• BASIC DRUG
    DISCUSSION
    Welcome to Bluelight!
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
    Benzo Chart Opioids Chart
    Drug Terms Need Help??
    Drugs 101 Brain & Addiction
    Tired of your habit? Struggling to cope?
    Want to regain control or get sober?
    Visit our Recovery Support Forums
  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards

Avoiding track marks

J

John_Burrows

Bluelighter
Joined
Jul 31, 2008
Messages
1,007
I know people say that if you miss a shot and experience any swelling, a warm compress is a good way to avoid problems, but ive found that a warm compress after EVERY shot helps make track marks less noticeable in general.

It also helps to get rid of those "mosquito bites" that can sometimes form even if you've done everything right! Here's my routine:

After I shoot, a fold up a paper towel into a small square, about the size of a playing card. I run hot water over it (not totally soak it, but enough to make it wet) and apply to the area I've injected.

Of course it only stays warm for 30 seconds or so, so I pop the towel in the microwave for exactly 6 seconds and reapply (don't ask me why, but 6 seconds does seem like the perfect reheating time).

I do this 5 or 6 times on average, enough to make sure the job is done. Naturally, if I did wind up with a little redness, or a mosquito bite, I may go a bit longer.

In any case, I do this regularly and my track marks are practically non-existent. Everyone is different and I can't guarantee it will work for everyone, but its worth a try!

Good luck.


JB
 
I don't know that a cold compress would help anything...

Burnt: Triple antibiotic ointment? What does that do exactly and can you recommend any specific brands one might find in the local drug store?

In theory, vitamin E ointment should help speed up the healing of track marks, but I can't say I noticed a difference. The marks are so small anyway, it's hard to judge! The best thing was the warm compress got rid of the "bumps" and tiny swelling.

Oh, and probably most importantly, is using THE THINNEST NEEDLE YOU CAN! I always use 31g and those things are so tiny you can barely see the mark even right after you inject.

And I'm a healthy, adult male built like a football player, so if *I* can use a tiny needle, I think anyone can.
 
Sounds like you are taking your hygiene seriously and that is awesome. As for the ointment, neosporin or baccitracin...
 
If you don't already, try using a thin needle like an Insulin syringe. It leaves much less noticable track marks.
 
I use vitamin E pills. Theres a safe street clinic nearby that gives out vitamin E gel pills for free. Cut them open and rub the oil and helps the marks go away really fast
 
anti inflam cream like 10% hydocortisone cream takes the red out and seems to promote healing imho
 
You can also just buy vitamin e ointment, much easier then breaking open vitamins.

By the way, tonight after I shot had two small mosquito-bite bumps. I paid close attention and after about 20 mins of constantly reheating a compress and leaving it on my arm poof, they disappeared.

Try this at home, folks!
 
That's an excellent suggestion....Im going to try on my next go-round (on an OFF period right now). Thanks for the info.

MY biggest problem are the "bumps" ans mosquito bites. Ive only actually ever had ONE real "track" marke that looked like a train track....and that was after like my 3rd try. The bumps/swelling and little red marks are the biggest thing for me.
 
jazzyhope said:
anti inflam cream like 10% hydocortisone cream takes the red out and seems to promote healing imho
Click to expand...

Yea, but I'd rather save the money. They are a pain to cut open, and if not careful you'll slip and cut yourself, but they're free. The safe street program is in the same building complex as my Dr & Pharmacist. So I'm always there, and grab a few packets. They also give out condoms there, not only for sex, but they advocate rubbing the lube from the condoms/lubricant packet on the tip of the needle before inserting, and if you insert and miss and need to try a new spot, re-apply. They also advocate strongly against re-using a needle, even once, and have a pamplhet showing up close after 1 use and how dull it is, but they say if you're going to, use the lube. With a sharp spike it will help it go in easier, a dull spike will still be painful to use, but will cause less irritation to the surrounding skin

happygoluckygal said:
That's an excellent suggestion....Im going to try on my next go-round (on an OFF period right now). Thanks for the info.

MY biggest problem are the "bumps" ans mosquito bites. Ive only actually ever had ONE real "track" marke that looked like a train track....and that was after like my 3rd try. The bumps/swelling and little red marks are the biggest thing for me.
Click to expand...

Are the bumps and swelling the same thing? Or do you get the mosquito bites, and also the histamine rash. You'd know if you've had it, you get a random shaped red puffed up patch, doesn't hurt, but looks bad. It goes away on it's own, and won't cause any problems and is just a normal histamine reaction, but if you find it happens a lot taking a single benydryl 25-30 minutes before shooting (or another anti-histamine, in my case hydroxyzine) you'll find that it almost never happens. You could shoot hydroxyzine too, but safer to just take the pill. -
 
Interesting advice, Jam, but something tells me that smearing a needle tip in ANYTHING (let alone a condom) before I stick it in my vein is just asking for trouble - whatever gets on the needle tip is going into your bloodstream, so I'm not sure how dipping it in moisterizer is a good idea.

