I didn't keep mine covered for nearly as long as Christine. Once the scabs healed and it looked mostly like normal skin again, I stopped with the total gauze wrap and moved on to smaller and smaller bandages as it healed more completely. I found that occasionally the new skin would crack open somewhat so I'd have to put some more antibiotic ointment on it and cover with the bandages. I used the 2" x 3" rectangular gauze and cloth tape for a few months, then the spot that would most often burst open occasionally healed well enough that a regular Band-Aid would often do the trick.

When I had the larger gauze bandages on, so many people asked me to see my new tattoo, assuming that's what it was, but I had to explain to them what had happened. Some people thought it was pretty neat (what the doctors could do), while a few others were horrified and embarrassed that they asked such a question and felt bad until I reassured them that it was ok. If on one particular day you're just mad at the world and you don't want to have to deal with that, wear longsleeves.