Road Rash
willbevan
Posts: 1,241
Hi all,
Well sunday I came of my bike going round a corner down hill (yes everyone say Idiot with me) and looking for some advice on keeping the wounds healing.
Now where i have lost skin the wounds are weeping, if i leave it to dry out it forms a yellow skin like a scab.
Sunday after i came off and monday mornig I cleaned out the wound with detol including the yellow skin thats forming across the top from the weeping... which just caussed it to carry on weeping...
Last night i slept with it all open and in the morning it was all dried up but a yellow skin is obviously dried out.
Slapped some antiseptic cream on them and some plasters and by the time i got to work it had all gone into some yellow gooo, so cleaned them out with the first aid kit at work but they are still weeping,
Bit perplexed what is the best way to let it heal?
Any advice would be greatly appriciated
Thanks
Will
Well sunday I came of my bike going round a corner down hill (yes everyone say Idiot with me) and looking for some advice on keeping the wounds healing.
Now where i have lost skin the wounds are weeping, if i leave it to dry out it forms a yellow skin like a scab.
Sunday after i came off and monday mornig I cleaned out the wound with detol including the yellow skin thats forming across the top from the weeping... which just caussed it to carry on weeping...
Last night i slept with it all open and in the morning it was all dried up but a yellow skin is obviously dried out.
Slapped some antiseptic cream on them and some plasters and by the time i got to work it had all gone into some yellow gooo, so cleaned them out with the first aid kit at work but they are still weeping,
Bit perplexed what is the best way to let it heal?
Any advice would be greatly appriciated
Thanks
Will
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should i let it dry out and form the yellow skin from the weeping, or keep removing that and wak vaseline on top of that?0
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A warm and moist environment is the best for wound healing. Moist warm wounds heal better, and you have to be careful that too much abrasive cleaning will destroy the granulation (new skin forming). An initial vigorous clean is a good idea to remove grit and dirt, once clean of obvious dirt if you subsequently clean it this should be done by irrigating the wound (i.e. drizzling over the wound without actually touching or wiping it, which will remove granulation) with clean or sterile water (or normal saline - sachets of Normasol available from the chemist). Cover the wound with large non-adherent dressings (10cm x10cm) such as Melolin or equivalent. Or for the state of the art, a hydrocolloid dressing such as Duoderm. The idea with hydrocolloids is to leave the dressings in place for as long as possible (up to a week, but it will probably fall off before then). The wound should ooze and make "gunk" (aka "exudate") - this is part of the healing process, as long as it isn't smelly then it is fine, leave it in place. Wounds treated in this way heal faster with less scarring, despite being contrary to what your mum may have said. Antiseptic cleaners add little if anything to healing and can cause problems, especially with aggressive cleaning.
Duoderm info0 -
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+1 for what alfablue says but with one proviso - hydrocolloid dressings produce an exudate which is almost always smelly and yellow. As long as the wound is still clean once the crud is washed away all is well.If you haven't got a headwind you're not trying hard enough0
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Leave it open and keep it clean.
It is basically same as a tattoo.
These days they do not cover the wound with dressings. In fact when I was treated after a crash in race by medical team they just cleaned the wounds thoroughly and did not put any anti septic on it.
When In Italy, one of my mates had a crash and put some white powder from a chemist(no not that) on wound . A few days later after the GF we went to do, it felt sore so he went to medical tent where they all gathered round, called a doctor and told hime they had to remove all the mss and scab. They injected with anaesthetic, then scrapped it with a razor and sort of file, and tweezers
He was in agony for about 20 minutes having it treated and they threw us out of the tent for laughing, we were in there for midge bites, irritable but not so painful!! 0 -
Is there not a nurse at your local GP practice who can cast a knowledgable eye on it just to check the healing . Better to be safe than sorry.We are born with the dead:
See, they return, and bring us with them.0 -
This is not in keeping with current research on wound healing.oldwelshman wrote:Leave it open!0 -
I tried the wet dressing approach recently but after 2 days the goo ozing out stank so badly that I removed the dressing the let the thing dry out and scab up.0
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yeah, it can take a strong stomach, but it is supposed to be the best way. For young fit people we ( 8) ) can take a few liberties and get away with it without problem. Most of my wound experience is based on older unfit people!Yardstick wrote:I tried the wet dressing approach recently but after 2 days the goo ozing out stank so badly that I removed the dressing the let the thing dry out and scab up.
Allowing scabs to form makes the strands that get made during healing dive deeper under the scab and hence scarring is worse.0 -
+1 for hydrocolloids, just damn expensive to cover the acres of graze in my last crash (concrete velodrome).
If the grazing is really deep, see your doc re. possible skin grafts. Cleaning with saline is a really good idea, I always just hopped into the bath and scrubbed at the grazed bits until they were clean "healthy oozy" (pink, not nasty dirty) with a soft sponge and bar soap and water- the soapiness stops the pain of osmotic shock, which is the intensification of the pain you'll feel when you wash the soap off with plain water.
Hmm, makes my hair stand on end even remembering it!!
Cheers,
S.If you're as fat as me, all bikes are bendy.0 -
jeez, making my eyes water!scherrit wrote:+1 for hydrocolloids, just damn expensive to cover the acres of graze in my last crash (concrete velodrome).
