Scarring

[CheerfulForest]

Hello there. I'm currently trying to write a character who has extensive scarring all over her body. I'm having a lot of trouble finding any resources online that actually tell me anything about how these scars would affect her day-to-day life. Everything I can find is about scar treatments she wouldn't have access to in her medieval fantasy world.

In particular, I need to know how this scarring would affect her mobility. If scars in any particular places really mess up her mobility, she'd probably try to cut the scar tissue away herself, and I also need to know how that would go. Does anyone have any sites, articles or books they could reccommend that would give me that sort of information? Or does anyone here just know a ton about scars? Please?

 

[pmmg]

What was the cause of the scarring.... and how does this go with a cheerful forest?

 

[CheerfulForest]

What was the cause of the scarring.... and how does this go with a cheerful forest?

CheerfulForest is the random handle I picked for AO3, and I just re-used it here.

The cause of the scarring. It has a lot to do with the worldbuilding. In this world, there are two gods who have been trying to murder one another high above the planet's surface for centuries. It's a matter of routine for random curses hurled by these gods to miss and fall to the planet below, causing all sorts of problems for the humans living there. In one area, this turned a large forest to stone - and it also turned everything that could become a sharp edge into a sharp edge. You can cover your hand in shallow cuts by placing it on the bark of a tree's trunk and applying light pressure. You could probably use the leaves as arrowheads, spear tips or knives. The character with the scars - named Shiane - was trapped in this forest for years, and the scars are the natural result.

Oh, and there are probably some burn scars in there too. They wouldn't be as severe as the ones from all the cuts, though. It's just that it's very hot and sunny in this forest, and I know from experience that second-degree sunburns can leave permanent red marks on your skin. It took Shiane a while to realize that she had to start living nocturnally if she didn't want heatstroke and more burn scars.

 

[pmmg]

Okay...if the burns are not third degree, I would accept they may leave a mark, but not be debilitating.

Most cuts, probably nothing. Deep cuts that sever muscle or tendons, and in a world with no real medical aid, might not heal properly. If I cut tendons in the wrist, it could lead to permanent lack of motion in the hand. Any tendon cut could to this. Also nerve damage. If the cuts are deep enough to cut a nerve, loss of feeling and numbness could be permanent. I have a spot on my thumb that has nerve damage from a knife cut, it was not deep, but the thumb is already shallow.

Also scar tissue can go both ways. It can be tougher to cut through, or it can be easier. If someone had a scar over their eye, for example, and it was hit by a blow, it would likely split open again. And any severe scarring, would likely be that same.

There is also surviving the blood loss and difficulty of getting the wound that caused the scar as well.

If the forest is made of razor blades, I would suspect they would have scarring just about everywhere, and could not avoid many deep cuts to feet, hands, shins, arms, and sides. They would probably have a loss of feeling in many places, and wounds that reopened under stress. And also a lack of motion as they tried to compensate for such occasions. I suspect they would also have things that did not move right, like a finger that no longer moved without help.

Also, if they had wounds that needed stitches, but such were not available, there may be areas where the skin still appears split....and this may reopen, cause soreness and infection, attract insects, and be unsightly.

 

[CheerfulForest]

Okay...if the burns are not third degree, I would accept they may leave a mark, but not be debilitating.

Most cuts, probably nothing. Deep cuts that sever muscle or tendons, and in a world with no real medical aid, might not heal properly. If I cut tendons in the wrist, it could lead to permanent lack of motion in the hand. Any tendon cut could to this. Also nerve damage. If the cuts are deep enough to cut a nerve, loss of feeling and numbness could be permanent. I have a spot on my thumb that has nerve damage from a knife cut, it was not deep, but the thumb is already shallow.

Also scar tissue can go both ways. It can be tougher to cut through, or it can be easier. If someone had a scar over their eye, for example, and it was hit by a blow, it would likely split open again. And any severe scarring, would likely be that same.

