What do you say...

Spider bite is my fav excuse, though it no longers works on my family....

OMG I have posted this same question before. It's crazy how rude people can be, right? I mean, you wouldn't walk up to an amputee and ask, "So what happened to your leg?" so why do people think it is okay to ask about something that is obviously painful, uncomfortable, and embarrassing to you? I have a big, red scar on my neck and just two days ago I was with my kid on an elevator and another passenger (young guy in his early 20's) said, "Oh my god, are you okay?" I looked up at him and gave him this quizzical look like I had no idea what he was talking about. He realized his mistake immediately, and then started stammering about how he thought I was bleeding. I just looked at him for a long moment and then said, "No, I'm not bleeding. But thanks for your concern." Ugh. It was an awful, tense elevator ride, but I think it taught him a lesson. My son was embarrassed for me and probably himself, too. I have gotten so tired of saying things like "I had a cyst removed" or "I have a nasty surgical scar" or "it's a burn" etc., that I've finally started just saying stuff like "Nothing to worry about, thanks." At one point, I even told my son's friend, "You know, it's really not polite to ask questions like that" (especially because he's asked me about it several times before! Enough already!). I even got so irritated one time that I looked a nosy woman directly in the eye and said, "Vampire bite." That was priceless. I've tried the "It's personal" or "I don't like to talk about it" approach, but I've found this can often aggravate the awkwardness. So I've just started falling back on the old "Nothing, thanks" and then ignoring them or changing the subject. It's quick, pointed, sufficiently vague, and usually shuts people up. I'm so sorry about what you're dealing with. It is humiliating, I know. I have become a bit socially reclusive, but my job requires me to be in front of a classroom all day, so I can't really hide. Most students are too intimidated to ask me about my scar or why I am wearing turtlenecks in August, but friends and strangers are often just clueless and/or thoughtless. How about this: Next time someone says to you, "Eww, what happened to your skin?" why don't you just say, "I don't know. What happened to your manners?" Hang in there, my friend.

I usually tell friends like 'had a scab. Looked gross, I picked it off.' They know I pick, but they just think it's a normal thing, a bad habit. They don't know it's a compulsion. I tell my parents their bug bites. I tell teachers I hurt myself on some pavement. If they ask, further, I tell them I think it's a little infected. That keeps them placated. If a stranger asks, I just think up something normal. Bicycle accident, surgery, crash, burned on a hot plate, something like that. I hope people don't bother you much! I live in the deep south, Alabama, so people usually don't just come out and ask stuff like that. I get funny looks though, and they make me feel ashamed. I figure they're slowly going crazy in their own head if they have to judge me because of a few scars.