If the grazing is really deep, see your doc re. possible skin grafts. Cleaning with saline is a really good idea, I always just hopped into the bath and scrubbed at the grazed bits until they were clean "healthy oozy" (pink, not nasty dirty) with a soft sponge and bar soap and water- the soapiness stops the pain of osmotic shock, which is the intensification of the pain you'll feel when you wash the soap off with plain water.
Hmm, makes my hair stand on end even remembering it!!
Cheers,
S.0 -
Pick the scab if you want a war wound......
As mentioned, 'wet' healing is best for scar reduction - if you aren't arsed, just cover it with a sterile dressing..
I had a 6" square patch of gravel rash on my ass many moons ago after coming off...that oozed for days.... bloody hurt getting in the shower when I got home......almost screamed.....0 -
I admit that I don't have any kind of medical background, but in my experience, the wound heals faster if left open. I had a fairly major crash a few years ago... road rash on every limb + fractured wrist.
My right thigh was pretty bad... looked to be completely down to the flesh... but it managed to heal up without scarring. After a few days I recall taking the bandages off...
The worst thing to heal was a hole in my arm. I covered it up thinking it was the right thing to do... it took >> 2 WEEKS to heal. :shock:0 -
No I don't think I want to, but I did get my raw knee and elbow have the scrubbing brush treatment when I was last in A&E (fortunately already had the morphine for the broken pelvis). Not pleasant, but necessary.andy_wrx wrote:alfablue wrote:jeez, making my eyes water!
Not seen that bit in Hollentour/Hell on Wheels where Zabel takes the nailbrush into the shower to remove the gravel and dirt from his sprint crash wound...?0 -
Just had a very nasty accident with deep grazing.
Hospital have cleaned and covered them and told me to change the dressing every 3 days. No anti septic cream at all just sterile dressings.
Was told under no circumstances leave the wound open.0 -
I recently had a cancerous growth called Bowens disease removed from the side of my temple using curettage and electrocautery. (very similar to road rash burns)
This means scraping away the area and using heat or electricity to stop any bleeding. A local anaesthetic is given before the doctor scrapes away the Bowen’s using a spoon shaped instrument called a curette. An electrically heated loop or needle is then applied to stop the bleeding (cauterise) from the wound and destroys any remaining abnormal cells.
I was told categorically to avoid scarring and to help healing to keep the wound dry and not to be tempted to pick at the scab.
Previously in treating road rash (on many occasions) I have applied the same principle successfully.0 -
You may be interested in this guide to wound management which is based on current evidence. Moist wound management is usually recommended (except necrotic digit), but there may be other exceptions, anyway, nice pictures!0
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I have just been sick.
Really sick.0 -
It may be hard to believe (or not!) that many health care professionals are unaware of current evidence, and practice on the basis of outmoded ritualistic or traditional practice. For example, after some surgery I was recommended to take salt baths - a practice that was exposed as completely useless back in the 1980's.Herbert Chapman wrote:I recently had a cancerous growth called Bowens disease removed from the side of my temple using curettage and electrocautery. (very similar to road rash burns)
This means scraping away the area and using heat or electricity to stop any bleeding. A local anaesthetic is given before the doctor scrapes away the Bowen’s using a spoon shaped instrument called a curette. An electrically heated loop or needle is then applied to stop the bleeding (cauterise) from the wound and destroys any remaining abnormal cells.
I was told categorically to avoid scarring and to help healing to keep the wound dry and not to be tempted to pick at the scab.
Previously in treating road rash (on many occasions) I have applied the same principle successfully.0 -
alfablue wrote:]It may be hard to believe (or not!) that many health care professionals are unaware of current evidence, and practice on the basis of outmoded ritualistic or traditional practice.
Oh I believe it.
A few years ago, I went to the doc with a stiff back and got to see a locum rather than my GP. The locum was a white-haired old guy who pronounced it 'fibrositic nodules'.
I asked what on earth that was, and he explained
"Well during the war, they thought..."
It occurred to me that this guy was perhaps so old that what had happened during the war was maybe relatively current when he was going through medical school...0 -
Last time I was in A&E they cleaned me grazes up and just gave me antibiotics, no dressing and it scabbed over ina day or two and healed with only slight scaring which shows up more when I am cold. I am not sure if the antibiotics did much other than sterilize my guts.The gear changing, helmet wearing fule.
FCN :- -1
Given up waiting for Fast as Fupp to start stalking me0 -
++ for hydrocholloid plasters.
I use them for the 1st time last year and they take some getting used to! As has been mentioned they do get messy and smelly and your instinct is that 'it can't be right' ... but stick with it .... they work!
Less scarring and faster healing and no itchy scabs to knock and pick (unless you enjoy that sort of this of course
It's great to be .....0 -
Might be a good idea to get it checked out at a medical drop in place. Got a bad one a couple of years ago and made the mistake of spraying second skin over it. An infection had set in and led to cellulitis as I hadn't cleaned it properly. It ended up a serious case of blood poisoning that required a lengthy stay in hospital on a drip being pumped full of antibiotics. The second skin merely sealed the infection in. Doctors and nurses were insistant that any road rash should be cleaned out at a medical centre.
Knocked the stuffing out of me for weeks after coming out of hospital.
It had taken a week or so for the infection to show as it didn't appear to be healing. The hospital kitted me out with some good stuff though that allowed the areas to heal.
If it doesn't clear up in a week - get it checked!0
