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Thin Skin? Old Medicine?

Discussion in 'Physical & Sexual Health' started by Paralyzer, Apr 21, 2008.

  1. Paralyzer

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    Well, I've got two main questions/concerns..

    First, I got really bad carpet burns on my left, right, and left hand Sunday night wrestling one of my friends... Two of the burns scabbed over but one didn't because I put a large bandaid on it for one and a half days. Anyways, my mom eventually coaxed me into putting Neosporin on it, but since she says that it's too expensive to buy new medicine every time we need it, I put 5 year expired neosporin on it... My first question is- is this bad? I know taking things like maybe cough medicine and other things to drink that are expired is bad but I've never really thought about a rubbing type medication. It does have an expiration date afterall, and it's 5 years past due.....

    My second concern is that maybe my skin is too thin..... I barely abraised the carpet and it looks like my skin was sanded off. Sometimes when I'm walking through the halls at school, I'll scrape my hand on one of the door hinges and I'll end up with a modestly deep scratch that bleeds for about 2 mins but the scar stays for like a week or two. I'm hoping this isn't a sign of diabetes or something cause I heard scars take a while to heal for them. Also, my cuticles are pretty weak and get damaged easilywhen I'm not careful.

    Help/Advice? :confused:
     
  2. Paralyzer

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    Also: I've been a vegetarian for three years.... in case that means anything
     
  3. Orion

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    Well, being a vegatarian can make you be faulty of certain chemicals, like iron, but I'm not sure it may have much to do with healing. I think things like that can be caused by diabetes, being weak (as in debilitated because of something) or having a low count of that component in your blood which covers up wounds (don't remember it).

    However, you could be generally easy harmed, but to stay sure I would get a blood analysis done, do you get checked by a doctor regularly? (you should really take someone's else advice over mine, I'm not to be trusted :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:)
    Oh and I don't think applying externally old medicine can do you any harm, most likely any active components it may have are now inactive, so it will probably not make any affect, but nothing more than that.
     
  4. KaraBulut

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    Much of the benefit of antibiotic ointment is not the antibiotic- it's the ointment. Wounds heal faster when they are moist and the ointment in Neosporin keeps the moisture in the wound so that it can heal. Five year old Neosporin is past its better days but it will not hurt you. It should probably be thrown out and replaced, though.

    The vegetarianism should not be a factor in wound healing as long as you are consuming plenty of protein in things like eggs, cheese, etc. Guys your age need a lot of protein because you are growing so quickly.

    A wound and scar that heal after a couple of weeks is still normal. From your picture, you look like may be olive skinned- maybe Italian or Latino. People with darker skin tend to have more pigment in their scars so sometimes your scars are more visible than someone with fair skin. But as long as your cuts and scrapes form a scab and heal within a week or two, it is still normal.
     
  5. HalfInsane

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    Haha... I've used expired Neosporin too. It's maybe not the greatest idea in the world, although I'd assume it's only the fact that the medical ingredients lose all their strength over time that'd lead the product to be considered expired... not that it's going to negatively affect your health. Better to be cautious and not use it though.

    And as for the scaring, it could just be your skin type as was said. The only link I could see to it being caused by you being a vegetarian is if you were severely anemic (that's probably not the case... and I'm not just saying that under the assumption that all vegetarians are anemic; I'm vegetarian, too) because I'm pretty sure that severe anemia can reduce the body's ability to heal in a number of senses. Another thing you'd notice if that was the cause, is that you'd get bruises really, really easily.
     
  6. Paralyzer

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    Reading about the pigment thing makes me feel a lot better because I really don't want to be diabetic.. I might have to give up being a vegetarian : (

    I never ever go to the doctor to get tests run on me. My mom says it's too expensive and a waste of time.. haha (you can guess what kind of lady she is)

    I think the neosporin might have actually helped, the scab has formed, just like the one on my right knee, only this one is a little 'prettier' looking : )
    -Also, I'm not easily bruised so I believe that's a good sign :slight_smile: :slight_smile:

    Thank you guys for your advice, I feel more confident about myself.
    I'm thinking maybe I'm just 'easily harmed'.. haha.. I guess I'm gonna have to find a strong man to take care of me XD