Re: Leaving them alone (healing blog - updated weekly)

Not sure at all about the steroid, not the best person to ask.

Just popped in to say that some calendula ointment I ordered arrived today and I've applied it twice so far. It's got some other things in it, list as follows:

organically grown helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil, organically grown calendula officinalis (calendula also called pot marigold), cera flava (beeswax), tocopherol (vitamin e).


The texture of the mixture needs a little more work to get it to liquidate on the finger. It is not absorbed into the skin as quickly as coconut oil. In fact I only need to apply it once every few hours, versus once every 30mins for coconut oil. I'm not sure whether this is good or bad. It's a similar sort of consistency to aquaphor. I've had it on all day and have felt a bit of tingling (lip quivers) having it on.

I had some scabs exfoliative this evening after the shower (mostly bottom lip), and the skin underneath was a disappointing deeper red and sensitive/sticky to the touch. Perhaps I am expecting to see change to fast but so far it feels like I'm not. In the back of my mind I wonder if applying these barriers is helping heal or just slowing down the time it takes for build up. If build up is what is needed I wonder if just putting nothing at all on them may be a better option. Comparing this approach to some others on here such as daniel miller (and others), they seem to have made better progress using a moisturiser. It's so hard to know. I think I must stick with this approach now for at least 3 months first. It's a worry whether moisture on a wound will somehow prevent new skin from forming over old.
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