Maybe someone more knowledgable can explain how my thinking is wrong, but with so much emphasis on cleanliness and hygeine, that just seems counter intuitive.

Happy girl: Yes, those bumps and mosquito bites are EXACTLY what I'm talking about - 10 or 15 mins of a warm compress after you shoot seems to make them disappear for me.

The next day, I literally cannot see any signs of injecting.
 
Last edited:
JamtasticX said:
They also give out condoms there, not only for sex, but they advocate rubbing the lube from the condoms/lubricant packet on the tip of the needle before inserting, and if you insert and miss and need to try a new spot, re-apply.
Click to expand...

I've worked in needle exchanges for many years, and I can tell you that this is very bad advice.
 
i always found the best thing i could ever do for my arms is use a new needle everytime. If you use a brand new 31 gauge everytime, ou wont have track marks. I inject 4-6 times a day and noi would could ever tell.
 
Deluded: 4 times a day? How often do you rotate injection points? I shoot once a day and pretty much only have two spots where I can easily find a vein (same place on my left and right arm). So, I basically give my vein 48 hours to heal before I hit it again.

Is this enough time? I seem to be healthy... No marks, bruises or redness at the injection points. I also don't shoot in EXACTLY. The same spot, I'd say there is a good 4 or 5 inch stretch along my arm where I can still find the vein, so, when I go back to that arm 48 hours later, I try to inject at least a few inches away from where I did last time.

Is this safe? I don't want to risk a collapsed vein or anything.
 
Flexistentialist said:
I've worked in needle exchanges for many years, and I can tell you that this is very bad advice.
Click to expand...

Yea, I sort of wondered how good of an idea it actually is. I mean it does help because it's lubing the needle, but how good can getting in your blood be?

However, I figured that if you're having rough sex there could be cuts inside the vagina/anus, and surely some of the lubricant would get in the blood, and oral sex is given with them too, so ingestion can't be that bad. Not saying that it's good for you, but it's not like they are laced with lead or something
 
Wow, i can't believe I'm saying this, but: JAMTASTIC - PLEASE STOP POSTING MESSAGES BEFORE YOU KILL SOMEONE. Seriously, those are some of the most ignorant remarks I have ever read since I joined this site. First you tell people to roll their needles in condom grease before they shoot, and you say it was the advice of a needle exchange, which many people might accept as validation.

First of all, I don't care if it's god's own lubricant, you shouldn't be contaminating a needle with ANYTHING before you stick it in your vein. Secondly, many condoms come pre-lubed with a spermicide, which is almost certainly toxic; want to start guessing how sick you might get if you put THAT stuff inside your bloodstream?

However, I figured that if you're having rough sex there could be cuts inside the vagina/anus, and surely some of the lubricant would get in the blood, and oral sex is given with them too, so ingestion can't be that bad. Not saying that it's good for you, but it's not like they are laced with lead or something
Click to expand...

Jesus I hope you're kidding. Dude, getting a toxic substance rubbed on a small cut isn't the same thing AS INJECTING IT DIRECTLY INTO YOUR BLOODSTREAM. I mean first of all it's a little far fetched to suggest that a couple is going to have rough sex to the point that someone's skin is going to tear and the condom lubricant might touch the cut, but to compare that to sticking a needle smeared with that crap into a vein is simply beyond ignorant.

Any substance you put on your needle is going to directly enter your bloodstream and effect you an order of magnitude greater than if that same substance simply touched a wound on surface skin. I may be exaggerating because I admit I'm not sure of the facts, but it's entirely possible that sticking spermicide into your veins might actually KILL YOU.

A lot of people come to Bluelight looking for answers and ideas to help themselves. Before we go around posting "good ideas" and advise, we owe it to everyone to be sure we have SOME idea of what we're talking about, or at least say we're not sure in the post (and if you're not sure, maybe you should PM a mod beforehand and ask).

If you say you used to work for a needle exchange and start giving out advice, people might be more inclined to assume what you are telling them is GOOD advice.

Now, I don't want to call you stupid, but it's hard to believe anyone with half a brain could think that smearing condom grease on a needle before injecting it would be a good idea. On top of that, when questioned you even admitted you weren't sure if it was such a hot idea - so why did you post it in the first place??

Seriously, think before you post. If you're not sure about advice you want to give, ask someone before you post it and someone actually tries it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top