There is also surviving the blood loss and difficulty of getting the wound that caused the scar as well.

If the forest is made of razor blades, I would suspect they would have scarring just about everywhere, and could not avoid many deep cuts to feet, hands, shins, arms, and sides. They would probably have a loss of feeling in many places, and wounds that reopened under stress. And also a lack of motion as they tried to compensate for such occasions. I suspect they would also have things that did not move right, like a finger that no longer moved without help.

Also, if they had wounds that needed stitches, but such were not available, there may be areas where the skin still appears split....and this may reopen, cause soreness and infection, attract insects, and be unsightly.

Yeah, I didn't expect the sunburns to mean much beyond making her look even worse. (She's not exactly the prettiest character in her story.)

She mostly lives in the trees. There are dangerous predators on the ground, so she rarely goes there. Meaning that she's constantly touching these blades. She probably tries to avoid the leaves, which would leave deeper cuts, and stick to the bark, which would leave shallower cuts, but the leaves would still be, often, unavoidable.

By "most cuts, probably nothing," do you mean most cuts wouldn't scar, or that for most cuts, the scars wouldn't be debilitating?

Loss of feeling would play into another trait this character has in spades - high pain tolerance. Sometimes to a ridiculous degree. Having weird spots of muscle damage/immobility also lines up with traits she already has, although I might need to do some tweaking there, thanks Wounds that needed stitches but didn't get them... that's valuable information. Also, I already knew she'd be mostly covered in scar tissue, but thank you for listing off the places where most of the deep cuts would be. I've been wondering about that.

Where do you think these reopening scars would be most likely to be (or am I totally misunderstanding how that works)? Would you mind just generally elaborating more on how that works?

On a related note, if a wound is stitched, and the stitches are just never removed, what happens? What if you tried to remove those stitches DIY with a knife or something similar, with no real knowledge of what you were doing?

 

[pmmg]

By "most cuts, probably nothing," do you mean most cuts wouldn't scar, or that for most cuts, the scars wouldn't be debilitating?

Most cuts would probably do little more than leave a noticeable scar. I literally have 100's of scar on my hands, they effect me not at all. And maybe most would not become permanently visible.

On a related note, if a wound is stitched, and the stitches are just never removed, what happens? What if you tried to remove those stitches DIY with a knife or something similar, with no real knowledge of what you were doing?

Well, they could remove their own stitches. They just cut them and pull the threads out. Incidentally, that same scar on my thumb is one I pulled the stitches out on my self. One got lost beneath the wound. I assume it is still there today, but I am not cutting it open again the find it. It could be it just got absorbed or dissipated. Depends on the material I would guess. In the forest, I have seen the use of Ant heads as stitches. They would dissolve over time I would think. Thread might not, but where does she get the thread?

Where do you think these reopening scars would be most likely to be (or am I totally misunderstanding how that works)? Would you mind just generally elaborating more on how that works?

Sometimes scar tissue is thick, and forms a stronger area that is harder to reopen. But often times not. Any area against bone, or at a joint, I would think cold become subject to this. If she cut her forearm open, and then later smashed it on a rock, the scar might split. Anywhere the tissue was thin to start with too...like the scalp or forehead. Also, if she cut herself deep, say in the abdomen, the internal muscle would also have scars. If she stretched in the morning, she might re-tear the internal scar, but not the external one on the skin. -Yikes.

Loss of feeling would play into another trait this character has in spades - high pain tolerance. Sometimes to a ridiculous degree. Having weird spots of muscle damage/immobility also lines up with traits she already has, although I might need to do some tweaking there, thanks Wounds that needed stitches but didn't get them... that's valuable information. Also, I already knew she'd be mostly covered in scar tissue, but thank you for listing off the places where most of the deep cuts would be. I've been wondering about that.

