting rid of it [the swelling, not the eye ] - i apply a cotton pad immersed in very warm calendula tincture on the swelling and let cool. yesterday morning i could barely open my eye and by now it is almost back to normal, disregarding it is still black, but it will disappear the same way. i also use a gel on the wounds, called Contractubex, it is supposed to get rid of the scars, but i can't say it's been very helpful... i suppose i have to use more vitamins and proteins, right?

i haven't been out for 2 days and i can't say that i'm longing for exposing myself this way

how is it going by now?

[jdurg]

Things are going pretty good right now. The area above my right eye that got rubbed away is about 90% normal. It's still slightly pink, and if it weren't for the shape of it one could just say that it was a patch of sunburned skin. The bridge of my nose is still bright red, however. That one seems to be taking a lot longer to fully heal. Probably because of a lack of blood vessels in the area. The LARGE spot on my chin that had the skin rubbed off of it is still noticeably pink. I've spent a lot of time out in the sun the past week or so, and while the rest of the skin on my face has turned a nice golden color the spots where the scabs were have just stayed pink/red so they stand out a little bit more now. When I head in for my photo ID I'll probably use a light makeup of sorts to just blend the areas in. From what I have read, the time it takes for the pink skin to fully match up with the surrounding skin is a few months.

[rich14sublime]

jdurg, great info. would you mind specifying what type of zinc gluconate cream you used and where you found it? I've searched for it online but I can't seam to find it.

 

Thanks in advance!