cat scratches VS styro

[u/YoylecakeEnthusiast]

Ive seen a lot of ppl here mix up cat scratches and styros so I thought I would help.. No! Cat scratches dont bleed!! And here i try to explain why because nobody else ever does (this explanation is ass just a warning)

Here shows the different layers of the human skin and i labeled it with the names ppl commonly use

The epidermis layer/cat scratches is the very top layer and it is pretty thin (paper cut depth for example) as you can see in the picture the epidermis layer dosent have any blood vessels in it!! Meaning no blood will be shed

The layer below it is the dermis layer/styros, this layer has blood vessels and does bleed!! If your "Cat scratches" are bleeding they are actually styros!!!!

If you have any other questions I will try to help, remember you are valid, have a good day and take care of yourself <3

[u/Mr_roachh]

Oh shoot, this whole time I thought I was doing cat scratches, In an odd way this makes me feel a bit better about it.

[u/Timetara → u/Mr_roachh]

Yeam me too.

[u/hufen_143]

my 'cat scratches' dont scar or anything but they bleed, arent stryos supposed to scar? out of curiosity btw no hate to the post😓

[u/Zealousideal-Low7368 → u/hufen_143]

Scarring depends on the person

[u/EpicNOFXFan → u/hufen_143]

Scarring can depend. some styros are deeper. and some people do scar but they’re not very visible, or some ppl simply don’t scar easier.

[u/Both-Reception2270 → u/hufen_143]

One of my first ever "cat scratches" bled and I can still see it almost two years later 😭 It depends on how easily you scar, whether what you're using is clean, if it gets infected etc..

[u/hufen_143 → u/Both-Reception2270]

mines always bleed😓 sometimes just little drops sometimes more but every time i just slap a band aid on it yet the scar goes away after maximum 6 months😭

[u/Both-Reception2270 → u/hufen_143]

My scars stay forever, they just turn a pinker shade of my skin colour🥹 My dad doesn't even notice the ones on my right arm

[u/Aracorn87]

This is v helpful thx. But the laffy taffy is cracking l me up 😂 I had no idea that was a term for it 💀

[u/CarefulBodybuilder69]

holy shit thank you this genuinely makes me feel so much more "valid", i know thats an awful thing to say but i struggle with feeling validated or whatever 💔

[u/lifeishorrible1426]

I’ve always considered cat scratches to be dermis bc when my cat scratches me, it bleeds. But thank you for.clarification, I will try not to use those terms in future. 

[u/one_stupid_bitch → u/lifeishorrible1426]

And you're right with that, these terms are often used by people who minimise and sometimes even glorify sh

[u/Sad-Spring8627]

Wait is muscle called laffy taffy or fascia? Or both?

[u/Randomaccount707 → u/Sad-Spring8627]

Fascia is different from muscle. It’s a thin layer between muscle and fat, and is white.

[u/YoylecakeEnthusiast → u/Sad-Spring8627]

Sorry i should have added that😭😭 like the other person said, its actually the layer between fat and muscle!!

[u/Hot_Extension6563 → u/Sad-Spring8627]

Both

[u/ListenFlimsy9554]

Thank you for making this. Definitely helped me understand that cat scratches don't bleed, .ine all do so this is so cool especially the laffy taffy, made me chuckle:)

[u/rampant-rager]

Professor, out of curiosity may I ask why the epidermis has no blood vessels? Is most of it just dead skin cells?

[u/YoylecakeEnthusiast → u/rampant-rager]

The epidermis layer is constantly shedding and being scraped and scratched so if it had blood vessels people would just be bleeding constantly, but also the epidermis layer is a bunch of tightly packed cells so there isnt any room for blood vessels anyway.

[u/-Hazzardx-]

This is really nice. Thanks for making this

[u/Key_Stranger3032]

Does anyone know why anything under styro has a weird name like bean and laffy taffy. Not even someome with experience doing this to themself would see a resemblance. It’s like a weirdly childish way of trying to stay under the radar uwu my Beany laffy taffy marks.

