Saturday, July 12, 2008

Taking care of myself

Yesterday I had some "highly suspicious" skin spots removed. Then I exhausted the kids at the zoo, big nose bandaged and all.

To my surprise, the dermatologist recommended plain old Vaseline for immediate scar prevention. He says it helps the wound heal faster than Mederma.

I love it when the frugal alternative is also the superior one.

18 comments:

martha said...

Hope you're back to your lovely self quickly.

The active ingredients in (expensive) Mederma are aloe and onion. Interesting!

Anonymous said...

I, too, have to watch my skin, & have had "suspicious" spots on my forearms removed. Nothing so far on face or neck.....I'm always watching for it though.

Brenda

Holly C. said...

Hope everything's okay!

Jane said...

So good to know! Mederma is super $$.

Anonymous said...

My dermatologist recommended Vaseline as well. Her reasoning was that she'd had too many patients with surprise allergic reactions to other projects. An allergic reaction on top of wounds or stitches IS to be avoided at all costs.

Shannon said...

I hope you didn't wear yourself out at the zoo:) Vitamin e oil is very good for scars, too, and it's still alot cheaper than mederma. I'm so glad you mentioned this - Brenna has some trouble with exzema and I'm always worried about scarring - now I can break out the vaseline tonight without even making a trip to the store.

Edi said...

I hope you get a good report on the skin spots...

I had a skin tag removed a few months back and vaseline was also recommended to me...I was a bit surprised for mine that some antibiotic ointment was not suggested.

Brenda@CoffeeTeaBooks said...

I will have to tell my husband about that.

He keeps telling me Vaseline is the best thing he puts on cuts and scratches that keeps them protected, even though in first aid instructions they say not to use it.

He says they are wrong. Perhaps he is correct?

Anonymous said...

Hope the suspicous spots turn out to be benign! Glad they have been removed, and like you, I love professional endorsement of frugal things!

Anonymous said...

My pediatrician told us to use Preparation H for a nasty deep wound my daughter got from getting hit with a golf club. He said the shark oil in it was what made it so good. It worked!

Coach Paulette said...

When my daughter had a nasty bike spill at the end of our driveway last fall, I used the Lansinoh ointment on her worst skin abrasion on her shoulder - it healed wonderfully - lanolin is a great healing product and I would definitely recommend it over the petroleum based one. I use the Lansinoh for all the scrapes and scratches my little ones get! Best wishes with quick healing!

Anonymous said...

Please be careful using vasaline on or near the nose. See here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum_jelly

"If particles of petrolatum are inhaled from the nose, they may deposit in the lungs and lead to a condition called lipoid pneumonia, although this is usually caused by excessive use, rather than daily use.[2]"

And as the name Petrolium Jelly (Vaseline) suggests, it is made from PETROLEUM. Consider what you are wearing. If you search for articles, you will find that it also traps bacteria and other harmful substances on your skin. :( It doesn't actually heal, it just seals the surface so it is sealing it off that protects it from the outside-however, I state again that it is also sealing in the bad. Yuck. Instead of the skin, petroleum jelly is best suited for sealing metal surfaces that may rust..not human skin.

Anonymous said...

Good to know that you are taking care of yourself AND that you found us another frugal solution!

Kelly said...

I hope everything is ok and that the Vaseline does it's job quickly. Maybe some thrifted summer hats to hide you from the sun are in order :)

Meredith said...

You're right that Vaseline does not promote healing in itself--it's there to keep moisture out and prevent scabbing.

I suppose a purified lanolin cream like Lansinoh would have the same grease-barrier effect with more natural ingredients.

However, I'm going to stick with what the dermatologist recommended. I'm not inclined to experiment on my nose!

I just thought it was refreshingly interesting that a skin center which sells all kinds of $$$$ creams and treatments would recommend such an ordinary ingredient.

Anonymous said...

I wonder if it's b/c the Vaseline is more likely to remain in place rather than a cream that might "melt" rapidly on warm skin? Good cleaning prior to application would prevent the "trapped bacteria" problem. I second the vote for a nice summer hat, maybe a straw one with lovely ribbon. Prevention is 9/10ths cure. Blessings.
Mrs. L.

Tubo Family said...

Hope the wearing out worked, I know I tell myself a tiring afternoon is worth an easier bedtime!

Anonymous said...

Good to know! I'll be heading that way soon myself - but fortunately my spots are on my back.

I learned last visit that the hormones of pregnancy, especially the big ramp-up in early pregnancy, are suspected to encourage mole growth and therefore potentially more "suspecious spot" problems. After three miscarriages, my suspicious spots are much more suspicious, with some serious increase in size. Hmm...

It's not fun, but good that you got it taken care of. I hope you heal quickly.

Jennifer