THE “GARMENTS”

 

 

Hi, you are “face to face with Shell”.

Please have a watch of this video and/or read on:

HOW DO YOU COPE WEARING PRESSURE GARMENTS AFTER BEING BURNED?

Now, there is no way that I am going to lecture anyone here, as I did not wear the “garments”  (referred to as Pressure Garment Therapy (PGT)) anywhere near the way I should have.

I know that treatments have improved vastly since I was wearing the pressure garments and I have come across different types of garments but they are all fundamentally there to do the same job.

These garments are designed to help people who have been injured and as a result, are left with scarring.  I had to wear them because I received fifty percent burns (first through to fourth degree) as a result of a gas explosion in Spain and I had a lot of scarring, mostly to my arms, hands, face, and neck.

I was given pressure sleeves, gloves, and a face/neck mask; these were very tight, made to measure garments; to be worn basically twenty-three hours a day, only to be taken off while I was washing and then creaming my scars.  They were given to me when all my wounds were fully healed; in saying that, there was one physiotherapist that tried to fit me for a new sleeve, the day after a surgery, on top of a wound that had stitches in it and she wondered why I wouldn’t let her fit it…lol.  She was none too pleased and I was “reported” to her manager who didn’t take this very well and then took it out on me the next day…but that’s another story…lol.

Anyway, the garments were very tight; obviously, that was their job but there were areas that really hurt when I was wearing them; mostly my elbows.  My elbows to this day still break out if I don’t cream them regularly and they can still become very dry.  In the early days, they tended to crack and could bleed.  Every time I bent my arm, it was sore, therefore, I felt that the garments were very restrictive, hot, and increased the itch.  I have read on the internet that the garments can sometimes reduce the itching by the pressure that they apply but I certainly didn’t experience this.

Now, I know when I speak about the “itch” in another part of the site/channel; I was told to press on the area and not to scratch, so you would think that the pressure garments would stop the itch, not with me they didn’t (as I have mentioned above).

Please click on the link below, which will take you to the page where I talk about “the itch”.

DEALING WITH THE ITCH

To me, the garments were uncomfortable, sore, increased the itch, made me hot, and limited by mobility (like I needed that…lol; as before my right arm was “released”, I was unable to straighten it, the same with my right wrist).

I know there has been huge advancements in these garments since I was given them but basically, the principal is the same; to be worn as soon as possible after the wounds have completely healed, for approximately one and a half to two years, until the scar has matured, and is no longer “over healing”.

I remember the first time my mask was fitted onto me; I was in the Burns Unit and I was to wear it for one hour.  I cried the whole time.  I hated it.  I hated the feeling.  It was the same for all the garments.

I would put them on and then, as soon as I was out of the house, I would take them off.  They definitely did work.  I was shown evidence of this.  Even after wearing them for a short period of time, my scars were softer, more supple, and flatter.

For me, at the time though, the results did not outweigh the soreness or being uncomfortable (especially on my elbows, as they were sore and cracked all the time).  The garments added to the itch (which was always present in the early years) and they restricted movement of my arms and hands; they were hot and uncomfortable to wear.  I detested everything about the garments.

Please have a look at the page below where I talk about a product that I have found that has REALLY helped my dry, cracked elbows.

REVIEW OF EGYPTIAN MAGIC

Oh yeah and when the pressure mask got too slack and I was waiting for a new one to arrive, I had to wear foam inside the mask, especially at my chin, to increase the pressure…yeah, real comfy…lol.

I also had a foam neck “brace” that I had to wear as well to increase the pressure around my neck.  I was well braw (a great Scottish word) especially going to bed at night…lol.

My mum and dad tried everything to try and get me to wear the garments.  I did have something that was called a “rest day/night”, whereby I didn’t need to wear them, especially my mask (I made it a Monday night).  People would ask why a Monday, why not at the weekend?  I felt that it was something to look forward to after the weekend.

I only wore my mask at night, there was no way I was going outside with a mask on, I felt people stared enough; one Health Professional wanted me to wear it to school…”Aye ok then”…lol.

On the nights that I was supposed to wear my mask, halfway through the night, I would wake up feeling hot, itchy, and uncomfortable; I would then pull the mask off (it was held on with velcro).  My mum and dad would hear me ripping it off.  My mum devised a way of trying to keep it on me; she sewed on “hooks and eyes”, so that hopefully I would not take it off.  It worked for a few nights, until I worked out a way to unhook these one handed…lol.

I know I am laughing at this but I must have been driving my mum and dad insane.  They were trying their best to help me but I just wasn’t for it.

Sometimes I would be half asleep and take my mask off (I’ll give a little wink here) but most times I took it off deliberately.  I would go underneath the duvet and try to take it off slowly, so that my mum and dad would not hear me doing it.  I would be questioned the next day:  “What time did you take your mask off”?  I would try and say that I didn’t know…but mums ALWAYS know!

As soon as the garments were mentioned, I stressed myself out, which obviously didn’t help.  The very word “garments” made my body and mind react, making me more agitated.

I know I am making light of this but I now have to live with the consequences, I know that now.  I probably knew it then to be honest.  As I said before, I was thirteen, going through all this new stuff, having to come in early to be creamed, not looking like everyone else, and now THIS!

As I said, there is no way that I can lecture anyone – how dare I?  I didn’t wear the garments the way I was supposed to and now I have to live with that decision but I would highly encourage you to do so…please, if you can, wear them…the results will be totally worth it. 

My scars would have been a lot better if I had worn them properly; they would have been flatter, more supple, and not as hard…as some of them are (a comment that was once made to me by someone – yeah cheers, I already know that, not really needing you to remind me here…lol).

Try and think about it like this; every time you do something to help you/your scars…you are investing in your future.

So, my advice to you would be; PLEASE, if you can…WEAR THE GARMENTS!

Good luck and we’ll chat soon.