Sunday, 03 June 2012
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The Art of Scratching
During my daily dose of Stumbleupon, I discovered dermatographia, a skin condition affecting 5 percent of the population, where scratching causes unusually pronounced red lines on the skin's surface. The artist Ariana Page is proof that sometimes you should scratch the itch. She uses her sensitive skin as a canvas for her art.
What do you think? Do you get itches you just can't scratch? Is her work painfully pretty? Does it make you a bit squeamish?
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About the Author
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- From: Iona
- Name: Iona
- About Me: One of my favorite health quotes is, If you don't look after your body, where are you going to live? I'm a college athlete, and most days it feels like I play field hockey for a living. I've always loved running, but I've got into weight lifting over the last 2 years. Muscles aren't just something for men! As Nike would say: Just do it!
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Comments (33)
Oh, depending upon the time of year, my skin is like that. I might scratch a small itch on my forearm, but it will look as if I got attacked by a rabid, clawed kitten.
When it starts popping up in deliberate patterns, we're on to another topic entirely.
I have it. It gets really annoying cuz when it welts, it's extra itchy and therefore I end up scratching more. Some nights are unbearable cuz the itchy spreads the more I scratch lol
It's kind of fun being able to write on your skin. My boyfriend actually wanted to draw on my back before.
My skin is like that. I hate my skin though, way too fair/sensative :/
if I had skin like that I'd do it too.
I've had dermatographism for three years and it sucks. Anything and everything can cause me to welt up or start itching and once it starts the only thing I can do is wait for it to go away.
The skin writing concept is sort of novel at the start, but after a couple nights of no sleep due to unbearable burning and itching, it stops being fun. While mine has no direct cause (no allergy triggers, no medical conditions) I can generally keep it under control by taking Zyrtec or any over-the-counter allergy medication, so it's not terrible as long as I take the stuff on a regular basis. I've gotten used to the welting and itching though; it flares up on occasion and it just becomes another thing to deal with.
It is kind of embarrassing though because people tend to freak out if it flares up on my hand or forearm for example because they think I'm having some deadly allergic reaction to something. Once I explain my condition though, people are pretty accepting of it; I've never had anyone run away screaming or even go "Ew, that's nasty." Most people are actually kind of curious about it.
when i scratch even non-itchy skin, it make the area of skin really itchy. i know people like to 'suffer for their art' but to be honest, i would not be willing to itch for mine. :p
Mine isn't as dramatic as the girl in the pictures but I still can't believe she does that. Even if it's 'art', it's still technically hurting herself.
the pictures make me want to itch. eeek
@krispylicious@xanga - have you tried Aveeno oatmeal based lotion? it's been a lifesaver for me. and my friend once thought it would me funny to "draw" an arrow on my back pointing to my butt with the words dat ass written above it.
makes for pretty pictures, at the very least!
Kinda want to be sick.
yep i have this. i'm currently taking medication prescribed by the doctor to control these swells and bumps. i barely scratch an itch and it swells up like those photos.
Yep, i got this too.
This looks a LOT like self injury.
KINDA gross, and yeah, automutilation anyone? BUT, I suppose it's not so different from other kinds of body modification, like piercings or tattoos, both of which I have so.... in conclusion: MEH
How is this not considered self mutilation? I'm not cool with this at all.
I could also see this as a trigger. Just a heads up.
I can't stand being itchy... I would rather be in pain... When I have to scratch something, if I'm not careful, I tend to be so rough that I bleed... :/
I don't understand why people are considering this self mutilation. From the description of the condition it sounds like the skin raises easily, which means it wouldn't take much effort for her to create these raised lines, or as much pain. We don't know how much "pain" she feels, and it's certainly not "mutilation."
Her artwork is an observation of a condition, or human skin, or skin as an organ or canvas. Before judging her, you should probably take a deeper look at her work.
Just because some people don't fit your criteria of normal does not make them abnormal.
Sounds like she's got some masochism thing going on.
@T0m03@xanga - Me too actually, because it makes it stop itching. :D
My mom has this. It's kind of pretty awesome though !
Yes, it does make me sqeamish. And I don't know why. There was no damage done, I guess.
@xvietcharmsx@xanga - Not everyone who has dermatographism also gets the burning or itching sensation. Some people just welt up and that's it. If you have dermatographism it's easy to get welts or lines from anything because of the skin being so sensitive; I'll routinely get it from things like hat brims or collars. I think I read somewhere that this artist is lucky enough not to get the itching sensation, so she would feel little to no discomfort as a result.
I agree with you 100%. While the artist is using her body as a canvas, it's not self-mutilation because she's not permanently damaging or changing her body. Welts like this will go away in an hour to two hours if not scratched. It's less like tattooing or piercing, more like body paint or henna.
@classyposh@xanga - What do they have you taking, if you don't mind me asking? I was on a combination of Prednisone and Benadryl for two months, but I had them take me off it because the two medications were disrupting my sleep cycle and I was going to work exhausted.
Okay, well, to each his/her own but, it doesn't appear to be a very healthy practice. If anyone has had an itch, they should know that if you scratch it, it gets worse. Scratching can tear skin, cause infections, and I don't mean just if the skin is broken -- dirt getting into the pores can cause infections as well. I see nothing cool about it.