track marks

[mtren]

Does anyone have any tips to help SWIM get rid of/prevent track marks on his arms? he uses neosporan daily to try and help them clear up quicker, but it doesnt help much. He also uses alcohol wipes before injection but swim not sure if that even makes a difference. any advice would be appreciated. thanks! Also what type of syringe does everyone use? like gauge size? im assuming the smaller it is the smaller the mark itll leave. Swim usually uses 31 gauge

[Ickyuck]

There are many useful threads out here with great info. I recommend... ROTATING! Switch your IV areas!
And be careful with neosporin, don't over-do it!! Like, don't put a big glob on there, please don't. It will just clog up the hole you made in your arm. I"ll post more info in a bit..

PS: moved thread

Post Edit: Try this search!

[blackman]

Try rubbing Vitamin E on your marks a few times daily. It is known to help.
You could also try that cream that women use to get rid of C-section scars, dunno what it's called.

A 31 gauge is good. probably the smallest gauge you wanna use. anything smaller and it becomes a pain to suck shit up in the barrell (clogging and such).

[xannyman]

I appologize for forgetting the brand name but there is a really good scar cream that helps dramatically to reduce the redness of any scars expecially track marks. I have used it and it works. Otherwise I would just use cover-up make-up. Best advice I have.

[Ickyuck]

Yeah I was trying to think of the stuff... I think its bio-derm?

[GOLD N DIEMONDS]

Mederma Cream
Medaderm scar cream

something like that walgreen has generic version, a little goes long,long ways.

Planted a 3/4 wood chisel into the PALM (no not face/palm)
of my hand, had micro-sugery to reattach nerve serve to thumb, left behind a good 2.5inch scar, lots of tissue build up.
USE this shit for couple month, can't hardly see scar.
THUMB IS weirdly nerve sensation

ROTATION IS BEST!
OR
state the obvious using other ROAs
switching of week to week maybe?

[Chipper]

Yeah, the Vit. E is supposed to help. I use Hirudoid cream to stop bruising.

Some suggestions on minimising future marks -- by being gentle, selecting a smaller guage, rotating injection sites and don't use alcohol swabs after the shot - just tisues and hold down on the wound for ages to ensure minimal blood loss and therefore limited "tattoo" effect.

[The_Highwayman]

I have used everything...cold spoons, vitamin E and rotating spots are your best bet. Make up and long shirts for the short term. Tattoos for the long term

[lotus]

everything ^^^they've^^^^said - just to chime a little......

as lazy as you may feel, and as easy as it is to keep hitting that fat & pretty one - ROTATE. if you don't know how to, there's stuff here, it's everywhere on the net, and if you have a needle exchange worth a shit they'll sit down and show you how to work thru it.

i'd get lazy, say *Fuk It*, and stab the same area repeatedly months on end.......now, 6? 7? years later i look at those areas and want to slap myself.

do your best to use the newest needles possible. even tho they still feel sharp as shit the second, third and fourth use they're not. Use Once And Destroy = best policy to help prevent scars.

keeping things sterile and clean keeps bacteria at bay - less shit to fester in your wounds = better outcome.

i used polysporin to no end on the places i shot. didn't over do it with globs and globs after every shot but i'd try and do it once or twice a day. i do believe this help'd in the long run in preventing what would of been much worse scarring.....

and, again, ROTATE - not only will it slow down scars, it'll keep your veins, skin, and body healthy for longer. a scary thing people don't mention is what the flip side of your tracks look like. all sorts of clotted blood sticking to the backside trying to heal your ass up.....very bad things can happen when, upon injecting, some of those blood clots break off and float on thru to your heart and/or lungs. people do die from this.

do what you can as best you can. i know some people are fanatical about injecting but.....wheel filters, various cleaning agents, bubble room etc etc - for most of us this isn't reality. remember this - if you think it's not good, it probably isn't.....and gut feelings in the world of needles, much of the time those are the only things that stop us from killing ourselves,

take care of yourself~

[SHELLEY]

the vitamin e oil helped my shit a LOT
also, don't miss

[Fat Pie]

I hear that make-up or cosmetic applications can really help, but I've had no experience with covering up my scars/track marks, so I don't know.

The best advice is to avoid getting tracks in the first place through less using (not even chipping, but just cutting down a bit on the injections), good injection technique (read the .pdf on harm reduction on this site for more info), always using fresh, clean, sharp needles and never reusing old ones, switching veins each time so you aren't constantly penetrating the same area (I know this can be hard if your veins are difficult to locate or in bad condition, and it's tempting to use the place you know that works until it stops working, but your arms and your veins will thank you in the long run, and consequently reward you with many a red cloud of blood in your syringe in the future), not reusing a needle too many times after you miss hitting a vein, and always washing your hands before and afterwards with warm water and soap.

Consequently, my hands don't look like my forearms (i.e. the surface of the moon).

Good luck!

[RxQueen]

like others have already said, ROTATE your injection spots, and vitamin E. just poke a hole in one of those gelly-type capsules and squirt some on (of course, after the spot has closed up!). another good product is arnica gel... you can find it where they have natural healing type stuff, or herbal remedies. some vitamin places sell it... i think it's primarily marketed for healing burns and reducing bruising, but i always found that it worked faster than anything else to heal up tracks.

[God_Albino]

think the stuff's called ScarZone, it has a couple ingredients, but it works wonders. if youve ever shot a really great area so much it totally opened up like a big-ass gash, it'll even fix that. burns, cuts, whatever. you'll be going to family functions in short sleeves in like a month unless u went totally bananas w razor blades and cig burns or some shit.

no bs, i totally dont work for the company. the stuff speaks for itself, even if its a lil pricey. if keith richards used it his arms would look like a fuckin newborn baby's ass. thats how legit.

[Larkin]

The biggest cause for my tracks is re-using rigs. dont do that, i reused so much it is sick, numbers worn off, need to lube it up just to slide, pop sound to get in the skin. The worst was digging around in a scab to find my vein, needless to say, i have quite the scar there. Thats actually my only real scar.

USE FRESH NEEDLES, and dont dig around, rotate. If your not sick, looking for new spots isnt a bad time.

[Deadfiend]

What your going is good, but it reminds me or the movie rush, like The_Highwayman said Tattoos for the long term are the best,but back to the movie anyone remember when he had to go to court and he took a hot iron to his arms to cove them up cause they were so bad, man that looked painful as fuck.