Dear Prudence is Slate’s advice column. Submit questions here .

Dear Prudence,

I have a skin condition where my mouth and chin are covered in painful bleeding sores. Recently, I’ve run out of medication to treat it, and for the first time in my two-year relationship, my girlfriend has seen the worst of it. She’s almost outright stopped talking to me since the sores have come back, and physical contact has been literally nonexistent. I know that the sores are uncomfortable to look at, but I can’t stand being walled off from my girlfriend until my medicine arrives. Well, yesterday, she came to me with a frightening ultimatum.

The only way she says she’ll engage with me is if I grow a beard to cover the sores. I’ve tried before, but it only makes them more painful, and it’s easier

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