mission of derma

[bethany]

(mission of burma is a band, sorry, lol)

okay, I'm one of those people that the dermatologist has come in every few months. My skin is useless. So drysuits...I think I've tried everything. I've cut the neck gasket down, I've tried diver's silicone stuff on my neck, and no matter what my neck totally freaks out if I wear my dry suit. It's not the material of the gasket -- I have had my neck freak out on a cotton shirt with a neck that rubbed. Does anyone have any other solutions??? It makes me totally dread the idea of my drysuit.

--b

[eneumeier]

I think Casey Carey put a silk scarf around her neck, under the latex. Naturally the silk would get wet but little water would leak.

Liz N.

[Kevin B (RPS Coach)]

Well, I'll stick my neck out with an idea. Have you tried vaseline? I don't know how latex would react to it but I would think that it at least wouldn't compromise the watertightness of the seal.

[Walter]

Have you tied "Bag Balm" on your

skin for irritations.

If the "Bag Balm" does not bother your skin try it

between you and the gasket.

It is a lot better than Vaseline.

Just a thought.

Walter

Impex Assateague

Emmerald Green over White with Yellow stripe

[bethany]

ha! my mom used to suggest that for everything, it's funny I didn't think of it. Thanks!

[Kevin B (RPS Coach)]

I had never heard of Bag Balm so I went to the company's site. Assuming there aren't two products out there with this name, this is from their history page:

"For over a century, Bag Balm has been a fixture around farms.

It all started in 1899, after John L. Norris bought the formula for Bag Balm from its original creator in the little town of Wells River, Vermont. The salve was created to soften cow udders, and it worked extremely well."

LOL, I can't wait till I have a chance to recommend this to people...

[Suz]

I have heard that petroleum products will break down the latex. For that matter, I have even been told that sunscreen will ruin them.

I can make you a thin fleece neck up (power dry) you could wear under the seal. BUT if you get wet, you will wick water in through the fleece. Suppose you could just take it off and have a back up neck up.

Suz

[Walter]

Kevin do not be so skeptical

until you have tried it.

It has been successfully used

since 1899.

But Suz is correct about the petrolatum

it may react with the

gaskets.

Have you tried talking to any divers

on there web pages to see what they use?

Good luck.

Walter

Impex Assateague

Emerald Green over White with Yellow trim.

[Kevin B (RPS Coach)]

"do not be so skeptical until you have tried it."

Walter, don't get me wrong, I'm not doubting its effectiveness. It just struck me as funny that the two commerical products offered as solutions both have less than desirable origins--either originally intended for animals or in the case of vaseline, the junk that collected on the oil well rods:

"Where did the idea for Vaseline Petroleum Jelly come from?

Robert Augustus Cheesebrough.

In 1859 when oil was first found in Pennsylvania, Cheesebrough was a 22 year old chemist in Brooklyn who had become an expert at extracting kerosene from cannel oil.

He realized that petroleum products would be the fuel source of the future so he headed to Pennsylvania to get his piece of the action.

He noticed that a colorless film called "rod wax" collected around the pump rods on the oil wells, gumming up the works until it was removed. He also observed oil workers who would slap the stuff on a cut, instead of a bandage. Not only did it stay on the skin and stop the bleeding, but it seemed to help cure the wound.

Cheesebrough returned to Brooklyn with some rod-wax and spent months creating a clean form of rod-wax which he called "petroleum jelly". He began making so much of this stuff that every beaker in his laboratory was full, so he threw out his wife's flowers and filled the vases with his creation.

After awhile, he added the popular medical term "line" to the word "vase" and he called the product "Vaseline Petroleum Jelly."

[glad]

Bethany- first off, are you allergic to latex? If the answer is yes, then a dry suit could be challenging unless you could find someone to install vinyl. This has been one of the substitutes we use medically.

If you aren't allergic; have you tried the silicone on both your neck AND the gasket? Also, try it 360 degrees? That way it's like silicone on silicone like ball bearings. That has worked the best for me.

The silicone needs to be wiped off after each use because it attracts gravel which also doesn't feel too comfy next to the delicate neck skin.

Let me know if you've tried the above.

PS I know for certain that oils are particularly bad for latex so forget the vaseline. Remember when they told you in high school or college or wherever not to use oils on latex condoms?

[bethany]

I tried a combo of silicone on my neck and the silk scarf Saturday. I still got a red rash in front, however it went away overnight, which is an improvement. The silk scarf may have shifted at some point too, so I'll try this again. It definitely felt better than before while wearing it -- I could turn my head around without feeling like it was grating on my neck.

I bought some Body Glide stuff while at the New Balance outlet today to try out, too. They had a formula that also had sun stuff in it.

--b

[bethany]

Nope, not allergic to latex as far as I know. I'll try the double dose of silicone, too!

--b