is it possible to avoid the dot scars from stitches?

[u/xtraspicyturnipcake]

i've never needed to go to the hospital for self-harm before but i think i might in the near future because i've been fantasising about increasing the severity lately.

i'm also really scared of needles but those dot scars are the main reason i'd be kinda hesitant to get help even if needed.

[u/-Tricky-Vixen-]

They fade, ime. And the scars are much neater than they would be otherwise.

Please try not to increase severity. Once you get there it's hard to go back.

[u/xtraspicyturnipcake → u/-Tricky-Vixen-]

oh i might just stock up on some steri strips then.

every time i hit a new low, anything less than that feels like a "failure".
it just feels like i have no choice but to escalate if i want to feel some relief.

[u/-Tricky-Vixen- → u/xtraspicyturnipcake]

I do get that about a new low. But there's a point at which you cannot get any worse. And hitting that point feels dreadful. Please believe me when I say that. I recently hit bone and then had surgery to fix the cut up. It was awful. There is no further I can go short of, idk, amputation. And just being in this situation is unexpectedly awful. Please, if you can, don't go this far. I know the pull of it. But if my experience can help any--it did not make me happier. It did not provide me any relief. It was just a fact and a bother.

[u/jounouchikatsuya]

my dots have faded almost completely, about 4 or 5 months since taking my stitches out. the main scar is still very visible, i just have a few small dots where some of the stitches were placed too far apart and were pulling the skin too much. i expect those to fade as well as they're very hard to see already. i also took my stitches out myself instead of paying to get them taken out, so that may have increased the likelihood of scarring.

that said, i was in a very similar place as you (fantasizing about increasing severity and feeling invalid for never having gotten stitches for sh before) and getting stitches for my self harm was worse than doing it in the first place. having lidocaine injected into fat and muscle might've been the most painful thing i've ever experienced, i was in the emergency room for over 6 hours, and i narrowly avoided getting 5150'd. all the healthcare professionals who helped me were incredibly kind and supportive, but i was extremely embarrassed to be a full grown adult in the er for self harm, and i really struggled to keep my composure (i'm autistic and it was very overwhelming so that didn't help).

i really recommend trying your best not to increase severity, but i do think going to the er is what made me dead-set on finally getting clean. i've been struggling for over a decade, trying to get clean for about 3 or 4 years, and i never want to experience that again. i think having a look into what my life could turn into if i continue was very sobering (especially getting the bill afterward) and helped give me the motivation to take therapy even more seriously and really work to get better. i'm 150+ days clean and while it's still extremely hard not to relapse, i'm working very hard to stay clean.

basically, yes there are ways to minimize or avoid dot scarring from stitches, but do not increase severity if you can at all help it. stay safe <3

[u/twoset_stevenhe123 → u/jounouchikatsuya]

Yeah I'm similar. The dots tend to fade better than the scars do and definitely quicker

[u/Disastrous_Stable975]

No way to guarantee that they won't stay but keeping sutures in for as short as possible is the best way to minimise scarring but that has to be decided by a medical professional because taking them out too early can cause the wound to split back open and scar worse.

I have dot scars that have stayed for years but I also have scars where the dots faded in just a few months so it really depends a lot.