Help with my new "skater's chin"

[Emberchyld]

Hi everyone...

I just had a fall today that resulted in a few stitches on the side of my chin. Since this seems to be pretty common amoung us skaters, I was hoping that some of you can answer things that I forgot to ask my ER doc:

1. Can I eat normally or will I pull too much at the stitches (if this is no to eating normally 8O since I stuffed myself upon arriving home)?
2. How long does it take for a scar to form (in general) with this kind of wound?
3. Can I skate while healing? (this was no for my leg, but chin? I hope so!)

Thanks!

[Thin-Ice]

Hi everyone...

I just had a fall today that resulted in a few stitches on the side of my chin. Since this seems to be pretty common amoung us skaters, I was hoping that some of you can answer things that I forgot to ask my ER doc:

1. Can I eat normally or will I pull too much at the stitches (if this is no to eating normally 8O since I stuffed myself upon arriving home)?
2. How long does it take for a scar to form (in general) with this kind of wound?
3. Can I skate while healing? (this was no for my leg, but chin? I hope so!)

Thanks!

Congratulations... now you're an EXPERIENCED skater. My coach calls the little scar that forms a "skater's tattoo" and calls it a sign of courage.

1) You can eat normally, unless you usually drip things onto your chin, in which case it will hurt when the food (like oil & vinegar salad dressing or tabasco sauce:twisted: ) gets into the wound. I found chocolate was a wonderful medicine... since it was not messy and made me feel better.. but that's just me. Also, if you feel the stitches being "pulled" when you chew or bite something, take smaller bites or see if you can manuever your mouth so you don't stretch the area where the stitches are. You don't want to pull out the stitches.8O

2) The scar is already starting to form... but you probably won't see it until the stitches come out. And that pretty much depends on your doctor and how quickly you heal. You can likely start "showing off your new scar" in a couple weeks.:lol:

3) Yes, you can certainly skate while healing. My coach made me come back from the emergency room where I went to get stitches and get right back on the ice, so I wouldn't develop some weird fear of falling on my chin. I fell on my chin after hitting "ice acne" so she did make me skate around that, NOT on it!

[Sessy]

Depends on how fast you heal, but the faster you heal the more noticeable the scar will be. And it'll only be fully healed (as in temporary tissue replaced by permanent) after many many months, at which point it'll start to fade, which will take a few years.

[SynchroSk8r114]

Welcome to the club! I don't know a single skater who hasn't hit his/her chin during their skating career...;)

Anyway, I had a pretty bad fall when I was 8 years old when I did my chin in (read all about it in the "Spectacular Falls" thread), so I may have been a bit more restricted than you are. To sum it up, I had a concussion, cracked a back molar, split my chin open and received 7 stiches, had no clue what day it was, who I was, where I lived, and who my family and coach was, and the doctors initally thought I had bleeding on the brain. Thank God that wasn't the case!

1. I don't remember having a problem eating normally, if you're talking about solid foods. I just remember a lot of pain when I opened/closed my mouth, like chewing, so if you can get by that, I'm sure there's no problem with eating normally. I think I actually did liquidy foods for the first few days, like applesauce, mashed potatoes, jello, pudding, soup - you know, non-chewy things. It minimized some of the pain a bit.

2. My cut was very deep and required 7 stiches. I probably should have had a plastic surgeon sew me up, but at the time, my parents were just concerned about me being unconscious. (Doctors thought I had bleeding on the brain.) Can't recall how long I had my stitches in, but I had to wear butterfly stitches for about three weeks afterwards and use lots of cocoa butter to supposedly minimize the scarring. I guess I'm lucky that my scar is right on the jaw bone because you really can't tell thirteen years later. I'd say for me it took about a couple of months to heal up to were there was no scabbing and it began to turn pinkish and heal.

3. I wasn't allowed on the ice for three weeks and even then the doctor was kind of cautioning my against doing so. I skated with my butterfly stitches and had to be very careful about not falling again because of my stitches and the severity of my concussion.

Hope you're healing fast! :D

[doubletoe]

Apparently, faces heal more quickly than other parts of the body so you are supposed to get the stitches out after 5 days instead of a week to keep the scar from being too prominent. That's what I remember about mine last year, anyway.

I had no trouble eating or anything like that, and I did not take any time off from skating. However, I did analyze what I did wrong that landed me on my chin and I have not done it since, LOL!

Unless my case is unusual, you can expect for your chin to be a little sensitive/ tender for at least a year.

[Frozen Water]

Hi.

I'm new here and thankfully being new to the sport don't yet have a skaters chin, however I was accidentially kicked in the chin by my horse who was frightened by something and got me with his back hoof as he bolted off. I had 16 stitches and my husband who met me at the A&E said it looked like I'd got two mouths. I carefully cleaned in between the stitches with a cotton bud soaked in Distilled Witch Hazel and once the stitches were out I put on 100%Aloe Vera Gel. I hardly have a scar now and I was 39 when it happened last year, so my skin isn't so young. The main thing is to keep the wound clean. Hope this helps

[SynchroSk8r114]

Unless my case is unusual, you can expect for your chin to be a little sensitive/ tender for at least a year.

No, it wasn't just you. I forgot to mention the sensitivity. Even months after healing up, my scar still felt a little tingly, but it wasn't anything unbearable.

[skateskate]

1. not really, just take small bites!
2. My scar was definately very sensitive/ even painful especially in the cold and when i would occasionally bump it (it happens more than you'd notice regularily lol...)
3. Yep! I tested the day after!

[Emberchyld]

Thank you, everyone!

It's been an interesting experience so far... it hurts to eat, laugh, smile, and talk (so, of course, my coworkers have made it their goal these past two days to make me laugh). Eating has been... comic.

And I went on the ice again today... didn't even feel a little bit scared. Yay!

Thank you-- because, without your advice, I probably wouldn't have eaten these past two days for fear of yanking my stitches!:bow: :bow:

[lovepairs]

Hey, Welcome to the "Chin Club!" I have 20 stitches in my chin...9 stitches on the inside and 11 on the outsite! Went over my toe on a camel, arms back, hit my chin on what felt like a slab on concrete! Was pretty sure, upon impact that I broke my jaw and that this was the end of my skating career. Jaw was fine, I had 20 stitches and was back on the ice the next day doing my camel spin! :D

[doubletoe]

Yes, wear that scar proudly! When I walked into the rink for the first time with stitches and a big bandage on my chin, I was welcomed to the club by two or three Olympians who were very eager to show me their "skater's chins", LOL! They told me I was a "real" skater now. :roll: