Opioids IV TracK Marks

[Lone Deranger]

A few days i quit an 2 year IV drug habbit. So i was left with a few track marks on my forearms, after everything healed. They're not too obvious, but on cold days they look more visible and red... i don't know if anyone will notice them or it's just my paranoia, because im always looking at them, praying with time they will completely fade away.

MY question is: the track marks do dissapear after some time?

If so, how long does it usually take to them completely fade away?

I could post some pictures if anyone is interested.. it would be great to have an opinion on them.

 

[crzydiamond]

They will eventually fade away

I have old ones that have become tiny white lines that I can barely see. Some you can't see at all--like when i first IVed I used my hands. There are no visible marks there at all

Timeline is same as any cut/scar. First it's sort of reddish, over time (months? A year?) fades to white. Depends on how long your body takes and how bad the scar is. I mean, it's not going to fade to white in two weeks.

Just be patient. And a little vitamin E ointment wouldn't hurt

And congrats on quitting

 

[Lone Deranger]

Thanks for the reply crzydiamond.

I hope they will fade away completely, but when i look carefully i can see some kind of red line.. and some white spots... what worries me the most is on cold and rainy days they really stand out, they almost become some kind of purple lines.. that makes me a litlle paranoid because i think everyone will spot them. i don't know why this happens... and on other days, normally in a really sunny day, i almost cannot see them.

I asked a few friends (also users) if they can spot them on my arm, and they always say they can't spot them... i find it weird because i can perfectly see them, specially on colder days has i mentioned before.

I don´t know were to get some vitamin E, but i will definately try to get some.

 

[BigG]

You could always get a tattoo over the marks. I've heard of a few people get tribal designs over track marks/self harm scars and the black ink hides it completely.

As to whether they will disappear totally it depends on your skin type but if they have formed a keloid scar then while they should fade, they probably won't disappear completely.

 

[Znegative]

For the last two years I left my arms alone completely because I just burned them (and my hands) out so bad, and used exclusively my groin. My scars are pretty much nonexistent and you have to look really close and in the right light to notice them. IME after about a year they become pretty much unnoticeable. What's more noticeable is the lack of veins on my arms.

 

[sm0kestack]

Did you reuse needles? Injecting with dulled needles seems to leave the worst and longest lasting scars. But most fade over time. I have had horrible ones that just faded into barely visible lines over a couple months. I have fair skin so they seem to stand out a lot. And on those cold rainy days, it might just be because your blood vessels constrict and there isn't a lot of blood flow giving your skin more healthy hydrated color? Try staying hydrated on those days and maybe exercise, giving more blood flow to those areas. I bet that will help. Congrats on cleaning up OP!

 

[SKR]

98% of my shots were with new needles, I used to pick up 100's of 1ml's cos here they're free but my brother tended to re-use his own too often so his shot spots have taken on that red/purple look. They almost looked like burns, but for the love of the universe he's quit a meth habit that spanned more than a decade (just like his big bro - me, yes I feel terribly guilty as I had a duty of care being older but I failed)...but he's been clean almost a year and it's gonna take him a while before those sites (mainly one - he rarely rotated sites and was a 'digger' where he'd fiddle around with the needle in his arm until he registered rather than to pull out and start again).....hence his marks compared to me who never had those red/purple burn marks except after those weekends where you'd burn through a ball in two days so those were long sleeve weeks fir sure.

They will fade OP, it'll just take time man.

 

[BigG]

I once saw an image of a needle that had been used only once to pierce the skin (magnified with a microscope) on a poster at work and it resembles a fish hook after only one use.

Proper IV technique and a new needle every time will vastly reduce the damage done and the resultant scars...

As has been said above scars in general will fade but keloid scars are much more visable even after a fair length of time.

There are various creams for stretch marks and scars although their effectiveness is questionable.... Couldn't hurt to try them though.

 

[Moreaux]

If they bother you you can get a laser procedure to have them removed. I would wait to see how much they fade first though.

 

[SKR]

Fish hooks indeed. On the counter at the needle exchanges in my city they had this laminated sheet with six microscope images showing what a needle looks like after six uses' and the barbs and fish hooks at the tip and all the way ?down the needle.

I recall re-using a needle multiple times during an absolute bender and you'd have to push hard to pierce the skin until "pop!" and you're through if you were fortunate enough to have a successful shot here comes the gross part - taking it out....fish hooks pulling at your skin and that tip of the needle plucks at your skin like you'd pluck a guitar string - Yay for junkie status!

 

[belfort]

i had very nasty tracks and mine healed up almost completely after a few years..takes awhile but they will disappear almost completely in time..

 

[Effect]

what worries me the most is on cold and rainy days they really stand out, they almost become some kind of purple lines.. that makes me a litlle paranoid because i think everyone will spot them. i don't know why this happens... and on other days, normally in a really sunny day, i almost cannot see them.

I asked a few friends (also users) if they can spot them on my arm, and they always say they can't spot them....

I know exactly what your talking about here. They do appear to have a much more noticeable purple hue on colder days and when it's sunny I can't notice them at all.