Bearing in mind, loss of pain is not a super power, its a lack of the warning system that should protect her. So...she might not feel a finger being sliced off, but she still loses a finger. This might more likely lead to greater danger. If her finger is being sliced and she does not know, a surface area cut might become a cut tendon instead. Also the nerve damage may not be complete. I have a numb spot near the pad of my thumb, but it would still feel pressure and cold and around it I still feel pain.

I think if I lived in this environment, I would have to find a way to adapt or it would not be survivable. I'd probably wear thick clothes at least.


Another aspect.... everything living in the forest would have the same difficulty. So....deer, for instance, would probably die off due to blood loss and not be there to be hunted for very long. The eco system would start to fade, making it harder to survive.

 

[pmmg]

Not finding a great picture...

Ant bites down, pinch its head off, instant stitches.

 

[CheerfulForest]

Well, they could remove their own stitches. They just cut them and pull the threads out. Incidentally, that same scar on my thumb is one I pulled the stitches out on my self. One got lost beneath the wound. I assume it is still there today, but I am not cutting it open again the find it. It could be it just got absorbed or dissipated. Depends on the material I would guess. In the forest, I have seen the use of Ant heads as stitches. They would dissolve over time I would think. Thread might not, but where does she get the thread?

I was wondering about a particular part of the story that takes place in civilization, where Shiane finally interacts with a medical professional. She has fresh injuries in that scene that require stitches (and from what you're saying, some of the scars might need them, too?). For various reasons, she's definitely never going to return to get the stitches removed, so I was wondering how that would go.

Sometimes scar tissue is thick, and forms a stronger area that is harder to reopen. But often times not. Any area against bone, or at a joint, I would think cold become subject to this. If she cut her forearm open, and then later smashed it on a rock, the scar might split. Anywhere the tissue was thin to start with too...like the scalp or forehead. Also, if she cut herself deep, say in the abdomen, the internal muscle would also have scars. If she stretched in the morning, she might re-tear the internal scar, but not the external one on the skin. -Yikes.

Oh, geez. That sounds like it could create some really good... I'm not sure if body horror is the right term, but it's the same feeling. So scars around joints will be messy... good to know. I think I get the idea.

Bearing in mind, loss of pain is not a super power, its a lack of the warning system that should protect her. So...she might not feel a finger being sliced off, but she still loses a finger. This might more likely lead to greater danger. If her finger is being sliced and she does not know, a surface area cut might become a cut tendon instead. Also the nerve damage may not be complete. I have a numb spot near the pad of my thumb, but it would still feel pressure and cold and around it I still feel pain.

Yeah. The way she perceives pain and generally handles danger often leads to her being injured far, FAR worse than she would've been if she hadn't tried to tough it out. I probably don't emphasize those consequences nearly enough, though.

I think if I lived in this environment, I would have to find a way to adapt or it would not be survivable. I'd probably wear thick clothes at least.


Another aspect.... everything living in the forest would have the same difficulty. So....deer, for instance, would probably die off due to blood loss and not be there to be hunted for very long. The eco system would start to fade, making it harder to survive.

Nothing lives in the forest for long. It's not really a natural ecosystem anymore. It's kind of a cursed place where things get lost and are soon killed, one way or another.

 

[CheerfulForest]

Not finding a great picture...

Ant bites down, pinch its head off, instant stitches.

WOW. I don't think ants would be available, but are there any other possible alternatives if you really need to close a wound and don't have a needle?

 

[pmmg]

You dont need a needle unless you are using stitches. If she had superglue, she could glue it closed,

If she can wrap it well, maybe the wrap holds it closed.

In a story I wrote, the character used spider webs....but they were thick like curtains.


When in the wilderness, you have to be resourceful.

I suspect ants could survive in a razor forest...

In a forest made of razors i suspect she could easily make a needle.

 

[pmmg]

Also. While she might have scars collected in some areas. If she is there long enough she would have scars everywhere. If she had 10000 scars and 9000 were on her hands that still leaves a lot of scars.