how do you prevent 'rope burn' from leaving scars?

Just wondering if anyone knows how to treat rope burn to avoid permanent scarring. I had some bad rope burn...doesnt hurt at all, but looks pretty bad. I didn't put anything on it...figured it would heal by itself. But it's been about 2 weeks and hasn't gone away. It's gotten a little bit lighter, but not much. Just worried it might leave a permanent scar. Does anyone have any experience with this? How long should it take to heal? Is there anything I should be putting on it? Advice appreciated.

Rope burns are often blisters, basically. I recommend some blister ointment.
If you are worried - go to the doctor.

Can you describe it better? How does it look? Are there some drying skin or scratches or something else? Can it be just a bruise? those can heal for weeks and months.
It's really hard to know what exactly do you have. If you can, you could give a photo maybe?

And to prevent rope burns you should do two things.
1) Always prepare the right rope. Soften it to break the fibers. Don't use synthetic ropes if you can help it. Make sure the ropes are very soft.
2) Research the proper ways of tying. There are ways that you will need to really go out of your way to have any damage done to you. And then there are ways that will bruise you in a minute. There are a lot of tutorials available online. While you are learning - plan your games and ties ahead. Know exactly what, where and how you will tie. Look online just prior the session and practice. If you are doing that with a partner - have a practice session with open laptop and him tying/untying you several times until he gets the hang of it.

Also, it's often the loose ties that give you rope burns. Tighter and stricter bondage prevents your movement more, and so it's harder to hurt yourself while you move/struggle. Again, this boils down to learning the bondage.

I'd also recomment having skin ointment on hand, if you mark easily. Or some good antibacterial/soothing creme. It won't hurt either way to treat your marks right away, be they from ropes or from canes or other sources.

Nezhul said:

Rope burns are often blisters, basically. I recommend some blister ointment.
If you are worried - go to the doctor.

Can you describe it better? How does it look? Are there some drying skin or scratches or something else? Can it be just a bruise? those can heal for weeks and months.
It's really hard to know what exactly do you have. If you can, you could give a photo maybe?

And to prevent rope burns you should do two things.
1) Always prepare the right rope. Soften it to break the fibers. Don't use synthetic ropes if you can help it. Make sure the ropes are very soft.
2) Research the proper ways of tying. There are ways that you will need to really go out of your way to have any damage done to you. And then there are ways that will bruise you in a minute. There are a lot of tutorials available online. While you are learning - plan your games and ties ahead. Know exactly what, where and how you will tie. Look online just prior the session and practice. If you are doing that with a partner - have a practice session with open laptop and him tying/untying you several times until he gets the hang of it.

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It doesn't hurt at all. There is no broken skin or blisters. I guess it is more like a bruise, but not like a blue or black kind of bruise you would get when you bump into something. It's like a dark red color. (Never had a bruise that color...guess that's why I associated it more with rope burn)

The rope was soft and has been used in same way many times with no issue. I would attribute the 'damage' to probably being a little too tight, left on a little too long, while I moved around a lot too much.

It is getting a little lighter, but I've never had something take more than a couple of weeks to completely disappear. Just thought I'd ask if anyone had marks last so long before they healed. Or if there was something that could speed up the healing.

Thanks for the advice. Hopefully it is a bruise that will eventually go away.

It can be lingering sin irritation. Where your skin basically gets irritated and then STAYS irritated because it irritates itself further.

I once scratched the inner side of my elbow when it was very hot and I got sweat there. The skin turned red, and it stayed red for a few months. It got lighter, then it got darker again, over and over.
I ended up having to go to the dermatologist to have an ointment prescribed, because it wouldn't go away. The doctor said that such things happen with some people, where a skin gets inflammated and stays that way. It's called chronic dermatitis (not sure if google translated that correctly)

If you can't see scar tissue (it looks like smooth skin) then you should be okay. I'd still go to the doctor and get an ointment, just in case.

Nezhul said:

It can be lingering sin irritation. Where your skin basically gets irritated and then STAYS irritated because it irritates itself further.

I once scratched the inner side of my elbow when it was very hot and I got sweat there. The skin turned red, and it stayed red for a few months. It got lighter, then it got darker again, over and over.
I ended up having to go to the dermatologist to have an ointment prescribed, because it wouldn't go away. The doctor said that such things happen with some people, where a skin gets inflammated and stays that way. It's called chronic dermatitis (not sure if google translated that correctly)

If you can't see scar tissue (it looks like smooth skin) then you should be okay. I'd still go to the doctor and get an ointment, just in case.

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Well, shit!...I didn't have any intentions of going to see a doctor for it but, sounds like it might not be a bad idea. And yeah, it is still smooth and soft skin. By just running your hands across it, you wouldn't be able to tell any marks are there. I'll try using some cream on it, give it another week to see if it continues to fade, then go to the doc if it hasn't improved.

Thank you

P.S. you wrote: "It can be lingering sin irritation." Are you suggesting I was sinning while being tied up this way? LOL (I know it's a typo; it just reads funny if you take it literally

I'm not a doctor (well, not the MD kind); I did have a first-aid cert but it's long out of date, so take this for what it's worth.

tryn2Bgood said:

It doesn't hurt at all. There is no broken skin or blisters. I guess it is more like a bruise, but not like a blue or black kind of bruise you would get when you bump into something. It's like a dark red color. (Never had a bruise that color...guess that's why I associated it more with rope burn)

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Burns usually hurt a lot. (Excepting some severe cases, but you'd know if you'd been burned that badly!) They're also very sensitive to heat - if you have even a minor burn, you'll know about it when you take a hot shower. As they heal, you're likely to get peeling layers of skin.