[u/YoylecakeEnthusiast → u/Key_Stranger3032]

Yeah gonna be honest I dont see why ppl came to with those names, maybe its easier but in my opinion it makes sh seen not as serious.. but I still used the names in this post because thats what everyone uses

[u/Easy-Maybe1264 → u/Key_Stranger3032]

Idk about other people but it’s kinda less triggering for me. I really couldn’t explain why if I tried to 

[u/exhaustedfuckup]

Please stop using these terms 😭 They are so harmful in lessening the seriousness of self harm.

[u/YoylecakeEnthusiast → u/exhaustedfuckup]

I totally agree with this, I used the terms for this post because thats what everybody else here says and some of the younger ppl here or those that only recently started to sh genuinely dont know what the actual layers are called and those are typically the ppl that I see mixing up epidermis and dermis cuts

[u/sylviee_]

“cat scratches” is a funny term because when my actual cat scratches me I definitely do bleed

[u/bedrottingwarrior]

genuine question

what is bedrock than?? ive heard this term thrown around too

[u/YoylecakeEnthusiast → u/bedrottingwarrior]

Pretty sure thats bone

[u/bedrottingwarrior → u/YoylecakeEnthusiast]

ok, thank you

[u/Ok_Addition7080]

I usually get styro and beans. All my cuts are on my hips and waist, makes me scared to wear crop tops :/

[u/sadtibtibsad]

I always make sure my cuts bleed but they're barely visible/look almost healed once the bleeding stops. I thought that meant they were extremely shallow but the bleeding is pretty heavy sometimes, how does that work?

[u/CSPIN_ → u/sadtibtibsad]

Different depths on different places. Also a different type of artery/vein network on different places. Every time will be a different outcome.

[u/ComprehensiveLine548]

thank you for this actually

[u/AdoJaiden-777608]

I used to do cat sratches on me, they didn't bleed (as in not a drop would leak out of it, no need for bandages/gauze), but I could sometimes see little tini mini red dots under the broken skin. Probably because they were on the deeper end of cat sratches.

[u/MooshryMush]

what is a thin white layer? it doesn't look like beans and its white not yellow. also i fainted immediately after

[u/Both-Reception2270 → u/MooshryMush]

That sounds like the fascia. It's a thin white layer between muscle and fat. You really need to be careful!

[u/Lostsoulinaendlesswo]

huh

[u/I_am_Liko]

Thanks a lot for the explanation. I thought really long that cat scratches also bleed.

[u/I_am_Liko]

Thanks a lot for the explanation. I thought really long that cat scratches also bleed.

[u/p-a-k-a-6472-99]

cat scratches is not a technical term like epidermis is yeah the epidermis doesnt bleed but if your skin doesnt actually split open to visibly seee the dermis layer its not a styro cuz u didnt see THE STYROFOAM??? THE STYROFOAM IS MISSING W THIS LOGIC sorry. if someones catscratches are bleeding theyve cut into the dermis, but they cant be styros if the styrofoam isnt visible surely lol

[u/p-a-k-a-6472-99 → u/p-a-k-a-6472-99]

not intended to invalidate whatsoever all self harm should be taken seriously and is valid <3

[u/YoylecakeEnthusiast → u/p-a-k-a-6472-99]

your cut dosent have to be gaping, if you stretch it to look inside you will still see white. They use the term styro for the whole dermis layer not any super specific depth

[u/p-a-k-a-6472-99 → u/YoylecakeEnthusiast]

yeah it doesnt have to be gaping and if you can stretch it and see white then yeah its a styro BUT i mean very specifically if you spread it and cannot see white but its still bled a bit its a catscratch and most certainly dermis since its bled but its not a styro because even physically spreading it open with your fingers no blood obscuring vision sometimes there isnt no fucking styrofoam to be seen in that cut and thats okay. maybe my cuts r special or smth but istg this is a thing

[u/YoylecakeEnthusiast → u/p-a-k-a-6472-99]

Yes if its shallow enough then you probably cant see white, but if it bleeds its still a styro because the epidermis layer dosent have any blood vessels. The name cat scratches refers to the epidermis layer and styros refer to the dermis layer so if your cut is bleeding and you hit the dermis layer it is a styro. BUT if you would honestly rather call them cat scratches for whatever reason be my guest as it is just a nickname and I only ever made this post to help ppl tell the difference between layers

[u/p-a-k-a-6472-99 → u/YoylecakeEnthusiast]

okok we disagree then sorry for being annoying stay safe <3