If it's not doing those things, it's more likely a bruise, although I'm surprised that it'd still be red after a couple of weeks. Bruises can go through all sorts of colours but normally red shows up early, if at all.

If it swells, or becomes painful, take it to a doctor - that could indicate a damaged blood vessel that's still leaking blood into the tissue, and you'd want to get that looked at, especially if you have any history of clotting problems. If you haven't had a check-up recently, you could take this as an excuse to drop in anyway.

Otherwise, if it's fading and not causing any discomfort, probably not a big deal. Applying a heat pack occasionally may help it go down a little faster. (Don't do this with a new bruise - for that you want ice and pressure.)

P.S. you wrote: "It can be lingering sin irritation." Are you suggesting I was sinning while being tied up this way?

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Of course! You little sinner!

Nezhul said:

Of course! You little sinner!

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Aww...that's the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me. But seriously...let's hope our sins don't leave scars...my body will probably be littered with them. LOL

tryn2Bgood said:

Just wondering if anyone knows how to treat rope burn to avoid permanent scarring.

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A better place to ask this question might be the BDSM forum. I'm sure there are folks there who have had the same situation.

First thing Do Not put your head in the noose...

But really the best thing is to not get them in the first place.

Something like this may help.

http://www.adameve.com/adult-sex-to...s-scarlet-bound-to-surrender-cuffs-90295.aspx

Better Quality, reasonably priced ones for the ankles as well as the wrist can be found in various styles for attaching ropes and things...or so I am told.

its impossible to get by with only cuffs though, when you aer seriously into bondage.

update

So, after a few of the comments I received, I searched a little more for answers. I did a Google search to try to find similar situations and solutions. I didn't really find much more than basic info on rope burns, bruises, and scars. I did come across one site (a professional submissive's website) that had info more along the lines of what I was asking. There were several good points listed there. Here is the link in case anyone else wants to take a look:

http://www.asksubmissann.com/2007/01/24/marks-causes-and-after-care/

Also, my health insurance plan has a 'doctor on call' phone service where you can call in for medical advice. I gave them a call, and the diagnosis was that it is a bruise. I had attributed it to 'rope burn' simply because it occured as a result of rope play and the bright red coloring I didn't associate with a bruise.

Basically, it could be compared to someone who grips your arm too tightly and leaves finger shaped bruises behind. Initially, it just looks like a red handprint but later turns the blue, black, green, yellow colors. The extent of damage depends on the amount of pressure used, amount of time pressure is applied, and the area of the body/type of skin.

In my case, the rope was tight but never uncomfortable. Combine that with extended time period (maybe half the day?) and the added pressure of laying in a certain position too long (where the rope was being pressed into the skin under the weight of your body) equals bruising. Apparently, proper hydration is also important. (I can be bad about that sometimes) so, even if it's something you have done before without harm, did not feel discomfort at any time, and thought you were being careful - accidents or unexpected results can still happen.

The 'teledoc' said a severe bruise will last for 1 to 2 months, but could take anywhere from 1 to 2 years to be completely invisible. And even though bruises don't leave scars, using some type of anti-scar cream could speed up the healing process. It is also not recommended to repeat the action that caused the bruise (duh) or further irritate it with restrictive clothing unail it is healed. ie: I cannot wear my normal bra for some time since the tight elastic band would primarily be pressing into the bruised area. (The marks are mostly on my sides, wrapping around to my back a little)

I also got some prescription paste/cream from a friend of mine who had some left over post surgery for reducing scars. So, hopefully I'll be all good soon. Thanks for the advice that was posted. It was helpful and prompted me to find out more. I learn something new every day.

If it was on the bra line area, where a lot of pressure is a common thing, this could explain why the bruise coloring was odd.

tryn2Bgood said:

It is getting a little lighter, but I've never had something take more than a couple of weeks to completely disappear. Just thought I'd ask if anyone had marks last so long before they healed.

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Two years, give or take.

It's a fair chance what you see is iron being stored in your skin, this happens when your immune system is a bit "overactive" and started decomposing the red blood cells.

Usually, when you bleed, the blood is supposed to dry and seal the wound. If this does not happen properly, for example, because a moving rope interrupts this healing process over and over again and there is a constant trickling of blood into your skin layers, the immune system will decompose the dead red blood cells and what remains in your skin is iron as end product. This does not "heal" naturally, but gets lighter over time like a tattoo.

You should try to limit any play to not more than 2 hours straight.

Primalex said:

Two years, give or take.

It's a fair chance what you see is iron being stored in your skin, this happens when your immune system is a bit "overactive" and started decomposing the red blood cells.

Usually, when you bleed, the blood is supposed to dry and seal the wound. If this does not happen properly, for example, because a moving rope interrupts this healing process over and over again and there is a constant trickling of blood into your skin layers, the immune system will decompose the dead red blood cells and what remains in your skin is iron as end product. This does not "heal" naturally, but gets lighter over time like a tattoo.

You should try to limit any play to not more than 2 hours straight.

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Have you seen this same thing where it took 2 years to go away?

Yeah, I know more than 2 hours is a long time but I had an unusually large amount of free time in my schedule that day...I now know better. It will be awhile before I'm doing anything like that again anyway

tryn2Bgood said:

Have you seen this same thing where it took 2 years to go away?

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Every time I look at my left foot.

The best, most colourful and kinky SOFT rope comes from people who supply banks and conventions with those queue management ropes and posts. Well, before they started using seat belt webbing. A quick google and I found http://www.visiontron.com/prod-crowd-conventional-ropes.asp

I have 8 lengths of this delicious rope that is both a visual and tactile treat